The Bishops Will Dispense Illegals from Mass, But Not You from Traditionis Custodes

They never used canon law to protect your access to the Latin Mass, but now they’ll bend it to excuse illegal immigrants from attending Mass altogether.

The bishops have found a new sacrament: sanctuary through selective canon law.

This week, Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino issued a diocesan decree dispensing illegal immigrants from their Sunday Mass obligation, invoking Canon 1247, the law that binds Catholics to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days unless excused for “a serious reason.”

His rationale? Fear of ICE.

“There is a real fear gripping many in our parish communities,” he wrote, “that if they venture out into any kind of public setting, they will be arrested by immigration officers. Sadly, that includes attending Mass.”

So now, in 2025, healthy adults who violated immigration law can be excused from their divine obligation to attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, based on the fear of being justly punished by the state.

Obeying Caesar, But Only When It’s Convenient

For the past four years, American bishops have demanded obedience to the state. We heard sermons about masking, lockdowns, and vaccines as acts of “charity.” We watched churches shutter while liquor stores stayed open. We were told to “render unto Caesar.”

But now that civil law demands something politically inconvenient, border enforcement, the bishops suddenly rediscover conscience and pastoral leniency.

They’re not standing against real moral evils like abortion, euthanasia, or transgender surgeries. They’re standing against the enforcement of immigration law, law that doesn’t conflict with divine or natural law, but simply asks: “Are you here legally?”

Fear Over Faith And No ICE in Sight

Let’s clarify what this decree is based on: fear.

Not martyrdom, persecution, not ICE storming the sanctuary with dogs and battering rams. Just fear.

In fact, U.S. Border Czar Tom Homan explicitly stated: “I do not know of a single incident of a church arrest.” Homeland Security policy avoids churches unless a dangerous fugitive is present. Yet Bishop Rojas acted as if we were living under Diocletian.

It’s the first known case in Church history of Canon 1247 being used to excuse attendance at Mass for political reasons. For fear of a law enforcement officer who may or may not be within a five-mile radius of a parking lot.

They Never Used the Law for You

Now let’s contrast that with how bishops treated Catholics who desired the Traditional Latin Mass.

When Traditionis Custodes came down in 2021 like a guillotine, many bishops complied immediately. Some, like Cardinal Cupich and Bishop Bätzing, enforced it even more strictly than required. Others merely shrugged and sent diocesan TLM communities packing.

Could bishops have used Canon 87 to seek dispensations or exemptions? Yes, but few even tried. Could they have defended the faithful publicly, petitioned Rome, or allowed TLMs to continue ad experimentum? Certainly, but most opted for silence or obedience.

No creative canon law reasoning. No pastoral exemptions. No bending the rules to spare souls.

But now, when a bishop wants to let migrants skip Mass? Suddenly we get a seven-paragraph decree loaded with spiritual concern, ecclesial compassion, and even livestreamed Mass suggestions.

Apparently, canon law only bends for certain constituencies.

Follow the Money, Follow the Mission Drift

If you’re wondering why the bishops are laser-focused on immigration, while they mumble half-heartedly about abortion or LGBT ideology, just follow the cash.

Under Biden, Catholic Charities and USCCB programs received over $3 billion to assist “migrants.” The bishops aren’t just spiritual fathers anymore, they’re government contractors with a sacramental side hustle.

The USCCB’s Office of Migration recently published a 7-page, 3,400-word screed denouncing Trump’s new immigration bill. That’s more space than they’ve ever given to opposing taxpayer-funded transgender surgeries, gender curriculum in Catholic schools, or the mutilation of minors.

Salvation of souls? That barely warrants a press release.

When Doctrine Is Optional, So Is Mass

This is what happens when bishops become social workers in chasubles.

They suspend the Sunday obligation for illegal aliens but won’t defend traditional Catholics from the suppression of their own liturgical heritage. They invoke mercy for those who flout the law, but discipline priests who speak Latin in the wrong sanctuary.

And they cite fear, not faith, as the guiding principle of canon law.

If our bishops had even a fraction of this energy when it came to protecting the Mass, defending doctrine, or opposing Rome’s descent into heresy, maybe the Church in America wouldn’t be hemorrhaging members every year. Maybe there would be a revival.

But there won’t be. Not until our shepherds stop giving away Caesar’s goods while abandoning God’s.