Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa celebrated the Holy Thursday Mass inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre behind closed doors, as tensions linked to ongoing conflict continue to affect daily life in the city.
The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem described the basilica as a “refuge” set apart from the violence outside, while cautioning that Christian faith cannot become an escape from reality. “The war has turned this place into a ‘within,’ separated from a tense ‘outside,’” he said during the liturgy.
His comments are particularly poignant after the Palm Sunday matter, where he was turned away from the church, which led to a global uproar, and then renewed communication and agreement on how to go forward.
The celebration of Holy Thursday, one of the most significant of the Christian calendar, took place in a markedly constrained atmosphere, reflecting both security concerns and the broader instability affecting the region.
A call against distance in faith
In his homily, Cardinal Pizzaballa warned against what he described as a temptation to live faith at a distance, particularly in times of crisis.
“True love does not remain at a distance: it comes down, it touches, it exposes itself,” he said, pointing to the example of St. Peter as a figure who initially sought to avoid risk.
The Patriarch emphasized that Christian discipleship requires proximity to suffering rather than withdrawal from it — a message that carries particular weight in a context marked by fear and uncertainty.
A Church without power
Cardinal Pizzaballa also addressed the condition of the local Christian community, describing it as “tired” and at times inclined to self-defense amid ongoing violence.
He rejected any notion that the Church’s role is to seek political or social dominance. “We are not a strong or numerous Church,” he said. “The Lord does not ask us to be powerful, but to have a part with Him.”
That participation, he explained, takes the form of a deliberate lowering of oneself in service to others, especially those at risk of losing hope.
“Not above history, but beside it”
Closing his homily, the Patriarch acknowledged the limits of human agency in the face of large-scale conflict. Still, he pointed to a form of responsibility that remains within reach.
“We may not be able to change the great dynamics of history,” he said, “but we can decide how to stand within it: not above, but beside.”
His remarks framed the Church’s presence in the Holy Land not as a position of influence, but of accompaniment — a commitment to remain alongside those affected by war, even when solutions appear distant.
