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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 8, 2025 / 14:00 pm (CNA).
Bishop Michael Duca has granted a dispensation from Sunday Mass attendance for immigrants fearing deportation in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, the fourth U.S. diocese to do so.
News of the dispensation comes amid heightened presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Louisiana as part of the Trump administration’s “Swamp Sweep,” which has been reported to include the deployment of 250 Border Patrol agents to the region and plans to arrest 5,000 individuals across Louisiana and Misssissipi.
“With the recent publicized arrival of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers into south Louisiana and greater Baton Rouge, and since many of the faithful genuinely fear immigration enforcement actions, thereby making it untenable for them to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, I hereby grant a dispensation from the obligation to attend Mass for those Catholics rightfully afraid to participate in Mass because of their fear,” Duca said “with a heavy heart” in a pastoral letter dated Dec. 4.
The Baton Rouge bishop said the dispensation would remain “until the individual Catholic determines it is safe to attend Mass again” or until the dispensation is revoked.
Duca instructed the faithful who chose to stay at home in accordance with the dispensation to gather as a family for prayer on Sunday. “Reading the daily Mass readings, praying the rosary, or reciting a novena for intercessory protection are all suitable alternative spiritual practices for those accepting this dispensation,” he said.
Duca joins bishops in the dioceses of San Bernardino, California; Nashville, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina, in granting such a dispensation in 2025.
“National security and the protection of human dignity are not incompatible,” Duca continued in his letter, calling for “a just solution to this difficult situation in our country.” He noted that deportation efforts have affected not only the Catholic Hispanic community but also refugees and immigrants across denominations. “These are our neighbors, coworkers, and parishioners,” he said.
The bishop concluded: “For now, let us pray for those immediately affected, especially during this Advent season — a time in which we should be anticipating the joy of Christmas, surrounded by our family in celebration instead of the experience of anxiety and fear.”
“Through our prayers and actions, may those who are suffering know that Jesus’ words are addressed personally to each of them,” he said.
Duca’s letter comes after the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) issued a special message condemning “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people” in November.
