Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has instructed the relevant authorities to grant Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch, full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, following recent Iranian attacks affecting the site.
According to an official announcement, over the past several days Iran has repeatedly targeted the holy sites of all three monotheistic religions in Jerusalem with ballistic missiles. In one reported incident, missile fragments landed just meters from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
The PM stated
To protect worshippers, Israel asked members of all faiths to temporarily abstain from worshipping at the Christian, Muslim and Jewish holy sites in Jerusalem’s Old City.
Claiming that Cardinal Pizzaballa had been asked not to hold Mass out of concern for his safety, Netanyahu added
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.
Elsewhere, Pope Leo XIV addressed the situation during the Angelus in Rome at the beginning of Holy Week. He expressed closeness to Christians in the Middle East, noting that many are affected by the ongoing conflict and, in some cases, are unable to fully celebrate the rites of these holy days.
“At the beginning of Holy Week, we are closer than ever with prayer to the Christians of the Middle East,” the Pope said, adding that they “suffer the consequences of an atrocious conflict” and cannot fully live the rites.
The pontiff also called for prayers for those affected by war and for “concrete paths of reconciliation and peace.”
