Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem
Israeli police stop Latin Patriarch from entering Church
of Holy Sepulchre
In a joint press release, the Latin Patriarchate of
Jerusalem and the Custos of the Holy Land report they were blocked from
entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem by Israeli police,
calling it "a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate
measure."
Vatican News
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the
Holy Land have released a joint statement stating that, on the morning of Palm
Sunday, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa,
together with the Custos of the Holy Land, Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the
official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were prevented from
entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as they made their way
to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.
Released on Sunday, the statement said both Church leaders were stopped en
route by Israeli police, "while proceeding privately and without any
characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act" and were forced to turn
back.
"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 noted.
It described the event as "a grave precedent" and
disregarding "the sensibilities of billions of people around the world
who, during this week, look to Jerusalem."
Blocked despite compliance with restrictions
The statement said the Patriarch and the Custos of the Holy
Land have acted with full responsibility since the start of the war, complying
with all restrictions requiring that public gatherings be cancelled, attendance
prohibited, and arrangements be 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."
"Grossly disproportionate measure"
Preventing the entry of Cardinal Pizzaballa and Fr. Ielpo,
who hold the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and
Holy Places, "constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly
disproportionate measure."
The joint statement further underscored that "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 Patriarch and Custos both expressed their "profound
sorrow" to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and around the world
"that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has
thus been prevented."
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