The Russian president arrived one hour late to his meeting with the Pope and the two spoke for 50 minutes. Discussions between the two leaders were “dedicated principally to the conflict in Ukraine and the situation in the Middle East”

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, in a visit being scrutinized for meaning and significance as Russia continues taking unilateral military action in Ukraine.

Pope Francis returned to this subject three times during his visit to Sarajevo on 6 June, elaborating on statements previously made.

Pope Francis talked about the issue of arms trafficking fomenting the war three times during his visit to Sarajevo on Saturday, June 6. His words – contained both in the written text of his homily and in two more speeches he gave off the cuff – elaborate on statements he had made before.

The Catholic Church provides so many wonderful choices for all of us to praise God. Because of our baptism, we’re able to pray at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and participate in the Eucharist which is available to us every day if we so choose. We also have the Rosary that allows us to call upon Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to intercede to her Son on our behalf. We have the Sacrament of Penance allowing us to confess our sins, and we have many stories of Saints that have taught us through the years how to find God in our life.

We got used to using some terms and to hearing them. One of these terms has different forms and types, namely ''religious reform''. It is sometimes referred to as reform of religious discourse. It implies conveying the correct "religious" information to the generations of today and those to come in a way that complies with their mentality, and without causing any harm to the faith itself, of course.

On the return flight from Sarajevo to Rome, Francis announced the imminent decision on the Medjugorje apparitions. On the subject of negative television programmes he said consumerism is a “cancer” of society.

During Pope Francis’ meeting with representatives of other religions, the imam spoke about the “genocide” of Muslims during the war, the Orthodox representative expressed “shame” about Christians who kill.

In his first address to authorities in Sarajevo, Pope Francis called on them to go beyond the Dayton Accords and asked for real religious freedom in Bosnia-Herzegovina. On the outbound flight he reminded journalists that “the country has suffered a great deal and is now on a beautiful path of peace”.

At a press conference organised by Aid to the Church in Need, the Archbishop of Erbil recalled that there are Europeans enrolling with ISIS and Europe can therefore not remain indifferent

The “cancer” of the self-proclaimed Islamic State needs to be combatted with a “military intervention”. This is according to Mgr. Bashar Warda, the Chaldean Archbishop of Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan, who also says the international community should “increase military support and political pressure” against ISIS.

The second day of celebrations marking the end of the Holy Marian Month were held at the Our Lady of Lourdes grotto in Na'our, with the rosary prayed, and the Holy Mass celebrated and presided over by Fr. Imad 'Alamat, parish priest of Fuheis. It was followed by a procession with candles held high as hymns sung and prayers said.

During the Mass, parish priest Fr. Rif’at Bader and Fr. Imad baptized Iraqi baby girl Mariam Firas Touma who was born in Na'our on January 4, 2015.

Editor-in-chief of the Jordanian daily, Al Rai,

I would like to comment on an article titled, “O naive Pope, is this an angel of peace?“ which was published by Jordanian daily Al Rai on May 18, 2015, written by Noah Klieger, and translated from Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot.