The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a lawsuit against the federal government on Monday, alleging that detainees at an immigration detention facility in Missouri are being deprived of their right to speak privately with priests or receive sacraments like communion and confession.

"As a bishop I am responsible for every soul in my archdiocese, and that includes those who are in the prisons," St. Louis Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski told Reuters. The majority of the roughly 150 immigration detainees held at the facility are Hispanic Catholics, the diocese said.

Rozanski said the lack of privacy prevents priests from carrying out their ministering duties.

"They cannot hear confessions, they cannot celebrate Mass, they cannot give the anointing of the sick to any of the detainees," he said, effectively "robbing the detainees of their rights to have access to these sacraments."

ICE, DHS, the Saint Genevieve County Jail and the county sheriff's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The detainees are part of a broad immigration crackdown and deportation drive by the Trump administration that has been condemned by human rights groups alleging widespread rights abuses, which ICE has denied.

Catholic law does not allow priests to hear confession by electronic means. And using non-private lines on jailhouse phones would also break the seal of confession, an excommunicable offense.

The Eucharist, which Catholics believe contains the real presence of God, is only meant to be handled by ordained priests or ministers. (KSL)

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