The Chaldean Catholic archbishop of Erbil, Iraq, spoke of the dangers of conversion from Islam.

“The only thing we can do for inquirers is to inform them,” said Archbishop Bashar Warda, who explained:

When you visit our churches in Iraq, you see Muslims praying to Our Lady. Sometimes a whole family comes to inquire, and people will say, “I’ve seen Jesus in my dreams; I’ve seen our Lady in my dreams. Please explain what this means, what that means.”

Whenever we tell them, “This will put you in danger; we cannot really continue,” they challenge me, “Who are you to prevent me from [believing in] Christ?”

At the end of the day, I would say, “I did not go and preach to them. They came, and it’s my responsibility to share with them the concern and faith that they have.”

The tabernacle at the Church of the Sacred Heart in Geneva, Switzerland, was stolen and destroyed on June 29.

“The tabernacle contained consecrated hosts and liturgical vessels, the former of which were later found discarded in a nearby construction dumpster,” according to the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians in Europe. “The incident prompted the celebration of a Mass of reparation.”

A bishop in Bangladesh warned that the Rohingya refugee crisis is becoming more severe as international aid declines.

“Local communities are themselves living in poverty,” said Auxiliary Bishop Subroto Gomes of Dhaka. “They work hard to support their families and are witnessing increasing pressure on already scarce resources. Managing the Rohingya presence is becoming an ever more difficult challenge for Bangladesh.”

In May, the Vatican newspaper warned of the deepening humanitarian crisis experienced by the more than one million Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh. The newspaper recalled that the refugees fled in 2017 amid “systematic atrocities: massacres of civilians, summary executions, mass rape, torture, the deliberate burning of entire villages, and the widespread destruction of homes, schools, and places of worship.”

Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., preached the homily at a recent “Mass of Thanksgiving for 50 Years of Friendship, Partnership, and Commitment in the Pursuit of Justice” of two men, Julian Filochowski and Martin Pendergast, according to New Ways Ministry.

“I believe, Julian and Martin, that your faithful friendship is grounded in a shared passion for peace and for the triumph of justice,” Cardinal Radcliffe preached. “Friendship is a way in which God works creatively in each of us, forming us for love.”

Two retired bishops—Bishops John Crowley and John Rawsthorne—were among the concelebrants at the June 13 Mass, which took place at Holy Apostles Church in London.

A similar 25th anniversary Mass for Filochowski and Pendergast sparked controversy in 2001, as CWN reported at the time.

Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, said he was “alarmed by the success of certain politicians in our country who identify as extreme socialists or communists.”

“This is not a matter of classical liberals triumphing over standard-issue conservatives; this is the victory of people who stand athwart the fundamental principles that undergird our country,” he continued.

Citing the “recent histories of China, Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Venezuela,” he added, “Might I encourage my fellow believers in God not to be complacent in the face of this very troubling development in the American body politic?”

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, decried the detention of a Nigerian religious sister as she walked to Sunday Mass.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers detained and released Sister Leticia Ugboaja on June 28.

“It is clear that Homeland Security enforcement protocols that make it possible for a religious sister, or anyone, to be detained and handcuffed while peacefully walking to church on a Sunday morning are wildly disturbing and need to be reformed,” said Bishop Flores.

Civil officials in Dubai permitted the full reopening of parishes, three months after the imposition of restrictions amid the U.S.-Iran war.

“I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the authorities, who have carefully watched over our safety during a particularly delicate time and have now deemed that the moment has come for the full resumption of Christian life in our parish communities,” said Bishop Paolo Martinelli, vicar apostolic of Southern Arabia.

Bishop Fredrik Hansen of Oslo, Norway, consecrated the nation’s largest Catholic church on June 28.

Saint Paul’s Catholic Church in Bergen opened in the 1870s. The church was not consecrated at the time “because the ceremony required a bishop assisted by 14 priests—more clergy than Bergenʼs fledgling Catholic community could provide,” according to Father Alois Brodersen, the parish priest.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, one of the two pro-prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presided today at the beatification of Father Trương Bửu Diệp (1897-1946), a priest martyred by Japanese soldiers.

An estimated 70,000 people attended the Mass, which took place in Cà Mau.

Five cardinals, including Cardinals Raymond Burke and Gerhard Müller, offered their reflections on the recent extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals.

Cardinal Burke said that the cardinals were “certainly grateful” for the consistory: “we’re getting to know each other more, and that’s very great fruit.” He cautioned, however, that the cardinals “didn’t get to the heart of matters in depth,” and the reports of the discussion tables to the Holy Father included only statements to which the cardinals at the table unanimously agreed.