The Archdiocese of Boston is calling for a pastor in Dedham to remove a Nativity display that depicts Jesus, Mary, and Joseph as taking sanctuary in the church to try to avoid U.S. immigration authorities.

“ICE WAS HERE,” a sign in the Nativity scene outside St. Susanna Church in Dedham says, above another sign that says “The Holy Family is safe in The Sanctuary of our Church” and provides a telephone number to call if the reader sees U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

On Friday afternoon, a spokesman for Archbishop Richard Henning, the archbishop of Boston, issued a statement saying that the Nativity display sends a political message that is inappropriate.

“The people of God have the right to expect that, when they come to church, they will encounter genuine opportunities for prayer and Catholic worship — not divisive political messaging. The Church’s norms prohibit the use of sacred objects for any purpose other than the devotion of God’s people. This includes images of the Christ Child in the manger, which are to be used solely to foster faith and devotion," the archdiocese's statement, issued by archdiocese spokesman Terrence Donilon, says.

It continues:  "Regarding the recent incident, St. Susanna Parish neither requested nor received permission from the Archdiocese to depart from this canonical norm or to place a politically divisive display outside the church. The display should be removed, and the manger restored to its proper sacred purpose.”

The Nativity display, which has drawn national coverage, was still up in front of St. Susanna Church as of 5 p.m. Friday, December 5, when a reporter from New Boston Post visited the church and took the photos that accompany this story.

Father Stephen Josoma, the pastor of St. Susanna, could not immediate be reached for comment during the late afternoon Friday.