Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Peace to you and your families.Pope Benedict XVI once commented that to be a believing Catholic is to be in constant search of the right way to honor the Living God. In many ways, God breaking into human history means that the Church always prays anchored in the preaching of the Apostles within a certain cultural, theological, mystical, and liturgical tradition known as a Rite. For the Diocese of San Bernardino, no ritual tradition is as important as that seeded by the blood of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome. The Roman Rite is unique in that it regularly asks that the congregation kneel in the presence of the Eucharist, a fact which in the years since the Council has caused a great deal of uneasiness. Rooted in the fact that every bishop, as the chief liturgist of his diocese, should attempt to increase the Eucharistic devotion of his people, and having heard the desire of the people for greater reverence, I would like to issue the following norms by explaining four points: 

1. GIRM 43 leaves the issue kneeling from the Lamb of God until the beginning of Communion to the sole discretion of the Diocesan Bishop. Every bishop has the obligation to seriously discern according to his own prayer, those signs and gestures which communicate to his faithful that the Risen Lord is truly present. Since the GIRM leaves that sole discretion up to the Diocesan Bishop, each bishop’s decision is neither correct nor incorrect. One bishop may choose one fitting option while the bishop of a neighboring diocese may freely choose another. This power is given to them by the rite itself.

2. Kneeling and standing are both “traditional” to the Roman Rite. Kneeling has been normative since the Middle Ages and mandatory for Catholics only from the 1500s. GIRM 6 instructs us to restore the rite to the “norm of the Holy Fathers”. Some of our Roman fathers stood. Some of our Roman fathers knelt. Standing and kneeling are both in keeping with what we have received. What was normative for them cannot be considered foreign to us.

3. The Church does not hold anyone to the impossible. In all of Catholic history, if someone were incapable of kneeling because of age or sickness, the Church has always allowed the individual to sit and offer a reverent bow during the consecrations of the bread and wine.

4. Any new norms issued do not concern the manner in which Communion is received. In harmony with GIRM 160 and Redemptionis Sacramentum, the normal posture for reception of communion is standing. Communion may be received on the tongue or in the hand. If an individual wishes to receive on the tongue while kneeling, they are not to be instructed otherwise or denied. The manner of reception is determined by the individual receiving and not by those distributing communion, not even the priest or Bishop. Drinking from the chalice, however, is required to be done while standing. 

With the above in order, by the authority granted to me as the Diocesan Bishop in GIRM 43, I issue the following norms for the entire Diocese of San Bernardino.

Norm 1: In harmony with the directions from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal section 43, following the Lamb of God, the people of the Diocese will resume kneeling until they stand for the Communion procession, receiving in the manner of their discretion. After having received Communion, the posture of the faithful should reflect an acknowledgment of the sacred mystery which is in their mouths and bodies.

Norm 2: If an individual is unable to kneel because of age or sickness, they are not obligated. These individuals may stand or sit and offer a bow of the head if appropriate.

Norm 3: Where Mass is said and no kneelers exist, individuals may choose to stand or kneel. Those who remain standing are not to be instructed otherwise. If the location has provided pads or made other attempts to make kneeling more comfortable, then individuals who wish to kneel may follow the norm.

Brothers and sisters, it is my heartfelt hope that these new norms put hearts at ease, illustrate the unity of the local Church, and help the entire Diocese to remember the prayer of Jesus in St. John’s Gospel: “that all may be one”.

Peace and blessings
Most Reverend Alberto Rojas
Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino

By the Grace of God and the Apostolic See, Alberto Rojas, Bishop of San Bernardino

To all the faithful of the Diocese of San Bernardino In light of the pastoral needs of our diocese and the concerns expressed by many of our brothers and sisters regarding fears of attending Mass due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities, I, as your shepherd, issue this decree in accordance with my authority under the Code of Canon Law, particularly Canon 87 §1, which states: “A diocesan bishop, whenever he judges that it contributes to their spiritual good, is able to dispense the faithful from universal and particular disciplinary laws issued for his territory or his subjects by the supreme authority of the Church.”

Recognizing that fear of immigration enforcement, such as raids by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), may deter some members of our diocese from fulfilling the obligation to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation (cf. Canon 1247), and acknowledging that such fear constitutes a grave inconvenience that may impede the spiritual good of the faithful, I hereby decree the following:

• Dispensation from the Obligation to Attend Mass: All members of the faithful in the Diocese of San Bernardino who, due to genuine fear of immigration enforcement actions, are unable to attend Sunday Mass or Masses on holy days of obligation are dispensed from this obligation, as provided for in Canon 1247, until such time as this decree is revoked or amended.
• Encouragement of Alternative Spiritual Practices: Those dispensed from attending Mass are encouraged to maintain their spiritual communion with Christ and His Church through acts of personal prayer, reading of Sacred Scripture, or participation in devotions such as the Rosary or the Divine Mercy Chaplet. Where possible, the faithful may also participate in televised or online Masses offered by the diocese or other reputable Catholic sources. our
• Pastoral Care and Assurance: Pastors, parochial vicars, and other pastoral ministers are to provide compassionate support to those affected by this fear, ensuring that they feel welcomed and safe in communities. Parishes are encouraged to explore alternative means of catechesis and sacramental preparation for those unable to attend regularly.
• Duration and Scope: This dispensation applies to all affected faithful within the territorial boundaries of the Diocese of San Bernardino and remains in effect until further notice or until such time as the circumstances necessitating this decree are sufficiently resolved.

In issuing this decree, I am guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship. I entrust this diocese to the intercession of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, and invoke God’s blessing upon all the faithful.

Given at the Pastoral Center of the Diocese of San Bernardino, this 8th day of July 2025.

+ Most Revered Alberto Rojas Bishop of San Bernardino and Msgr. Gerard M. Lopez Vicar General

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peace and well-being to you in these warming days of Summer. I write to you again on the very painful and challenging topic of immigration. We have seen a change and an increase in immigration enforcement in our region and specifically in our diocese. Authorities are now seizing brothers and sisters indiscriminately, without respect for their right to due process and their dignity as children of God. I say once again to our immigrant communities who are bearing the trauma and injustice of these tactics that your Church walks with you and supports you. We join you in carrying this very difficult cross.

While we surely respect and appreciate the right of law enforcement to keep our communities safe from violent criminals, we are now seeing agents detain people as they leave their homes, in their places of work and other randomly chosen public settings. We have experienced at least one case of ICE agents entering a parish property and seizing several people. It should be no surprise that this is creating a tremendous amount of fear, confusion and anxiety for many. It is not of the Gospel of Jesus Christ – which guides us in all that we do.

I ask all political leaders and decision-makers to please reconsider and cease these tactics immediately, in favor of an approach that respects human rights and human dignity and builds toward a more lasting, comprehensive reform of our immigration system.

Many are taking to the streets to voice their opposition to the current immigration enforcement tactics. It is their Constitutional right to do this, and I call on all protestors to act without vulgarity, violence toward others, or destruction of property. The tension around this issue has been further heightened by the decision to deploy federal National Guard troops and military personnel to the sites of these protests. At this point, this seems only to increase the level of anger and fear of violence in the streets.

Our late Holy Father, +Pope Francis, once told me that his greatest fear was division. Indeed, it is painful to see such division amongst God’s people at this moment. This is not what He wants for us. Let us instead remember what we all share – our creation in His image and likeness. Let us look for God in one another.

We continue as Catholics in this Jubilee Year, called to carry the hope of Christ in our hearts and to share it with the world. We know this hope is an antidote to the strife and suffering in our communities. May it prevail over this division and may God’s Kingdom come. Thank you and God bless you. Bishop Alberto Rojas

Alberto Rojas By the Grace of God and Favor of the Apostolic See Bishop of San Bernardino

Having before our eyes the good of the people of San Bernardino and taking into consideration the signs of the times have carefully considered the following:

A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular church (diocese). The bishop is responsible to erect parishes as the needs of the faithful require. It is also the responsibility of the bishop to alter the configuration of parishes as conditions and circumstances warrant.

In 2006, after studying the needs of the diocese, it was determined that the parishes of Resurrection in Fontana and St. Thomas More in Rialto would be merged into a new parish, St. John XXIII. The parishes were suppressed, and the new parish of St. John XXIII was canonically erected as an amalgamation of the two parishes on July I, 2006. The parish was to construct a new site for worship in the city of Fontana onı land provided for that purpose. However, the city grew and the area around the land was developed in such a way as to make the land no longer suitable for a place of worship. At the same time, the community, despite diligently working to come together as one unified parish, have been challenged by the fact that the two sites are in two different cities with two very different regional needs and concerns. With no current plan to build on a new location, the discussion has continued with two locations in two different cities, is it feasible to erect a new parish in Rialto to address the specific needs of that city going forward.

After consultations with the communities involved and with those who have been charged with their pastoral care, we are more than ever convinced that the time is right to proceed with the establishment of this new parish for the pastoral good of the people. The opinions of those concerned have been heard. The matter was presented to a plenary session of the Diocesan Presbyteral Council April 3rd, 2025. The Council was consulted as to the establishment of a new parish in the city of Rialto, and were unanimous in their belief that this is necessary and proper at this time in the history of the Church of San Bernardino.

It is also determined that the current rectory on Sierra Avenue will be sold. The two parishes will utilize the rectories at each site. And monetary assets will be distributed in an equitable way between the two parishes.

After careful study and fruitful discussion regarding the current demographics and pastoral care the Catholic Faithful in San Bernardino County, California, it is now deemed necessary to form a new territorial parish in the city of Rialto within the Diocese of San Bernardino. Therefore, after having sought and heard the counsel of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of San Bernardino on April 3, 2025, and in accordance with the norms of Canon 515, §1-3 and by testimony of this document, I hereby erect the territorial parish of Saint Thomas More in Rialto, California and appoint the Reverend Father Anthony Waturuocha as its administrator.

The territorial boundaries for Saint Thomas More, Rialto, are as follows:

Northern Boundary: Interstate 15 to Glen Helen Road

Eastern Boundary: Cajon Creek Wash along the railroad tracks

Southern Boundary: West Baseline Road

Western Boundary: Linden Avenue, north along Lytle Creek to Interstate 15.

Having done all things necessary according to the norms of law, the parish of Saint Thomas More in the Diocese of San Bernardino is formally established and canonically erected with all privileges, rights, faculties, and obligations which parishes of the Diocese have and wish it to be considered as such by all.

I direct that this decree be promulgated on the Diocesan Website on May 27, 2025, and given to the Reverend Cletus Imo and that this information be communicated to the parishes of the area prior to the date of erection. Also, prior to the date of erection, Reverend Anthony Waturuocha is given my permission to make any necessary arrangements for the preparation of ministry in the name of the parish.

The erection of Saint Thomas More, Rialto, as a territorial parish is to become effective Tuesday, July 1, 2025, nothing to the contrary withstanding.

Given this 27th day of May in the year of the Lord 2025.

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Peace and wellbeing to you and your families!

Today, we have received the sad news of the passing of our beloved Holy Father, Pope Francis. Let us, in our local Church, yet united with all believers around the world as the Body of Christ, lift up our prayers for his eternal rest. This holy man of God, successor to the throne of St. Peter, is now in the arms of our Lord, whom he loved so dearly. In the days to come we will continue to pray for our Pope Francis, and we will reflect on his beautiful legacy as the shepherd of our Universal Church. He called us to go out to the margins of society to listen to the wounded ones, the poor and disenfranchised, to welcome all of them in the Church. Among many other things, he alerted us in a special way through his encyclical letter Laudato Si to the perilous condition of the earth and our responsibility to care for all of God’s creation. The papacy of Pope Francis was marked by his humility. He truly modeled the servant leadership of the Lord Jesus. In reintroducing the idea of Synodality to the Church, he invited us to listen to one another, and to journey together, sharing in the leadership and mission of the Church. He was a free man who was not afraid to speak to us plainly about the need to change old processes, systems and thought patterns that he believed had taken us away from the Gospel. We give thanks to God for the fresh and revolutionary spirit of our Holy father Pope Francis!

Now is also a time for us to lift up our prayers for our Mother Church and for those in the Conclave who will soon begin the sacred process of electing our next shepherd. We trust in the wisdom and the providence of the Holy Spirit, who has always guided us in these moments of mourning and uncertainty.

Eternal rest grant unto Him O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in Peace. Amen!

DECREE OF PROMULGATION AMENDING DIOCESAN POLICY TO INCLUDE POLICY ON DISTRIBUTION OF SACRAMENTAL CERTIFICATES

I, Alberto Rojas, DD, by the grace of God, Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino, recognizing the importance of the proper administration of providing sacramental certificates to the faithful irrespective of financial ability; and,

Having sought and received the counsel and unanimous consent of the Presbyteral Council of the Diocese of San Bernardino on April 21, 2021, in accordance with the norms of the Code of Canon Law (Canons 8 §2 and 29), and by testimony of this document.

Under the norms of the Code of Canon Law (Canons 391 §2 and 29), I decree, therefore, that the particular law of the Diocese of San Bernardino contained within the Diocesan Policy Manual be amended to include the following:

• The Diocesan Policy entitled, “Distribution of Sacramental Certificates” and that said policy is hereby effective March 26th, 2025 and is to be immediately promulgated by dissemination to the clergy and the laity of the Diocese and included in the appropriate section of the Diocesan Policy Manual.

Given at the Diocesan Pastoral Center, San Bernardino, California on the 26th day of March, in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand Twenty-Five.

Most Reverend Alberto Rojas Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardino
Leticia Salazar, ODN Sister Leticia Salazar, ODN Chancellor of the Diocese of San Bernardino

DISTRIBUTION OF SACRAMENTAL CERTIFICATES POLICY:

Every person who successfully completes the designated process of Sacramental preparation set forth by the particular parish in which the Sacrament will be celebrated, is entitled to the original certificate which acknowledges the reception of the Sacrament. As directed by the Office of Archives, every parish is to officially record the reception of all Sacraments in a timely manner, into the Parish Sacramental Registry. No certificate is to be withheld from the recipient for any reason, which includes outstanding registration balances.

IMPLEMENTATION:

The Director/Coordinator of Catechetical Ministry is to provide the original certificate, which includes the parish seal and the signature of the Pastor. The certificate should be given to the person receiving the Sacrament either at the end of the celebration of the Sacrament received or at the next session held with all recipients.

No person is to be denied the reception of the Sacrament due to financial reasons of any kind. Families with any financial concerns should speak directly to the Pastor, in order to resolve the issue regarding registration and discuss alternative options.

Under no circumstances are Sacramental certificates to be withheld from the recipient nor is the candidate to be denied a Sacrament due to lack of registration payments.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Please join me in prayer for all those impacted by these destructive wildfires and high winds that are taking place in our Southern California region. We pray for the souls of those lost to the fires and we pray for the consolation of their loved ones. Let us offer our support and prayer in a special way to Archbishop Jose Gomez and all the faith communities in Los Angeles that are in harm’s way. As these events continue to unfold, may God spare human life and property from the fires and may our faith in Him accompany us through the fear and anxiety that we are feeling.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Today, on the Memorial of Our Lady of the Rosary, we join our fellow Catholics and people of goodwill all over the world in fasting and praying for peace.It is a time of great danger and peril in the Holy Land and in the wider Middle East region.Let us turn to Our Blessed Mother in this moment of prayer and ask for her protection and her intercession so that the peace of her Son, OurLordJesusChrist, might prevail on the hearts of those who seek to carry out violence and death in these conflicts. We also remember all those lost in the attacks of Hamas on Israel that occurred one year ago today, and all of those who have perished in the resulting war between Israel and Hamas. We carry in solidarity the pain of our brothers and sisters in these war-torn lands, for together with them we are the Body of Christ, and, as St.Paul teaches us,“if one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.”

Our Lady of the Rosary (Pray for Us)

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peace and well-being to you and your families. We will begin our Lenten journey next week with the celebration of Ash Wednesday. This is a significant and beautiful day for us as Catholics when we are given this opportunity to humble ourselves before God and begin the 40 days of prayer, fasting and almsgiving that is Lent. We are marked with ashes to signify our need for God’s grace and our repentance from sin. I encourage you to participate in this day with your family and loved ones, reflecting and praying together about what it really means for us, people of faith.

Ash Wednesday is one of two days of fasting that occur during Lent; and we also fast from eating meat every Friday of Lent. As you know, this year Ash Wednesday falls on February 14, which is also St. Valentine’s Day. While Valentine’s Day for many includes enjoying big meals with meat and sweets or special meals, it is my expectation that this day of fasting for Ash Wednesday will be observed by all Catholics in the Diocese on February 14 (normal age exceptions for Lent apply). Let us pray that abstaining from sweets and delicious foods on this day will help us begin our Lenten journey with event greater purpose and dedication, in order to strengthen our spiritual lives. I will keep you in my prayers; please pray for me. Have a blessed Lenten Season.

In Christ’s merciful love,

Bishop Alberto Rojas