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JUST IN: Cardinal Pizzaballa Stopped by Israeli Police and Denied Entry to Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday Mass – Ambassador Mike Huckabee Condemns “Overreach”

March 29, 2026

Nheyob, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa and Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo were denied entry by Israeli Police to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to attend Palm Sunday Mass this morning, sparking condemnation from the Catholic Church and the worldwide community. 

Palm Sunday commemorates Christ’s entry into Jerusalem and marks the start of Holy Week, the most sacred week of the year week for the Christian faith.

The Patriarchate of Jerusalem described the move in a statement as a “hasty and fundamentally flawed decision, tainted by improper considerations,” adding that it “represents an extreme departure from basic principles of reasonableness.”

Israeli Police said they denied Pizzaballa’s request, citing the potential of a “mass casualty incident” and the inability of emergency rescue assets to access the area.

The Prime Minister of Israel’s office, in a statement, said, “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,” adding, “there was no malicious intent whatsoever, only concern for his safety and that of his party.”

“This incident is a grave precedent, and disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem,” the Patriarchate said, noting that “The Heads of the Churches have acted with full responsibility and, since the outset of the war, have complied with all imposed restrictions,” including canceling puiblic gatherings and broadcasting celebrations to Catholics worldwide.

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee responded to the incident, calling Israel’s action an “unfortunate overreach already having major repercussions around the world.”

“Home Front Command Guidelines restrict any gatherings to 50 people or less. The 4 representatives of the Catholic Church were well below that restriction,” he added. “Statements from the Gov’t of Israel indicate the action to prohibit Cardinal Pizzaballa entry to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher were for safety reasons, but churches, synagogues, and mosques throughout Jerusalem have met with the restrictions of 50 or less.  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.”

Other World leaders spoke up to condemn the action and accuse Israel of violating the religious freedom of Catholics.

Per CBS:

Israeli police said that all holy sites in Jerusalem have been closed since the start of the war in Iran. Israeli officials have banned large gatherings, including at religious sites, and limited public gatherings to around 50 people. A traditional Palm Sunday procession had already been cancelled by the Latin Patriarchate. Ceremonies were held in other churches, with limits on how many could attend.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni criticized the police’s actions, calling the incident “an offence not only to the faithful but to any community that respects religious freedom.” Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on social media that he had summoned Israel’s ambassador to discuss the incident, which he called “unacceptable.”

French President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the incident and said worship “for all religions” must be guaranteed in Jerusalem. He added that the police action “adds to a worrying series of violations of the status of holy places in Jerusalem.”

The Jordanian foreign ministry said it “strongly condemned” the interaction, calling it a “flagrant violation of international law and international humanitarian law, as well as the prevailing legal and historical status quo, and an infringement on the unrestricted freedom of access to places of worship.”

In a statement, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem strongly condemned the move, writing,

This morning, the Israeli Police prevented the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Head of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, together with the Custos of the Holy Land, the Most Reverend Fr. Francesco Ielpo, OFM, the official Guardian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, as they made their way to celebrate the Palm Sunday Mass.

The two were stopped en route, while proceeding privately and without any characteristics of a procession or ceremonial act, 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.

This incident is a grave precedent, and disregard the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.

The Heads of the Churches 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.

Preventing the entry of the Cardinal and the Custos, who bear the highest ecclesiastical responsibility for the Catholic Church and the Holy Places, constitutes a manifestly unreasonable and grossly disproportionate measure.

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.

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 post JUST IN: Cardinal Pizzaballa Stopped by Israeli Police and Denied Entry to Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem for Palm Sunday Mass – Ambassador Mike Huckabee Condemns “Overreach” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.