Sepulchre

1 of 5 | Catholic Palestinians gather on Palm Sunday for the blessing of the olive branches in the courtyard of St. Saviour Monastry in the Old City of Jerusalem on Sunday. The traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was canceled due to the war with Iran, and Israeli police prevented Catholic leaders from entering the holy site. Photo by Debbie Hill/UPI | License Photo

March 29 (UPI) — Israeli police blocked Jerusalem’s top Catholic leaders from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a centuries-old tradition to mark Palm Sunday.

The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch, and Father Francesco Ielpo, custom of the Holy Land, were stopped as they attempted to enter the church.

The two leaders traditionally lead a procession from the Mount of Olives to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where they celebrate Palm Sunday mass.

Pizzabella announced earlier in the week that the traditional procession and mass had been canceled due to the war in Iran, which has resulted in attacks in Israel. He announced the procession would be replaced by a moment of prayer.

“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,” a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and Custody of the Holy Land said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the leaders were prevented from entering the church because of the danger of Iran strikes targeting holy sites.

“Israel has temporarily asked worshippers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City to protect them,” the office said in a statement on X.

The statement said “there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for [Pizzabella’s] safety and that of his party.”

“However, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days.”

Since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, Israel has closed holy sites in Jerusalem, citing safety concerns.

Israeli police have prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to mark Palm Sunday Mass.

The Catholic Church said on Sunday that Pizzaballa and Francesco lelpo, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were both prevented from entering the church.

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“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,” the statement said.

“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 added.

Israeli police said all holy sites in Jerusalem were closed due to safety concerns amid the United States and Israel’s war on Iran. During the Muslim month of Ramadan, which also coincided with the war, Al-Aqsa Mosque was also closed to worshippers.

In a statement to the AFP news agency, Israeli police said Pizzaballa’s request to deliver the Catholic mass to mark Palm Sunday, the beginning of the Christian Holy Week that ends with Easter, could not be approved.

“The Old City and the holy sites constitute a complex area that does not allow access for large emergency and rescue vehicles, which significantly challenges response capabilities and poses a real risk to human life in the event of a mass casualty incident,” the force said.

While the Catholic Church had already announced it had cancelled the traditional Palm Sunday procession, in a statement, it said Israel’s actions to ban Pizzaballa and Ielpo were a “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure”.

“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.

But the prevention also caused condemnation from other countries.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the incident was “an offence not only to the faithful, but to any community that respects religious freedom”.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani also said in a post on X that he had summoned Israel’s ambassador over the incident.

French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the decision and said worship “for all religions” must be guaranteed in Jerusalem.