In Focus delivers deeper coverage of the political, cultural, and ideological issues shaping America. Published daily by senior writers and experts, these in-depth pieces go beyond the headlines to give readers the full picture. You can find our full list of In Focus pieces here.

The Israeli police’s decision to bar Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday sparked outrage from Rome to Washington, and rightly so. Pizzaballa, the Catholic Church’s top official in the Holy Land, was heading to celebrate a private Mass at the traditional location of Jesus’s crucifixion, burial, and resurrection when armed officers turned him back. It was the first time in centuries that Catholics were prevented from marking Palm Sunday there.