One story that's made the rounds in the local news this holiday season concerns a controversial nativity scene outside St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts. Replacing the baby Jesus is a sign in the manger that reads “ICE was here.” Another sign lists a phone number for reporting ICE activity in the area. Also missing are the figures of Mary and Joseph but a note says, "The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church."
The display was created in part by St. Susanna's longtime pastor, Steven Josoma who said he wanted to highlight the fear of separation among immigrant families adding, “It's to get people thinking about how immigrants are treated, especially during the holiday season.” Many have shown their support for this nativity scene but many others have condemned it. The Boston Archdiocese has even called for its removal but Fr. Josoma said the display will remain until further notice.
My first impression of the situation? I didn't totally disagree with what Fr. Josoma was trying to do BUT (and this is a big but) I wondered if he has ever fought so passionately for the Church's more conservative moral beliefs like choosing life or practicing abstinence until marriage. After a little bit of online research, I found my answer.
Father Josoma actually has a history of creating provocative nativity scenes. One manger on gun violence featured signs with the death tolls of specific mass shootings while another on the environment showed a manger flooded by rising sea levels. A previous display on immigration placed baby Jesus in a cage. Fr. Josoma has stated such displays weren't political statements but “a moral call to arms.” CJ Doyle of the Catholic Action League strongly disagreed saying this year's nativity scene was sacrilegious political theater from a dissident priest with a long history of crackpot publicity stunts adding that he is using his position as a pastor to promote his left-wing political ideology. The website Boston Catholic Insider largely falls in line with this assessment.
Whatever the case may be, I think Fr. Josoma's recent attempt to get people "to think" has sown the seeds of division and discord more than anything else as evidenced by the many online arguments regarding this nativity scene. Detractors claim the display is inaccurate because the Holy Family were not refugees but rather returning to their hometown for the census as required by law. Supporters argue the nativity embraces Christ's call to care for the very least of us. Detractors say we need to render unto Caesar by not ignoring illegal immigration. Supporters accuse detractors of being MAGA elitists who only care about white people. And it goes on and on with each side digging in.
There are those among us who want to water down the Catholic faith to just two phrases: “love thy neighbor” and “don't judge.” Even though some of these people have rarely set foot in a church, they're quick to cherry-pick certain Bible passages in order to make the detractors of this nativity scene look bad. Disagree with Fr. Josoma's message and they'll call you a Christian hypocrite even though immigration is a complex issue.
This controversy reminds me of a Facebook post from one of my cousins who was raised Catholic but then turned her back on the faith. She forwarded the following from the Facebook page Occupy Democrats:
Right off the bat, this post is very deceptive. They place a photo of the Pope directly above a letter he didn't write to make it appear as if Leo XIV himself were publicly criticizing Donald Trump. In actuality, the letter was written by a bishop...but nowhere in the post will you find his name. They do say this bishop was appointed by Pope Leo so they make the leap that this must be a “HUGE rebuke” of the president and ICE.
At the bottom, they thank the Pope for “standing up for true Christian values.” Now I'm not the smartest person in the world but I suspect a Facebook page called Occupy Democrats wouldn't be so kind if Pope Leo promoted some of the more conservative values of the Catholic Church.
It's been said that Vladimir Lenin coined the term “useful idiot” which means a naive person who is manipulated into supporting, promoting, or defending a cause, ideology, or leader without fully understanding the harmful, hidden, or self-defeating consequences of their actions. By only showing the more liberal side of the Catholic faith and ignoring other aspects of its moral teachings, our religious leaders are playing right into the hands of those who want to see the Church weakened or destroyed altogether. Courting these people certainly won't change their negative opinions of organized religion but it will cause confusion among devout Catholics who have already sacrificed so much for their faith...and that will ultimately hurt our Church.
