The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land condemned the Israeli police for preventing the Latin Patriarch, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.
A joint statement said the two church leaders were stopped while proceeding privately, without any procession or ceremonial act, and were forced to turn back, marking the first time in centuries that the heads of the Church were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass at the church.
The Latin Patriarchate and Custody of the Holy Land noted that preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who hold the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, is a “manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure”.
Joint Press Release.
