Israel bars church leaders from Palm Sunday mass ‘for the first time in centuries,’ church says

 

For the first time in centuries, Catholic leaders have been barred from Jerusalem’s Church of Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday, according to church authorities in the holy city.

The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem said Israeli police prevented the church’s senior leaders from entering to celebrate mass.

“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,” the Patriarchate said in a statement on Sunday. “This incident is a grave precedent and disregards the sensibilities of billions of people around the world who, during this week, look to Jerusalem.”