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<p>The bishop’s statement came after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced the repurposing of the state Work Ethic Camp in McCook to house immigrants in the country illegally. </p>
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<p>Bishop James Conley Lincoln, Nebraska this past week said a proposed federal immigrant detention facility in the state must allow Catholic ministers to provide sacramental and pastoral care.</p>
<p>The bishop made the announcement after Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen announced the repurposing of the state Work Ethic Camp in McCook to house immigrants in the country illegally. </p>
<p>The state website <a href="https://corrections.nebraska.gov/facilities/work-ethic-camp" target="null">says</a> the camp presently offers “an integrated program that combines evidence-based practices with treatment and educational opportunities” for prisoners. Pillen <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/08/19/is-next-alligator-alcatraz-immigration-detention-center-headed-to-sw-nebraska/" target="null">told local media</a> that the facility “would be converted and provide capacity for 300 migrants,” according to the <i>Nebraska Examiner</i>. </p>
<p>In<a href="https://www.lincolndiocese.org/bishops/bishop-james-conley/statements/18999-bishop-conley-on-the-immigration-detention-center-in-mccook" target="null"> his own statement</a>, Bishop Conley said the Diocese of Lincoln has been allowed to administer the sacraments and pastoral care to detainees at the camp “for decades.” The diocese has been allowed to say Mass there “on a weekly basis,” he said. </p>
<p>“It will be of utmost importance that any person detained in the federal immigration detention center in McCook can also access regular and ongoing pastoral care,” the bishop said. “This is fundamental to the dignity of every human person, as each of us is called to union with God.”</p>
<p>Bishop Conley further urged that the facility should not be used to detain immigrants who are only in the country illegally, but rather “those who have committed crimes that endanger public safety.” </p>
<p>“To do otherwise would undermine the facility’s moral legitimacy and erode public trust,” he argued. </p>
<p>Bishop Conley said he remains “committed to safeguarding human dignity, which maintains public safety and respects our migrant brothers and sisters.”</p>
<p>The bishop‘s letter came a few weeks after Catholic leaders in Florida were allowed pastoral access to the state’s so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” immigrant detainment facility in the Everglades. </p>
<p>Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski had previously expressed concern that Catholic ministers were not being allowed access to the facility, though the state ultimately <a href="https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/265761/miami-archdiocese-celebrates-its-first-mass-at-alligator-alcatraz" target="null">allowed Mass to be celebrated there</a> earlier this month.</p>
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<br /><a href="https://www.ncregister.com/cna/bishop-conley-on-sacraments-pastoral-care-for-immigrant-detainees">Source link </a></p>
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Bishop Conley Says Nebraska Immigrant Detention Camp Must Allow Sacraments, Pastoral Care| National Catholic Register
