Originally published at The Crux
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The Archdiocese of St. Louis has filed a lawsuit against the federal government alleging that a local immigration detention facility in Missouri is preventing priests from administering the sacraments to detainees.
The lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, SE Division against high ranking members of the Department of Homeland Security and the local sheriff.
The lawsuit alleges that that priests are only allowed to visit detainees during a four-hour window on Mondays and priests have to speak to them through a glass partition.
The lawsuit concerns Ste. Genevieve Detention Center which has a contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) so that it holds federal immigration detainees.
“The Ste. Genevieve Detention Center currently prohibits Catholic priests from offering, and Catholic detainees from receiving, the sacraments of confession and communion. Priests are also not permitted to say Mass. Offering and receiving these sacraments is a central tenet of our faith,” a statement from the archdiocese said.
“Catholics receive the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the deprivation of these sacraments imposes real and immediate harm on Catholic detainees and priests,” the statement said.
“Moreover, the jail limits the hours
