Israeli police stop Latin Patriarch from entering Church of Holy Sepulchre

Israeli police blocked Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, and Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the Custos of the Holy Land and official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the site on Palm Sunday morning.

The two senior Catholic leaders were heading privately to celebrate Mass at Christianity’s holiest site.

Officers stopped them en route and forced them to turn back despite no procession or ceremonial elements.

For the first time in centuries the heads of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land were prevented from conducting Palm Sunday Mass at the tomb of Christ.

In a joint statement the Latin Patriarchate and Custody of the Holy Land described the action as a grave precedent. They noted the leaders had fully complied with all wartime restrictions since the conflict began, cancelling public gatherings and arranging broadcasts for hundreds of millions of faithful worldwide.

The police decision constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure. It represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness, freedom of worship, and respect for the Status Quo.

The Patriarch and Custos expressed profound sorrow to Christians in the Holy Land and around the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar had been prevented.