From EWTN:
The archbishop of Indianapolis has granted a dispensation from Mass for parishioners who fear deportation, making Indianapolis the seventh U.S. diocese to issue such a decree amid rising federal immigration-enforcement activity nationwide.
Catholic parishioners, regardless of documentation, are permitted to miss Sunday Mass if they “reasonably fear being detained, separated from their families, or experience intimidation due to the increased immigration enforcement,” according to the decree, showing how the archdiocese is accompanying migrants.
The dispensation took effect Sept. 4 and runs through Sept. 30 unless extended. With Indianapolis added, dioceses that have issued similar decrees encompass about 3.5 million Catholics, according to the Official Catholic Directory 2025.
During the pandemic in 2020, all Catholic dioceses and archdioceses issued Mass dispensations. Canon 1245 allows a diocesan bishop or pastor to grant a dispensation from Mass obligation “for a just cause.”
“The decision to grant the dispensation at this time came as a response to requests from our pastors who work closely with our immigrant communities,” Sally Krause, the archdiocese’s director of communications, told EWTN. “They are experiencing fear and uncertainty due to an increase in immigration enforcement in Indianapolis and the surrounding areas. By granting the dispensation, we wished to express the Churchʼs solidarity and care for those who are afraid to leave their homes.”
Archbishop Charles Thompson of Indianapolis said the dispensation and his statement came after what he described as a “recent surge in immigration enforcement activity in Indiana,” which he said “has caused fear and uncertainty for many families, particularly when detention results in the sudden separation of parents and children.”
