When Fear Prevents People from Attending Mass and the Church Understands: Bishop of Indianapolis Exempts Migrants from Sunday Mass
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson issued a decree temporarily suspending the Sunday Mass obligation for those fearing immigration enforcement. The measure applies to Archdiocese of Indianapolis residents who have reasonable grounds to fear detention, family separation or intimidation. The decree is effective from September 4 through September 30 unless extended and covers both lawful and undocumented migrants. The decision reflects heightened anxiety over intensified immigration crackdown in the United States. The pastoral response aims to protect the faithful from potential harm while maintaining their sacramental participation.
15 days ago
Archbishop Charles C. Thompson of Indianapolis has temporarily dispensed migrants and others who fear immigration enforcement from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass. The measure reflects concerns that attending church could expose people—including those with lawful documentation—to detention, family separation, or intimidation. 1
Issued on September 4, the decree applies through September 30 unless extended. It covers people in the Archdiocese of Indianapolis who have reasonable grounds to fear immigration-related enforcement if they leave home. 1
The archbishop’s action does not reject the Sunday obligation. Instead, it invokes a provision of canon law for circumstances in which attending Mass could create a serious and immediate pastoral concern. 1
Those using the dispensation are encouraged to watch Mass on television or online, pray with the Sunday readings, and recite the Rosary. Priests and pastoral workers have also been instructed to remain in contact with people unable to leave their homes and to assist with access to Confession, the Anointing of the Sick, and Holy Communion for the sick and homebound. 1
The decree comes amid a reported increase in immigration detention. More than 43,000 people were booked into immigration detention in June, the highest monthly figure since President Donald Trump returned to office, while preliminary figures indicated that more than 46,000 people entered ICE custody in July. 1
Sources cited by CBS News reported pressure on ICE to reach 2,000 arrests per day, although the Department of Homeland Security denied that the agency operates formal arrest quotas. 1
Data from Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse showed that 46,436 of 65,765 people in ICE detention as of July 11—70.6 percent—had no criminal conviction. The data did not mean that these detainees had no immigration violations or pending criminal allegations. 1
Catholic concern about enforcement has extended beyond Indiana. Texas bishops have spoken publicly following deaths connected with immigration operations, and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio described conditions he said he witnessed during visits to three detention facilities, including a family detention center. 1
García-Siller also cited an investigation reporting more than 1,000 credible allegations of human-rights abuses in immigration detention since January 2025. The allegations included inadequate medical care, denial of food and water, overcrowding, sleep deprivation, and the separation of nursing mothers from their infants. 1
A September investigation by The Guardian reported that immigration authorities obtained judicial authorization to force-feed a Cuban detainee on hunger strike through a surgically inserted feeding tube. The case was described as the nineteenth detainee since January 2025 for whom ICE had obtained authorization for involuntary medical procedures. 1
Earlier Guardian reporting identified at least ten hunger-strike cases involving proposed forced medical treatment, including force-feeding, forced hydration, and blood draws. The federal government has defended such treatment when a hunger strike threatens imminent serious injury or death, while physicians and human-rights organizations have raised questions about consent, legal representation, and coercion. 1
On September 7, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk told the UN Human Rights Council that four additional people had died in U.S. immigration custody since his previous update in June. He said the number of deaths in custody during 2026 had reached 23, called for accountability, and urged the United States to stop deportations to places where people could face irreversible harm. 1
Decree exempts migrants from Mass to safeguard against immigration fear
The headline appears misleading. The supplied Catholic texts do not support a decree exempting migrants from attending Mass. Rather, they emphasize migrants’ full belonging to the Church and their right to receive the Church’s spiritual goods, including the sacraments.
The likely distinction is between:
Pope Francis acknowledged that migrants may fear judgment, discrimination, and confrontation, but taught that fear must not determine Christian responses or produce rejection. The Church’s pastoral guidance instead calls communities to create conditions for mutual encounter, overcome baseless suspicions, and resist xenophobic attitudes.
Accordingly, a sound Catholic policy would normally seek to make participation in parish life safer—not tell migrants that they should stay away from Mass. Migrants are to be treated as full members of the ecclesial community, with the same pastoral care as other Catholics.
The actual decree, its issuing authority, and its legal text are not included here, so it remains unresolved whether any such decree exists or what it specifically provides.