Israeli police prevented Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, from marking Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre today, for the “first time in centuries”.
While police cited security concerns, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land say the move was “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure”, Vatican News reported today.
Two of the church’s top religious leaders in the region, the Cardinal and Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the place where Christians believe Jesus was crucified.
Palm Sunday commemorates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, a triumphant occasion where, according to Biblical accounts, Jesus entered the city riding on a donkey while being greeted by crowds waving palm branches and laying cloaks along his path. The celebration of Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week ceremonies in the run-up to Easter, the most sacred feast in the Catholic calendar.
A statement issued today said “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.”
“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 disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”
“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 Sepulchre.”
“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 statement added.
“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.”
“The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land express their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented.”
However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the police had “no malicious intent” when they acted today.
“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa from holding mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” Mr Netanyahu said on X.
“Again, there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party.”
But US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, who is seen as sympathetic to Israeli concerns said that the actions by Israeli police were an “unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world”.
“While all Holy sites in the Old City are closed due to safety concerns for mass gatherings including the Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al Aqsa Mosque, the action today by the Israel Nat’l Police to deny Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and 3 other priests from entering the Church to offer a blessing on Palm Sunday is an unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world,” he said on X.
“Home Front Command Guidelines restrict any gatherings to 50 people or less. The 4 representatives of the Catholic Church were well below that restriction. Statements from the Gov’t of Israel indicate the action to prohibit Cardinal Pizzaballa entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were for safety reasons, but churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem have met with the restrictions of 50 or less.”
“For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify. Israel has indicated it will work with the Patriarch to accommodate a safe means of carrying out Holy Week activities.”