Israel responds after Catholic leaders blocked from Palm Sunday access to sacred church
The Vatican demanded answers Sunday morning as members of the Catholic Church hierarchy were blocked by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem. This is the church that holds the tomb of Jesus.
Israeli police responded saying they are now looking for solutions to balance freedom of worship and public safety.
“Under Home Front Command directives, life-saving restrictions apply to all holy sites in the Old City — for Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike,” the post said. “The Old City has been targeted by murderous missiles multiple times this month, alongside constant fire on residential areas. These threats do not discriminate between religions, and neither does our duty to protect you.”
According to the Vatican, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass. Pizzaballa was with the guardian of the church, Father Francesco lelpo.
As a result, this was the first time in centuries the church was stopped from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the site.
“The Heads of the Churches have acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were made to broadcast the celebrations to hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide, who, during these days of Easter, turn their eyes to Jerusalem and to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher,” a press release stated.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said the Patriarch being barred entry to the church on Palm Sunday is “difficult to understand or justify.” He called it an “unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.”
“Israel has indicated it will work with the Patriarch to accommodate a safe means of carrying out Holy Week activities,” Huckabee said.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Israeli police actions preventing Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch from celebrating Palm Sunday mass are “an offense to the faithful.”
Back in February, when the war with Iran began, Israel’s Civil Administration closed many holy sites, saying it was out of safety.
“All holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall, the Temple Mount and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, will remain closed … for security reasons in light of the current tensions in the region,” the administration’s statement read.
However, during Holy Week it was understood that church leaders would be permitted in the buildings to conduct services privately.
The Holy Sepulcher is governed by the Status Quo, the 19th-century agreement that governs Jerusalem’s holy places. The church has services for Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Syriac and Ethiopian Orthodox worshippers.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
