Israel’s prime minister has said the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem will now have “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, after police earlier prevented him from celebrating Palm Sunday Mass there. Benjamin Netanyahu said Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, who is head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, had been asked not to enter the church out of concern for his safety. He said Iran had repeatedly targeted Jerusalem’s holy sites with ballistic missiles. The decision to block the cardinal from entering Christianity’s most sacred site had been criticised by several Western nations.
On Sunday Cardinal Pizzaballa and the Reverend Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the church, believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, as they were planning to hold a Mass to mark the start of Holy Week, church authorities said. Cardinal Pizzaballa’s office said it was “the first time in centuries” a Latin Patriarch had been turned away from the holy site on Palm Sunday, which marks Christ’s return to Jerusalem. He and Rev Ielpo had been “compelled” to turn back from the church, where Christ was also believed to have been buried and subsequently resurrected, it said. A statement from the patriarchate on Sunday said: “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem.” But in a later statement released on Monday, Cardinal Pizzaballa’s office said the matter had been “addressed and resolved” and expressed “sincere gratitude” to Israel’s President Isaac Herzog for intervening in the matter.
