Rome lodged a protest.
Photo: wikipedia.org
On Palm Sunday, Israeli police prevented two Catholic prelates from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, citing security measures. Several countries and church leadership called this an 'unjustified overreaction,' reports Euronews.
Italy expressed its protest against the actions of Israeli police, who did not allow a Catholic cardinal and a monk to conduct a Palm Sunday service in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, known as the 'city of three religions.' The Israeli ambassador was summoned to the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Rome stated that this constitutes a violation of the principles of freedom of religion.
Law enforcement officers did not allow the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pizzaballa, and the Custos of the Holy Land, Francesco Patton, into the church.
According to Italian media reports, police informed the Catholic prelates that all holy sites in Jerusalem have been closed to worshippers since the start of the US and Israeli operation against Iran due to frequent shelling of Israeli territory.
The Latin Patriarchate stated that refusing entry to high-ranking religious figures into the church on a day important for Christians constitutes an 'unjustified and disproportionate measure,' painful for believers. This body had previously announced the cancellation of the traditional Palm Sunday procession, but they believe that the ban did not include preventing Pizzaballa from entering the church and that such incidents have not occurred 'for centuries.'
The decision to bar Catholic prelates from mass was condemned in several countries, including France and Poland.
On Palm Sunday, the Pope made a strong statement addressing leaders who wage wars, noting that God rejects their prayers.
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