Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 30, 2026
From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 30, 2026
Spain summons Israel’s top envoy to protest blocking of Latin Patriarch from prayer at Holy Sepulchre
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Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, holds a prayer service to mark Palm Sunday in Jerusalem, March 29, 2026. (Ammar Awad/Pool Photo via AP)
MADRID, Spain — Spain summons Israel’s top envoy to Madrid in protest over Israel Police’s blocking of the Latin Patriarch from Christianity’s holiest site in Jerusalem, the foreign minister says.
“This cannot happen again, Catholic worship must be able to be celebrated normally,” Jose Manuel Albares tells RAC1 radio after Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa was prevented from holding Palm Sunday mass at the Holy Sepulchre church.
Israel has said the cardinal will regain access to the site, and had cited security concerns for the measure as the country bans gatherings in synagogues, churches and mosques during the ongoing war with Iran.
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