Cardinal calls on Iraqi Christians to vote for fellow Christians in upcoming elections

 

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Mar 28, 2025 / 17:35 pm (CNA).

Here are some of the major stories about the Church from around the world that you may have missed this week:

Cardinal calls on Iraqi Christians to vote for fellow Christians in upcoming elections

Cardinal Louis Raphael Sako, patriarch of the Chaldean Church, is urging Iraqi Christians to actively participate in the upcoming parliamentary elections, emphasizing the importance of updating electoral records and obtaining voter cards, ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, reported.

Sako stressed that the five parliamentary seats that are designated for Christians be confined to Christians alone to ensure accurate representation and underscored the crucial role that each individual can play in shaping Iraq’s future.

Latin patriarch of Jerusalem promotes interfaith dialogue during historic visit to Bahrain

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, was received as an official guest of the Kingdom of Bahrain last week, marking a historic moment for the Catholic community in the Gulf country, with whom he expressed the Holy Land Church’s “spiritual ties,” ACI MENA reported.

The cardinal met with Archbishop Aldo Berardi, the second apostolic vicar of Northern Arabia, along with various other religious leaders, parishioners, and representatives for the King Hamad Global Center for Peaceful Coexistence. He also presided over a pontifical Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Arabia, the largest Catholic church in the Arabian Peninsula.

During the homily, he emphasised the importance of coexistence, tolerance, and mutual respect in light of the various challenges facing the Middle East and called for prayers for the Christian community and harmony among religions.

Cameroon diocese suspends ‘all forms of worship’ for chapel after Blessed Sacrament stolen

The bishop of the Diocese of Bafang in Cameroon has directed that St. Augustine Famkeu Chapel remain closed after it was desecrated and thieves stole a ciborium containing consecrated hosts and other items, ACI Africa reported.

“This place can no longer host Christian worship until reparation has been made for this offense against God,” Bishop Abraham Kome said in a statement. “Therefore, the chapel will remain closed until further notice for the necessary time of reparation.”

Excavation reveals further evidence of Armenian Christians in Jerusalem

Excavations this week in the Musrara neighborhood of Jerusalem uncovered four ancient Armenian inscriptions dating back to the sixth and seventh centuries, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The inscriptions were discovered on a mosaic floor, tombstones, and a large pottery bowl. One inscription, discovered in the center of the “reception room,” is a dedication by an Armenian priest that reads: “I Ewstat the priest laid this mosaic. You who enter this house, remember me and my brother Luke to Christ.”

Ethiopian bishop: Northern region could be ‘engulfed in a very bloody confrontation’

Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparchy of Adigrat in Ethiopia’s Tigray region has issued a warning of rising tensions between Ethiopia and its northern bordering neighbor, Eritrea, ACI Africa reported.

“Instability in our region continues to persist, tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are increasing, and the country could be engulfed in a very bloody confrontation. God forbid that the factions involved start a new war in Tigray, which has already suffered enormously,” the bishop said Tuesday in a statement to Agenzia Fides. He noted that political instability and violence in the region, coupled with the “sudden interruption of USAID funding, is severely penalizing millions of people.”

Pakistan court sentences 5 men to death for alleged ‘online blasphemy’

A court in Pakistan has sentenced five men — four Pakistani nationals and one Afghan — to death on Tuesday for allegedly violating the Muslim-majority country’s blasphemy laws online, according to an AFP report on March 26. A representative for the legal group that brought the case forward told AFP that “all five accused were sentenced to death for spreading blasphemous content against the holy prophet.”

The five accused have each been sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly desecrating the Quran and 10 years for “hurting religious sentiments.” The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended Pakistan be designated as a country of particular concern in its latest annual global watch report earlier this week.