Prime Minister Netanyahu has promised that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, will be granted “full and immediate access” to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre after being blocked from entering over the weekend.
Pizzaballa attempted to visit the church, believed to house the empty tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, the holiest site in Christianity, to perform a mass to mark Palm Sunday, the festival commemorating Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion.
However, he and Reverend Francesco Ielpo were blocked from entering the area by Israeli Police on the basis of Home Front Command guidelines preventing gatherings at religious sites due to the risk of Iranian missile attacks amid the ongoing war.
The Latin Patriarchate subsequently released a statement, saying the incident sets a “grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world, who during this week, look to Jerusalem”.
Elsewhere, the Most Reverend Richard Moth, Archbishop of Westminster, called the move a “clear denial of freedom of worship”.
And US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, himself a Baptist minister and staunch religious Zionist, called it “an unfortunate overreach” that was “difficult to understand or justify”.
Following the outcry, Pizzaballa’s office released a second statement announcing that the dispute had been “resolved”, shortly after which Netanyahu himself confirmed that Israeli authorities had been instructed not to restrict the cardinal’s access to the site.
"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 wrote on Sunday evening.
"Today, out of special concern for his safety, Cardinal Pizzaballa was asked to refrain from holding mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
“Even though I understand this concern, as soon as I learned about the incident with Cardinal Pizzaballa, I instructed the authorities to enable the Patriarch to hold services as he wishes.”
And the Israel Police shared a photo of Pizaballa meeting several of its senior officers, saying: “Following a productive meeting between the Israel Police and Latin Catholic Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, a mutual framework has been established for upcoming Easter ceremonies.
“Due to the complex security reality of Operation Roaring Lion, ceremonies including the Holy Fire will be held in a symbolic, limited format. This coordination ensures that freedom of worship is maintained alongside our shared, primary duty: the protection of human life.”
The statement was welcomed by Huckabee, who thanked Netanyahu for intervening “personally and promptly” in the case, adding: “Kudos to the Israel Police for resolving misunderstanding regarding access to Church of Holy Sepulcher on Palm Sunday.
"There is equal access for ALL faiths & equal guidelines for safety.”
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