(NewsNation) — The Archbishop of New Orleans has issued a special dispensation to migrant Catholics who may not feel safe leaving their homes for Mass due to the ongoing federal immigration enforcement operation taking place in Louisiana’s largest city.
Archbishop Gregory Michael Aymond on Monday granted the dispensation for Catholics to skip Mass until migrants determine it is safe for them to leave their homes again. More than 200 U.S. Border Patrol agents are in the greater New Orleans area as part of President Donald Trump’s latest immigration crackdown being carried out in Democrat-led cities.
In a letter to area clergy and parishioners, Aymond wrote that the region’s immigrants face “real fear and anxiety” in the wake of the increased federal presence. In addition to urging Catholics to pray for those affected by the surge of federal agents that could soon include National Guard troops, Aymond granted the dispensation that lifts the obligation to attend Mass.
The dispensation covers “those Catholics rightfully afraid to participate in Mass because of this fear.” He wrote that the dispensation would remain in place until individual Catholics feel safe leaving their home or until it is revoked or amended.
Catholic church law requires parishioners to attend Mass each Sunday and holy days of obligation, but exceptions for illness, caring for the sick and work responsibilities are made.
“I encourage those who choose to stay home to gather as a family to spend time in prayer and to perhaps participate virtually in the Celebration of the Eucharist either online or on television,” Aymond wrote. “Please continue to pray for our community and for peace as we look ahead with hope to you rejoining us in church and full participation in the Sacraments.”
The Archdiocese of New Orleans includes 104 parishes and missions throughout the greater New Orleans area and includes more than 505,000 parishioners, according to the Archdiocese.
In November, Pope Leo XIV issued a stern criticism of Trump’s immigration policies, calling them disrespectful. Leo, a Chicago native who is the first U.S.-born Pope, first responded to the issue after U.S. Catholic bishops adopted a statement that criticized the president’s mass deportation plans and immigration crackdown.
New Orleans is the latest city where federal agents have been deployed after previous operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and Charlotte, North Carolina.
“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” Pope Leo told reporters in November. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts; there’s a system of justice.”
Department of Homeland Security officials have outlined a plan that includes the arrest of 5,000 migrants as part of the New Orleans crackdown, which is being overseen by U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told NewsNation on Tuesday that to allow dangerous criminals “to run around News Orleans communities is violence against the innocent.”
“Those who are not here illegally and are not breaking other laws have nothing to fear,” the spokesperson added, “In fact, they have less to fear today than they did when this operation began.”
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