Boston Archdiocese Just Slapped Down Radical Priest Over Christmas Stunt That Made Catholics Furious
Christmas is the season of celebrating the birth of Christ and the hope He brings to a broken world.
One radical priest in Massachusetts decided to use that message for something completely different.
And the Boston Archdiocese just slapped down a radical priest over a Christmas stunt that made Catholics furious.
A 24-Year Pattern of Political Theater
Father Stephen Josoma has been running St. Susanna Parish in Dedham, Massachusetts for 24 years.
Over the past decade, he's turned the church's annual Nativity scene into his personal political platform.
The tradition started in 2017 when he listed cities where mass shootings occurred along with death tolls.
In 2018, Josoma placed baby Jesus in a cage separated from Mary and Joseph as a protest against President Trump's border enforcement policies.¹
Fox News host Sean Hannity called out the stunt at the time, saying "CHRISTMAS IS UNDER SIEGE."²
The church has used Nativity scenes to push messages about climate change and gun control.
This year, Josoma went even further.
He removed Jesus, Mary, and Joseph entirely from the manger and replaced them with a sign reading "ICE WAS HERE."³
The sign claimed "The Holy Family is safe in the Sanctuary of our Church" and included a phone number for a group that monitors immigration enforcement.⁴
Josoma defended the display by saying the church tries to see "what would it be like if Christ was born into the context of the world today."⁵
The priest claimed his congregation works with refugee families from Honduras, Guatemala, and Afghanistan who fear deportation.⁶
Catholic Leaders Fire Back
The Boston Archdiocese stayed silent about Josoma's previous political stunts for years.
But this time they'd finally had enough.
On December 5, the Archdiocese issued a scathing public statement condemning the display as "divisive political messaging."⁷
"The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging," the Archdiocese declared.⁸
The statement made clear that "The Church's norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God's people."⁹
Here's the part that really mattered.
The Archdiocese revealed that "St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church."¹⁰
They ordered the display removed immediately and the manger "restored to its proper sacred purpose."¹¹
C.J. Doyle, executive director of the Massachusetts Catholic Action League, called Josoma "a dissident priest who has a long history of these crackpot publicity stunts."¹²
"He's politicizing Christmas, he's exploiting the Holy Family, he's trivializing it and he's using his position as a pastor to promote his left-wing political ideology," Doyle stated.¹³
Doyle warned that Josoma could face removal from active ministry if he refuses to comply with the Archdiocese's directive.¹⁴
"Clerical disobedience is a serious offense," Doyle explained.¹⁵
ICE Fires Back at Dangerous Rhetoric
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons issued his own blistering statement about the stunt.
"The actions of the activist reverend, Stephen Josoma, are absolutely abhorrent and add to a dangerous narrative responsible for a more than 1,150% increase in assaults on ICE officers," Lyons stated.¹⁶
Lyons praised the Archdiocese for finally taking action.
"This reverend has become infamous for using his pulpit to advance his activist agenda and has now caught the attention of the Archdiocese of Boston, who has publicly condemned Josoma's most recent political stunt," Lyons said.¹⁷
"On behalf of ICE and our many law enforcement professionals in Massachusetts, many of whom are practicing Catholics, and first-generation Americans, I applaud the Catholic Church and the Archdiocese of Boston for taking a stand against such a dangerous and extremist narrative," he added.¹⁸
The Department of Homeland Security also condemned the display.
Spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, recently praised by President Trump, called out Josoma's false narrative.
"Not only is this 'nativity' scene offensive to Christians, but it is also depicting something that — despite what Rev. Josoma says — NEVER happens," McLaughlin said.¹⁹
"ICE does not separate families. Get a grip and seek help," she concluded.²⁰
Father Josoma told CBS that the parish council would meet to discuss the future of the display.²¹
But here's what really matters about this entire fiasco.
The actual Christmas story has nothing to do with modern immigration policy.
Joseph traveled to Bethlehem because Roman law required him to register for a census in his city of origin.²²
He wasn't fleeing persecution or sneaking across a border.
He was following the law of the land that governed everyone in the Roman Empire.
Mary went with him as his betrothed wife who was about to give birth.
After Jesus was born and the Magi visited, an angel warned Joseph that King Herod wanted to kill the infant.
That's when the Holy Family actually became refugees — running from a king who wanted to murder their son.
So where exactly does ICE fit into this story? It doesn't.
Josoma took the most sacred moment in Christianity and perverted it into a cheap political prop for his open borders crusade.
After 24 years of watching this priest turn Christmas into his personal activist rally, the Archdiocese finally had enough.
Catholics just want to celebrate the birth of Christ without some radical priest hijacking their faith to score political points.
¹ WBUR News, "Dedham church keeps anti-ICE nativity scene despite pushback," WBUR.org, December 5, 2025.
² Boston Globe, "Dedham church displays 'ICE was here' sign at nativity scene," BostonGlobe.com, December 3, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ WCVB, "Dedham church displays 'ICE was here' sign in Nativity scene," WCVB.com, December 2, 2025.
⁵ Boston.com, "'ICE was here': Dedham church's Nativity scene protests immigration crackdown," Boston.com, December 2, 2025.
⁶ WBUR News, "Dedham church keeps anti-ICE nativity scene despite pushback," WBUR.org, December 5, 2025.
⁷ Boston Globe, "Dedham church's 'ICE was here' nativity display 'should be removed,' Boston Archdiocese says," BostonGlobe.com, December 5, 2025.
⁸ CBS Boston, "Boston Archdiocese says 'ICE was here' sign should be removed from Dedham nativity scene," CBSNews.com, December 6, 2025.
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Ibid.
¹¹ Ibid.
¹² WCVB, "Dedham church displays 'ICE was here' sign in Nativity scene," WCVB.com, December 2, 2025.
¹³ Fox News, "Massachusetts church displays ICE message in controversial Nativity scene," FoxNews.com, December 5, 2025.
¹⁴ Boston Globe, "Dedham church's 'ICE was here' nativity display 'should be removed,' Boston Archdiocese says," BostonGlobe.com, December 5, 2025.
¹⁵ Ibid.
¹⁶ Boston Herald, "Archdiocese of Boston condemns 'ICE was here' sign at Dedham church," BostonHerald.com, December 6, 2025.
¹⁷ Ibid.
¹⁸ Ibid.
¹⁹ Boston Globe, "Dedham church's 'ICE was here' nativity display 'should be removed,' Boston Archdiocese says," BostonGlobe.com, December 5, 2025.
²⁰ Ibid.
²¹ CBS Boston, "Boston Archdiocese says 'ICE was here' sign should be removed from Dedham nativity scene," CBSNews.com, December 6, 2025.
²² Historical context from Gospel accounts in Luke 2:1-5.
