Morning Catholic must-reads: 27/07/16

The Chinese government has blocked a group of 50 pilgrims who had boarded a plane bound for World Youth Day in Kraków, reports AsiaNews.

A judge has dismissed the last remaining charge against two pro-life activists who made an undercover video exposé of Planned Parenthood (Matthew Archbold).

Middle Eastern Christians “must be leading actors in dialogue with the realities of Islam”, Patriarch Louis Raphaël I Sako has said.

Mexican Bishop Eduardo Porfirio Patiño Leal has deplored a rise in “killings, kidnapping and torture”.

John Allen, Jean Duchesne, Fr Raymond de Souza, Fr Hugh Somerville-Knapman, Terry Mattingly, Melanie McDonagh, the New York Times and Ed West comment on the martyrdom of Fr Jacques Hamel.

Massimo Faggioli, Fr Dwight Longenecker and Sandro Magister reflect on the enduring impact of Benedict XVI’s resignation.

And a Wall Street Journal editorial writer has announced his conversion to Catholicism following the murder of Fr Hamel.

Follow me on Twitter @lukecoppen for updates throughout the day.