Re priest at St Joseph Modesto using public prayer 🙏time for political propaganda 👎

I was disappointed to hear the priest at the 8:00 a.m. service on November 13th 2025 use the time of prayer to basically politicize the issue of immigration. He literally said we pray for "immigration policy which is a mess" . At first,  I was trying to figure out if he meant a mess because of what Biden did, or was he taking a shot at Trump. 

But the context tells me he was doing an anti-trump political speech because he went on to say "we pray for all immigrants and refugees etc. " - the basic Democrat liberal playbook that tries to portray every single immigrant as a refugee from persecution. And of course we know Trump is sending a lot of illegal immigrants back to their home country. 

It's probably the same dem playbook that says that voters shouldn't need to show ID because some of them can't get an ID or something like that. It's a shame to hear this in a Catholic Church from a Catholic priest using the pulpit for political purposes. 

Go ahead and pray for people who are hungry, people who are refugees, etc but you don't have to connect it to a president or a political party.

 There's both Republicans and Democrats in the pews, and we want to be united as Christians and Catholics,  not at war with each other. Church is the one place we hope to be able to come and be amongst fellow caring Christians regardless of politics . 

And caring includes also caring for our citizens who were born here not just only people who come from other countries ! 

***** 2nd version: 

I attended the 8:00 a.m. service on November 13th, 2025. During the time of prayer, the priest referred to "immigration policy which is a mess" and encouraged prayers for immigrants and refugees. While it's always important to pray for those in need, the message felt more focused on policy than on compassion and faith.

Church should be a place for unity and reflection, where parishioners of all backgrounds and viewpoints can come together. Praying for those in need—both local and abroad—is meaningful, but it works best when kept separate from specific policies or political commentary. 

According to the USCCB's Political Activity Guidelines (June 27, 2024), Catholic parishes should address moral and social issues WITHOUT endorsing or opposing political candidates or parties (& their policies).

Focusing on caring for all people, regardless of origin, aligns better with the spiritual purpose of the service.