In a shocking development that has left many Christians asking questions about the Holy Land, one of Christianity’s holiest sites received an almost unprecedented disruption at the beginning of Holy Week.
In a press release on Sunday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, and the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, the official guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, were prevented by Israeli authorities from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass.
‘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 press release explained that the two, who were traveling privately to the church “without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act,” were stopped by Israeli police and were “compelled to turn back.”
“As a result, and 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.”
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ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP/Getty Images
The press release criticized the action, calling it “a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.” The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem added: “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.”
Such strict measures have rarely, if ever, been taken against the faithful at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. While the church was closed to visitors in March 2020 under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to the COVID pandemic, it does not appear that the celebration of the Mass was ever prevented.
Barring two other brief closures in 1998 and 2018, also under Netanyahu, the last time the Mass was prevented from being celebrated in its entirety was due to the Black Death in 1349.
“The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem and the Custody of the Holy Land express their profound sorrow to the Christian faithful in the Holy Land and throughout the world that prayer on one of the most sacred days of the Christian calendar has thus been prevented,” the patriarchate concluded.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee issued a statement confirming the news and criticizing the decision as an “unfortunate overreach.”
“While all Holy sites in the Old City are closed due to safety concerns for mass gatherings including the Western Wall, Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Al Aqsa Mosque, the action today by the Israel Nat’l Police to deny Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and 3 other priests from entering the Church to offer a blessing on Palm Sunday is an unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world,” Huckabee said.
“For the Patriarch to be barred from entry to the Church on Palm Sunday for a private ceremony is difficult to understand or justify. Israel has indicated it will work with the Patriarch to accommodate a safe means of carrying out Holy Week activities,” the ambassador to Israel continued.
The Israeli prime minister’s office delivered a statement on social media regarding the decision to prevent the Mass, insisting that there was “no malicious intent whatsoever” and that it was done “out of special concern for [Pizzaballa’s] safety.”
The statement explained: “Over the past several days, Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles. In one strike, missile fragments crashed meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”
The prime minister’s office also indicated that it understood the special circumstances of Holy Week that made this closure especially disappointing: “However, given the holiness of the week leading up to Easter for the world’s Christians, Israel’s security arms are putting together a plan to enable church leaders to worship at the holy site in the coming days.”
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