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Sunday, March 29, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, March 29, 2026
Italy slams Israeli police for blocking Latin patriarch from Holy Sepulchre Palm Sunday mass; envoy to Rome summoned
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Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni addresses the Senate in Rome, March 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says Israeli police actions preventing Jerusalem’s Latin Patriarch from celebrating Palm Sunday mass was “an offense to the faithful” in a statement.
Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, separately says on X he had summoned Israel’s ambassador over the incident.
The Patriarchate of Jerusalem earlier said its head, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, was prevented by Israeli police from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to conduct the mass.
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