Palm Mass Sunday and the procession from the Mount of Olives was also canceled under the same measures.
Jerusalem/Rome Mar 29 (EFE).-
Israeli police prevented the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, in what Church authorities described as an unprecedented move.
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said officers stopped Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, as they were heading privately to the church in Jerusalem’s Old City.
“For the first time in centuries, the Heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the Patriarchate said in a statement.
“Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.”
The incident comes amid the war with Iran, during which Israeli authorities have closed key religious sites in the Old City, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the Western Wall and the Holy Sepulchre, and imposed restrictions limiting gatherings to fewer than 50 people.
The traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives was also canceled under the same measures.
The Patriarchate said it had already complied with the restrictions by canceling public events and preparing to livestream Holy Week celebrations.
“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”
It said the move undermines the principle of freedom of worship, expressing “profound sorrow” to Christians in the Holy Land and around the world for being prevented from praying on one of the holiest days of the liturgical calendar.
During Ramadan, which overlapped with weeks of the conflict, Israeli police also restricted access to Jerusalem’s Old City and dispersed Muslim worshippers attempting to pray outside its walls.
In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he would summon Israel’s ambassador to demand an explanation, calling the incident “unacceptable” and expressing solidarity with the two clerics.
“It is unacceptable that they were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,” he said. “For the first time, Israeli police have denied the leadership of the Catholic Church the possibility of celebrating Palm Sunday Mass in one of the holiest sites.” EFE
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