site.btaForeign Ministry Expresses Concern After Latin Patriarch Was Prevented from Celebrating Palm Sunday Service

The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry has expressed deep concern over reports that Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, was prevented from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Sunday, even taking into account the wartime situation and general security measures. The message was posted on the social platform X on Monday.

Such actions violate the freedom of religion and the long-established order governing the status of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem, the Ministry added. The ministry called for full respect for the rights of all religious communities under all circumstances.

On the eve of the Easter holidays, free access to the holy sites during this sacred period must be guaranteed, the Ministry further said.

Israeli police “for the first time in centuries” did not allow the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and the custodian of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to enter the church for the Catholic Palm Sunday service, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said on Sunday, as quoted by Agence France-Presse. Later in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was not a malicious act, but a measure motivated by security considerations.