LA Archbishop to steer ‘Mass for Peace’ amid immigrant strife – NBC Los Angeles
With tensions excessive and feelings nonetheless roiling for a lot of in Southern California’s immigrant group, Archbishop José H. Gomez will rejoice a particular Mass Wednesday on the Cathedral of Our Woman of the Angels — inviting “all devoted and other people of goodwill to unite in prayer … for reconciliation and peace within the wake of violence ensuing from immigration enforcement actions.”
Gomez has designated Wednesday as a “Day of Prayer for Peace within the Archdiocese of Los Angeles,” highlighted by the 12:10 p.m. “Mass for Peace,” which will likely be adopted by a Holy Hour led by Cathedral Pastor Fr. David Gallardo.
Based on the archdiocese, “at the present time of prayer is obtainable particularly for immigrants and their family members –parents, kids, and households who’re carrying heavy burdens and dwelling with nervousness in regards to the future. On this second of ache and disruption, the Church seeks to stroll intently with those that undergo, providing the reassurance that they don’t seem to be alone and that they’re held in prayer by the broader group of religion.”
As Gomez himself stated in a press release forward of Wednesday’s occasions, “We’d like prayer on this time of worry and uncertainty that’s hurting so a lot of our immigrant households.”
“It’s also a tense second in our nation, persons are indignant and deeply divided,” Gomez added. “So we’ll come collectively because the household of God to wish for our folks and to wish for our leaders, and to wish for each other, that we are able to all work for peace and search the widespread good.”
Catholics throughout the nation are anticipated to take part in comparable Lots after Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the USA Convention of Catholic Bishops, issued an attraction “to pause earlier than the Lord in
a Holy Hour for Peace — a time of renewal for our hearts and for our nation.”
Wednesday’s occasions on the Cathedral of Our Woman of the Angels comply with the arrests of over 4 dozen anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles on Saturday, the second night time of a nationwide motion to finish funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Officer Norma Eisenman, an LAPD spokeswoman, stated police made 51 arrests Saturday night, with 47 adults and three juveniles cited and launched for failure to disperse. One particular person was arrested on suspicion of felony
evading, she added. Saturday’s protests got here after violence broke out Friday night time, when a number of protesters had been arrested for throwing objects at federal brokers at downtown’s Metropolitan Detention Heart.
Gomez’s feedback weren’t his first relating to latest protests towards immigration enforcement within the U.S., prominently in Minneapolis.
On Jan. 27, in his weekly column on the archdiocese’s information platform Angelusnews.com, Gomez known as for restoring “order and peace to our streets” together with limiting “deportations to violent criminals or these responsible of
different critical offenses” and holding hearings on a invoice to alter immigration legal guidelines.
“I’m deeply troubled by the violence in Minneapolis and the continued local weather of worry and uncertainty right here in Los Angeles and in cities throughout the nation, as federal immigration enforcement actions proceed,” Gomez wrote.
“As a pastor, my coronary heart aches for our folks and for our nation. We pray for many who have misplaced their lives or been injured. We pray for the protection of our legislation enforcement officers, and for knowledge for our leaders. We pray
particularly for our immigrant brothers and sisters, who’re powerless and caught in the midst of this battle, dwelling in worry for his or her futures. The nation can not go on like this.”
He went on to say within the column, “It serves no nationwide curiosity to deport undocumented women and men who’re contributing to the great of our society, it solely leaves kids with out their dad and mom. Absolutely, we are able to discover one other strategy to maintain these women and men accountable for breaking our legal guidelines.”
Gomez additionally known as for hearings on H.R. 4393, a Home proposal billed by its sponsors because the “Dignity for Immigrants whereas Guarding our Nation to Ignite and Ship the American Dream Act of 2025.”
“The invoice holds undocumented immigrants accountable for breaking federal legislation, requiring them to endure a legal background examine, pay again taxes they owe, and it imposes a stiff penalty price,” the archbishop wrote.
“The invoice would additionally sharply restrict enforcement actions at ‘delicate areas’ reminiscent of church buildings, hospitals, faculties, and courthouses.”
Gomez added that, “there may be a lot to enhance on this laws, however it’s a real, good-faith place to begin. And we have to begin someplace. And we have to begin now.”
