(OSV News): Pierbattista Cardinal Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, the custos of the Holy Land, were prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by Israeli police on Palm Sunday, March 29, the Latin patriarchate said.
In a statement published March 29, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that although abiding by restrictions due to the Israeli-US-led war in Iran, “the two were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, and were compelled to turn back.”
The patriarchate said, “As a result, and 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.
“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.
A Palestinian Christian stands at the doors of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher after finding them locked, following the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives on March 29. Photo: OSV News /Ammar Awad, Reuters
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was among several holy sites in the Old City of Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and the Temple Mount, that have been closed since February, after Israel and the US launched their joint attack against Iran.
Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed her solidarity with Cardinal Pizzaballa and Father Ielpo, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported.
Noting that the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is “a sacred place of Christianity,” the prime minister said the church “must be preserved and protected for the celebration of sacred rites.”
Meloni said, “Preventing the patriarch of Jerusalem and the custos of the Holy Land from entering, especially on a solemnity central to the faith such as Palm Sunday, constitutes an offence not only to believers, but to every community that recognises religious freedom.”
The Israeli authorities’ action took place as Houthi militants in Yemen became the latest combatants to enter the Iran war by firing missiles at Israel on March 28 in support of their Iranian backers and threatening Red Sea shipping as the conflict has engulfed more and more countries in the Middle East, sending shockwaves through the global economy.
This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo
Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem
In Lebanon, Israel launched an airstrike on March 28 that killed three journalists, claiming one of them was involved in providing intelligence to Hezbollah, the Shia Lebanese militia group that joined the war on the side of Iran on March 2. Lebanon’s president, Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Catholic, denounced the targeted killing as a “flagrant crime” against international laws protecting journalists.
In the joint statement, the Custody of the Holy Land and the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that since the start of the Iran war, it had complied with “all imposed restrictions,” including cancelling public gatherings and making arrangements for Holy Week celebrations to be broadcast.
However, the Israeli authorities’ actions in preventing the entrance of Cardinal Pizzaballa and Father Ielpo, “who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitute a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure,” the statement read.
“This hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations, represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the status quo,” it said.
Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them
Pope Leo XIV
The Latin Patriarchate and the Custody expressed their “profound sorrow” to Christians around the world, noting that prayers “on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar have thus been prevented.”
Pope Leo XIV echoed those sentiments before praying the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square to celebrate Palm Sunday.
The pope offered prayers for the Christians of the Middle East “who are suffering the consequences of a brutal conflict and, in many cases, are unable to observe fully the liturgies of these holy days.”
He said, “Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering. Their ordeal challenges all our consciences.”
Pope Leo said, “Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
According to Vatican News, he lamented the many wounds of the human family in our world today, as people cry out to God with the “painful groans of all those who are oppressed by violence and are victims of war.”
The pope said, “Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters!”
