The Security Council "cannot stand by" as Iraqi Christians are persecuted, Patriarch Louis Sako has said in a letter to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon. An air-launched missile has destroyed a Franciscan friar's cell in Yacubiyah, north-west Syria. Meriam Ibrahim, the Sudanese Christian woman condemned to death for "apostasy", has arrived in Rome. The Cause of Pope John Paul I may be about to take a significant step forward, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has said. Sandro Magister profiles the Pentecostal "secret friend" Francis will visit on Monday. Philip Jenkins lauds "the saint amid the slaughterhouse that was World War I". And Lionel Messi, winner of the World Cup's best player award, will reportedly play in a charity match backed by Pope Francis on September 1. Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.