Catholic cardinal stopped from Jerusalem’s Church of Holy Sepulchre, Israel says it was for his security

The Catholic Church and world leaders are criticizing Israeli police after they prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from coming into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to have a good time a Palm Sunday Mass. Israel mentioned it was for the cardinal’s safety amid the continued war with Iran.

The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement that Pizzaballa and Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo have been prevented from coming into the church “as they made their option to have a good time” the Mass. 

“In consequence, and for the primary time in centuries, the Heads of the Church have been prevented from celebrating the Palm Sunday Mass on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,” the assertion mentioned. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of individuals world wide, who throughout this week, look to Jerusalem.” 

The Israeli police advised the Agence France-Presse that they’d acquired a request from Pizzaballa and “it was clarified that it couldn’t be accepted” due to these restrictions, and famous that Jerusalem’s Previous Metropolis is “a fancy space that doesn’t permit entry for giant emergency and rescue automobiles” in case of a “mass casualty incident.” Police didn’t specify what the request entailed. 

Farid Jubran, the spokesperson for the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, advised the Related Press that the church had requested permission for a number of spiritual leaders to enter the church for a non-public Mass. Jubran mentioned non-public lots have been held on the church because the struggle started. 

The Patriarchate’s assertion mentioned Pizzaballa and Ielpo have been stopped whereas continuing privately, not as a part of a procession or ceremonial act, and needed to flip again. The group mentioned stopping their entry “constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure” and referred to as the Israeli police’s resolution “hasty and basically flawed” and “tainted by improper concerns.”