Church leaders in Jerusalem expressed sorrow over the news of the passage by the Israeli Knesset of a death penalty law — by hanging — for Palestinians convicted of lethal attacks on Israelis, noting that Easter, which celebrates life, represents the opposite.
Jerusalem
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said wartime restrictions have forced the cancellation or postponement of key Holy Week observances, urging the faithful to remain united in prayer despite the inability to gather for traditional celebrations.
Israeli authorities closed Jerusalem’s Church of the Holy Sepulcher as part of wider closures for security concerns, beginning Feb. 28, when Israel and the United States launched attacks against Iran.
As he prepared to leave his position as Franciscan custos of the Holy Land after nine years of service, Father Francesco Patton told OSV News that the time he has spent in the Holy Land as the superior of all Franciscans in the Middle East and the guardian of Catholic holy places in the region has been the most “important formative” experience of his life, and has “pushed him to dream” of a world without borders.
For the second year in a row, few foreign pilgrims were in attendance at the traditional Palm Sunday procession from the Mount of Olives into the Old City of Jerusalem due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip; but even the gray skies that threatened rain didn’t dampen the spirit of the 4,000 participants.