{"id":30098,"date":"2025-12-05T09:22:38","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T14:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=30098"},"modified":"2025-12-05T09:22:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T14:22:38","slug":"empty-manger-sparks-outrage-as-massachusetts-church-uses-nativity-to-send-immigration-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2025\/12\/empty-manger-sparks-outrage-as-massachusetts-church-uses-nativity-to-send-immigration-message","title":{"rendered":"Empty Manger Sparks Outrage as Massachusetts Church Uses Nativity to Send Immigration Message"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Catholic church in Massachusetts is stirring controversy this Christmas season after unveiling a Nativity scene with an empty manger and a sign reading, “ICE was here.” The display, outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, replaces the traditional Holy Family with a message referencing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and provides contact information for a local group that monitors immigration operations.<\/p>\n

Father Stephen Josoma, the church’s pastor, said the unconventional display was designed to make people think about what Christ’s birth might look like “in the context of the world today.” He told Fox News Digital, “We try to see what would it be like if Christ was born into the context of the world today, what would He be facing?” Josoma described the scene as “religious art” intended to stir emotion and reflection. “It’s supposed to affect people deeply, it’s supposed to move people, it’s supposed to change people,” he said. “So, if this evokes a strong reaction, it’s maybe good to take a look at that.”<\/p>\n

But not everyone agrees. C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, said he received calls from upset parishioners. “I think it’s very offensive,” Doyle said. “[Father Josoma] is politicizing Christmas, he’s exploiting and trivializing the Holy Family, and he’s using his Catholic parish as a platform to promote his left-wing ideology.” Doyle added that while Josoma has a history of using the church’s annual Nativity display to comment on social issues, “This has nothing to do with the birth of our Savior and everything to do with ventilating his own political projects.”<\/p>\n

Over the past decade, St. Susanna’s peace and justice group has used the Nativity scene to highlight topics like mass shootings, global warming, and immigration. In 2018, the church placed baby Jesus inside a cage and separated the Magi with a wall\u2014an apparent reference to the southern border crisis. Josoma said the inspiration for these displays comes from the church’s ongoing work with refugees, which began in 2017. “The church has a right to speak out,” he said. “And we should be talking about issues. We’re supposed to take care of people.”<\/p>\n

Doyle, however, believes the Archdiocese of Boston has allowed the displays to go too far. “The archdiocese has tolerated this behavior in the past,” he said. “They should tell him to stop, pure and simple.” He pointed to a recent statement from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which called for “an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement,” suggesting the display could be “dehumanizing” to officers.<\/p>\n

St. Susanna’s display isn’t the only one raising eyebrows this season. In Evanston, Illinois, Lake Street Church unveiled a Nativity scene featuring a baby Jesus zip-tied<\/a> in an emergency blanket and Mary and Joseph wearing gas masks. The church explained the installation as a reflection on family separation and the Holy Family’s experience as refugees.<\/p>\n

For Josoma, the reactions\u2014both positive and negative\u2014are part of the purpose. “The response has been overwhelmingly supportive,” he said, noting one hostile encounter where he was called a “murderer.” Still, he insists the message is about compassion. “We’re supposed to take care of people,” he said. “That’s what Christ calls us to do.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Catholic church in Massachusetts is stirring controversy this Christmas season after unveiling a Nativity scene with an empty manger and a sign reading, “ICE was here.” The display, outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, replaces the traditional Holy Family with a message referencing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and provides contact information for a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":30101,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30098","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nEmpty Manger Sparks Outrage as Massachusetts Church Uses Nativity to Send Immigration Message<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A Massachusetts church faces backlash for a Nativity scene missing Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, replaced with an 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