Police officers on Sunday kept two top Catholic clergymen from reaching the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem’s Old City to celebrate Palm Sunday Mass, the Patriarchate and the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land said.

According to the statement, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, were heading to the church privately, without a procession.

Palm Sunday commemorates the day Jesus traditionally rode into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by cheering crowds bearing palm fronds, according to the New Testament. The day marks the start of Holy Week, which ends with Easter, this year on April 5.

“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” said the Catholic bodies.

The Patriarchate and the Custody said that they have “acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions: public gatherings were cancelled, attendance was prohibited, and arrangements were 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.”

Police said that they had told the clergymen on Saturday that their request to reach the Holy Sepulchre the next day was not approved.

Responding to the controversy, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said a plan was being put together to allow Christian leaders to worship at the church.

“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,” Netanyahu’s office said on X. “As a result, Israel has temporarily asked worshipers from all faiths not to worship at the holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City to protect them.

“Today, out of special concern for his safety, Jerusalem police prevented the Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pizzaballa from holding mass this morning at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre,”........

© The Times of Israel