Israeli authorities prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass, an unprecedented move described as a grave precedent.
JERUSALEM: Israeli police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday mass, according to a statement from the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem.
The statement said police stopped Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, as he made his way privately to the church without any ceremonial procession.
This action resulted in the heads of the church being prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for the first time in centuries.
The Patriarchate called the incident “a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem”.
It stated that church leaders had complied with all restrictions imposed since the outbreak of the Middle East war on February 28, which has seen Israeli authorities ban large gatherings.
Public gatherings, including at places of worship, have been limited to around 50 people under the current security measures.
The Latin Patriarchate had already cancelled the traditional large-scale Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into Jerusalem, which normally draws thousands of worshippers.
In its statement, the Patriarchate argued that preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility, was “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure”.
It further described the decision as “hasty and fundamentally flawed” and “tainted by improper considerations,” representing an extreme departure from principles of reasonableness and freedom of worship.
There was no immediate response from the Israeli police regarding the incident.