LEILA FADEL, HOST:
Israeli police stopped the Catholic Church's highest official in Jerusalem from entering one of Catholicism's holiest sites on Sunday - the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Israeli police say it was because of war restrictions on gatherings, NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.
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CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: The bells of the church echo through the empty stone streets of Jerusalem's old city. A huge wooden gate stops the few who try to get close to the holy site, where many Christians believe Jesus died and was resurrected.
SERGEI: Oh, we feel pain, but we pray to God to be able to get in. But we can pray here outside.
KAHN: Sergei (ph), a Russian Orthodox priest who asked we only use his first name because of the sensitivity of the religious controversy, says he hopes the church opens soon. Yesterday, Israeli police stopped Jerusalem's top Catholic official, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and another leader from holding private Palm Sunday prayers there. Public gatherings in Israel are limited to 50 people due to the war and dangers from incoming missiles from Iran. But in the Old City's holy sites, restrictions have been tighter. The closing of Al-Aqsa Mosque during Ramadan drew rebukes from Muslim leaders. However, small groups of worshippers have been allowed to pray at Judaism's Western Wall. Lifelong Jerusalem resident and Armenian Christian Kegham Balian says the church's closing at the start of the holiest week in Christianity is a tragedy.
KEGHAM BALIAN: It's a grave injustice and an insult to the concept of the freedom of religion in this country.
KAHN: Church officials said it was the first time in centuries Palm Sunday prayers weren't held there. World leaders condemned the closure, which drew a rare rebuke of Israel from U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister. In his Palm Sunday address, Pope Leo referenced the pain of war in the Middle East.
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POPE LEO XIV: (Speaking Italian).
KAHN: "And," he added, "God should never be used to justify conflict and does not listen to the appeals of leaders who wage war."
By nightfall, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, the cardinal would be granted full and immediate access to the church.
Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Jerusalem.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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