Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Israeli police have blocked the head of the Catholic church in Jerusalem from entering Christianity’s holiest site to celebrate Palm Sunday. The Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and the Reverend Francesco Ielpo were stopped outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre — believed to be the site of Jesus Christ’s crucifixion, and where they planned to hold a mass to mark the start of Holy Week, church authorities said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said worshippers of ‘all faiths’ had been asked [sic] not to visit sites in Jerusalem’s Old City for safety reasons after recent Iranian attacks. But the move has drawn strong criticism from global leaders as well as the church.” (03/29/26)