Dedham pastor stands by nativity scene protesting ICE, even as Archdiocese of Boston calls for removal
By Brian MacQuarrie Globe Staff, Updated December 9, 2025, 1 hour ago
DEDHAM — The Rev. Stephen Josoma has been the only priest at St. Susanna’s Church for 24 years, and he hasn’t shied away from using the parish’s nativity scene in the past to focus attention on social issues.
Gun violence. Climate change. Separating children from migrant families at the border. All of these have been highlighted at the church’s Christmas crèche near the Boston city line.
But his use of this year’s nativity scene to protest the mass detention of immigrants by masked federal agents has sparked a national controversy that is rippling far beyond this quiet suburb.
“There are so few voices that seem to come out and say ‘no’ to this administration,” Josoma, 70, said Tuesday in an interview at St. Susanna’s rectory. “I don’t get that. I don’t understand that.”
Outside the church’s doors, the nativity scene does not include the centerpiece figures of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. In the empty space they ordinarily occupy are these words: ‘’ICE WAS HERE.“
“The Holy Family,” the sign’s text continues, “is safe in the sanctuary of our church.” A phone number to report activity by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is listed at the bottom of the sign.
The Archdiocese of Boston has asked that the sign be removed because of its “divisive political messaging,” according to a statement issued last week by spokesman Terrence Donilon.
But in Josoma’s view, “any divisiveness is a reflection of our polarized society, much of which originates with the changing, unjust policies and laws of the current US administration,” the pastor said at a news conference Monday.
Josoma said he is waiting for an opportunity to discuss the issue with Archbishop Richard Henning.
In the meantime, disparaging calls and emails, many of which Josoma described as “disturbing,” are being received at the rectory and on his personal phone, the pastor said. But if he is rattled, Josoma didn’t show any signs of it Tuesday.
Dressed in a sweater and smiling broadly, Josoma recalled his upbringing in a two-family home in Brighton and how he found role models among the priests in St. Columbkille’s Parish. As a seminarian in 1976, he said, Josoma cycled across the country with a fellow student.
Along the way, “I realized anyone can be a priest, just like anyone can run a marathon. But I said to myself, ‘I want to be a good priest,’” Josoma said. “If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be. Go and find out.”
The liberalizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council for the Catholic Church in the 1960s also played a key role in his path toward the priesthood, Josoma said.
Calling attention to the plight of fearful immigrants is an organic outgrowth of his mission, Josoma said. Moments before he spoke with the Globe, the pastor wrapped up a meeting about a refugee Ukrainian family that will arrive in the area this week and needs support.
The family will be the latest of many helped by St. Susanna’s and other local churches as part of an interfaith effort in Dedham.
“It’s always about compassion,” said Josoma, who decided on the nativity display after consulting with the Parish Council.
In 2017, he used the nativity scene to decry gun violence by listing scenes of mass shootings and the numbers of deaths on wall of the manager. Killings at Newtown, Conn.; Virginia Tech University; San Bernardino, Calif.; and the Washington Navy Yard were among them.
“This can’t be a way of life,“ he said of his motivation for the display.
The following year, he placed a cage around the infant Jesus to call attention to the detention and separation of migrant children from their families at the southern border.
“How do you feel when they put human beings in a cage?” Josoma said of the message. “I just don’t think that people like to see that acknowledgment. It’s easier to deny a reality.”
Outside the rectory Tuesday, parishioners stopped by to view the crèche in subfreezing temperatures. The parish attracts worshipers from dozens of ZIP codes, Josoma said, adding with a laugh that “we’re like the Island of Misfit Toys.”
As parishioners from Needham, Watertown, and West Roxbury dropped by, all expressed support for Josoma’s ministry.
“He’s a wonderful pastor,” said Pat Ferrone, a local leader of the Pax Christi peace movement. “He listens to everyone. He participates in everything. You can say what you need to say.”
Jeannie Connerney recalled Josoma’s kindness after her mother died in January. The pastor organized the funeral, and continues to keep in touch with her father, who is in his 90s.
Concerning the crèche, “this in my mind is what a parish should be doing,” she added.
Phil Mandeville, a parishioner and friend of Josoma’s, said the display “is not a stunt,” adding the figurines are not sacred artifacts, in any event.
“We feel compelled to make this statement. How can you sit back?” Mandeville said.
When Josoma preaches, Mandeville said, he usually ends his sermons with a challenge. One frequent theme, he said, is, “How can you remain quiet when you see people suffering?”
To Josoma, being a good priest itself comes with a mix of challenges. Among them, he said, are these: “Be true to your vocation. Be true to the Gospel. The call, I think, is from God.”
Globe Correspondent Truman Dickerson contributed to this story.
Brian MacQuarrie can be reached at [email protected].
