Dedham Church Nativity Scene Makes Statement On Immigration

DEDHAM, MA — Saint Susanna's Parish's nativity display is sparking controversy for a second straight year.

Like every other nativity scene, the display depicts the birth of baby Jesus and includes Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men. What's different here is that baby Jesus and the Wise Men are depicted in cages. It also makes "Peace on Earth," a common phrase on holiday displays, a question instead of a statement.

Pastor Steve Josoma told WFXT the nativity display is a political commentary meant to get people talking about the U.S. immigration policy.

"Sixty-five million refugees worldwide seeking a better way of life and we were wondering what that might look like 2000 years ago if this family encountered the same dynamics that are taking place in our country right now," Josoma told WFXT.

Not everyone liked the display. One person told Boston 25 News the political statement was inappropriate.

Josoma has never shied away from using church displays to speak his mind. Last holiday season, the nativity listed some of the deadliest mass shootings in the country's history, along with the number of fatalities from each tragedy.

The list included the 13 killed at Columbine High School shooting in Colorado in 1999, the 2009 Birmingham, N.Y., shooting which resulted in 14 deaths, the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando where 49 people died in 2016, and 2017 shootings including the 58 fatally shot at a concert in Las Vegas and 26 killed at a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.

Photo by Dan Libon/Patch