After a weekend of protests and arrests over federal immigration enforcement, Archbishop Jose H. Gomez Monday called on “all faithful and people of goodwill” to join in a Mass and hour-long vigil for peace later this week at Our Lady of the Angels church in downtown Los Angeles.
Gomez’s call came on the same day members and leaders of a church in North Hills condemned the actions of immigration agents who conducted a raid that disrupted a food distribution event in the church parking lot last week.
Gomez has designated Wednesday as a “Day of Prayer for Peace in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.”
The Catholic prelate is calling “for reconciliation and peace in the wake of violence resulting from immigration enforcement actions.”
The Mass for Peace at 12:10 p.m. Wednesday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels will be celebrated by Archbishop Gomez, Followed by Holy Hour led by Cathedral Pastor Father David Gallardo.
“This day of prayer is offered especially for immigrants and their loved ones – parents, children, and families who are carrying heavy burdens and living with anxiety about the future,” according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. “In this moment of pain and disruption, the Church seeks to walk closely with those who suffer, offering the assurance that they are not alone and that they are held in prayer by the wider community of faith.”
Catholics across the country are expected to participate in similar Masses after Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, issued an appeal “to pause before the Lord in a Holy Hour for Peace – a time of renewal for our hearts and for our nation.”
“We need prayer in this time of fear and uncertainty that is hurting so many of our immigrant families,” according to a statement from Gomez. “It is also a tense moment in our country, people are angry and deeply divided. So we will come together as the family of God to pray for our people and to pray for our leaders, and to pray for one another, that we can all work for peace and seek the common good.”
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is the nation’s largest and most culturally and socially diverse Catholic community, covering nearly 9,000 square miles in Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties and includes nearly five million Catholics who come from around 70 countries and every continent, according to church statistics.
The call for prayer and peace follows the arrests of over four dozen anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles on Saturday, the second night of a nationwide movement to end funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, authorities.
Officer Norma Eisenman of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Media Relations Section told City News Service that police made 51 arrests on Saturday evening, with 47 adults and three juveniles cited and released for failure to disperse. One person was arrested on suspicion of felony evading, she added.
Saturday’s protests came after violence broke out Friday night, when multiple protesters were arrested for throwing objects at federal agents at downtown’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Police said seven arrests were made Friday. At least six were for failure to disperse, one was for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and one was for a curfew violation, according to the LAPD.
On Friday, video emerged on social media of federal agents chasing down a taco vendor on the property of North Hills United Methodist Church, near Langdon Avenue and Rayen Street, during a food distribution event.
The apron-clad vendor, who people at the church said has been selling tacos in the area for five years, could be seen trying to run from a masked agent in tactical gear before he is caught. The video was recorded on Thursday, church officials said.
The vendor was identified by the congregation on Monday as “beloved community member” Carlos Chavez.
North Hills United Methodist Church is used by the nonprofit North Valley Caring Services to provide services and resources to the needy as part of its food distribution ministry.
“Upon entry (the agents) ran through the parking lot all while the food ministry was taking place, terrorizing families and children,” according to Pastor Ervin Aguilon. “Our sacred place was desecrated. Our food ministry is an expression of God’s love for the hungry and because of ICE’s senseless actions, we were forced to stop the food ministry.
“Another ministry that was interrupted was the activity in our church garden. An event where mothers, young children and youths were all on church campus, prompting leaders to act and shelter all attendees in a secure room for more than four hours.
“Imagine, being a child and seeing your mother scared, crying and wondering what’s going on and having to confine yourself to a small room for four hours. The church’s childcare and after school program were interrupted by terror because of ICE’s actions.”
At a news conference at the church on Monday morning, church officials and other clergy denounced what it called “ICE’s terror” at a house of worship.
“Our churches are not staging grounds for ICE patrols. Our churches are not open for ICE raids on vulnerable families. No church, synagogue, mosque, or temple is a staging or hunting ground for ICE agents,” the Rev. Dr. Dottie Escobedo-Frank, the denomination’s resident bishop of the Los Angeles area, said in advance of the press conference.