Church sparks controversy with empty Nativity scene and ICE enforcement message: ‘Politicizing Christmas’
A Massachusetts church is drawing attention—and controversy—for what’s missing from its annual Nativity scene and an accompanying message.
St. Susanna, a Catholic church in Dedham, a suburb of Boston, displayed a Nativity scene outside the church with an empty manger. A sign next to it reads, “ICE was here,” along with contact information for a group that monitors immigration operations in the state.
Father Stephen Josoma, pastor at St. Susanna, said the church’s peace and justice group organizes the display each year.
“We try to see what it would be like if Christ were born into the context of the world today—what would he be facing?” Josoma told Fox News.
The display has upset some parishioners. CJ Doyle, executive director of the Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, said he received calls from people disturbed by the absence of the Holy Family—Jesus, Mary, and Joseph—and the political statement accompanying the scene.
“I think it’s very offensive,” Doyle told Fox News Digital. “[Josoma] is politicizing Christmas, trivializing the Holy Family, and using his parish as a platform for his left-wing ideology.”
Josoma, however, described the Nativity scene as “religious art” meant to evoke strong emotions.
“It’s supposed to affect people deeply, move them, and maybe even change them,” he said. “So if this evokes a strong reaction, it might be good to take a look at that.”
Josoma has become known for using his Nativity scenes to comment on current issues. In past years, the parish has highlighted topics including mass shootings, global warming, and immigration. In 2018, for example, the Nativity featured a cage around baby Jesus and a wall around the Magi, reflecting the southern border crisis at the time.
Doyle called the current display a “publicity stunt aimed at political activism” rather than a reflection on the birth of Christ. He also criticized the Archdiocese of Boston for allowing such displays.
“They should tell him to stop, pure and simple,” Doyle said, referencing a recent statement by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urging an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence toward both immigrants and law enforcement.
Josoma said the displays are inspired by the parish’s work with refugees, which has been ongoing since 2017. He added that, despite some backlash—including being called a “murderer”—the response to the current Nativity has been “overwhelmingly supportive.”
“The church has a right to speak out,” Josoma said. “We should be talking about issues. We’re supposed to take care of people.”
St. Susanna is not the only church using its Nativity scene to address social issues this Christmas. In Illinois, a Baptist church in Evanston displayed a scene in which baby Jesus’ hands were zip-tied and Mary and Joseph wore gas masks, highlighting forced family separations.
“This installation is not subtle because the crisis it addresses is not abstract,” said Jillian Westerfield, an associate minister at Lake Street Church of Evanston. “By viewing this familiar story through the reality faced by migrants today, we hope to restore its radical edge and ask what it means to celebrate the birth of a refugee child while turning away those who follow in that child’s footsteps.”
Westerfield emphasized that the church is not taking a political party stance but addressing what it views as a moral issue.
The Archdiocese of Boston did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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