Church of the Madalene

A pilgrim prays the rosary at a Marian vigil in St. Peter’s Square, Rome, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 17:27 pm (CNA).

A poll released by the Pew Research Center found that most Catholics believe religion has a positive influence on life in the United States, and an increasing number of Catholics believe religious influence on everyday life is a growing force.

The data, published on Oct. 20, found that 71% of Catholics believe religion has a net positive influence on society, while 10% say it has a net negative influence on society. The other 19% said religion has a net neutral or unclear impact on society.

A minority of Catholics believe that religion’s impact on society is growing, but that number is much higher than it was in previous polls. The poll compared responses in February 2024 to responses in February 2025.

Pew found that in 2025, 27% of Catholics believe religion is gaining influence in American life compared with 73% who said religion is losing influence. This is, however, a strong shift from 2024 when only 15% of Catholics believed religion was gaining influence and 82% believed religion was losing influence.

According to the research, 13% of Catholics said their religious beliefs have a great deal of conflict with mainstream American culture, and 42% said their beliefs have some conflict with mainstream culture. About 45% said there is not much conflict between their religious beliefs and mainstream culture. 

The survey also found that 30% of Catholics said loving one’s country is essential to being a Christian. It also found that 65% of Catholics said many religions may be true, while only 19% said only one religion is true. About 13% said “there is little truth in any religion.” 

Influence on U.S. society

According to the Pew survey, the broader American public also has a positive view on religion’s impact on society. About 59% said religion has a net positive impact on society, while 20% said it had a net negative view, and about 21% said religion has a net neutral or unclear impact on society. 

Pew also found that 31% of the broader American public believes religion is gaining influence on society and 68% said it is losing influence in 2025. This is also a shift from 2024, when only 18% said religion was gaining influence and 80% said it was losing influence.

The poll also found a political divide surrounding the public’s views about whether the influence of religion is positive. About 78% of Republicans believe religion has a net positive impact on society, compared with just 40% of Democrats who said the same.

The Archdiocese of Chicago says it removed Father Xamie Reyes from Little Flower Parish in Waukegan, Illinois, Oct. 19, 2025, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving seminarians. / Credit: Tudoran Andrei/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 16:57 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Chicago has removed Father Xamie Reyes from Little Flower Parish in Waukegan, Illinois, following allegations of sexual misconduct involving seminarians.  

The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, shared “the difficult news” in an Oct. 18 letter to parishioners. Cupich wrote the archdiocese “has received allegations against Father Reyes of grooming and sexual misconduct.” 

Cupich said the allegations against the pastor “do not involve children and youth, but they did involve seminarians.”

“This is a very serious matter,” Cupich wrote. “Father Reyes will live away from the parish pending the outcome of an investigation into these charges.”

The archdiocese reported it is taking all allegations of misconduct seriously and “encourages everyone experiencing it to come forward.” Anyone who chooses to come forward “will be received with dignity and compassion,” Cupich wrote. He also shared with parishioners how to report claims.

While the investigation is pending, Father Ismael Garcia, Little Flower’s associate pastor, will serve as pastor. Cupich wrote to parishioners: “Father Garcia knows the needs of your parish well and with the assistance of your episcopal vicar, Bishop Timothy O’Malley, will ensure that you continue to receive pastoral care.”

“I know that this is unsettling news, but I take seriously the responsibility to ensure those serving you are fit for ministry and that all are kept safe,” Cupich wrote. “I do appreciate your patience as we work to evaluate thoroughly these allegations. Only by doing so can we remain true to our promise to keep everyone safe.”

“I will inform you of any new developments and am grateful for your understanding,” Cupich wrote. “Please know the people of Little Flower Parish are in my prayers.”

Reyes did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Pope Leo XIV meets the president of the Italian Anti-Usury Council, Luciano Gualzetti, on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 20, 2025 / 15:53 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Saturday condemned usury, a practice that is sometimes an extremely grave sin that speaks to the corruption of the heart of those who see others only as “objects of exploitation.”

Usury can be defined as charging too much interest on a loan, a practice that has existed since ancient times. Traditionally, the Catholic Church taught that the sin of usury was the act of demanding any benefit or profit for the sole purpose of lending. This understanding has evolved over time, and the Church no longer condemns the general practice of lending with interest, as long as it is moderate.

On Oct. 18, the Holy Father received the National Anti-Usury Council of Italy in the Vatican Apostolic Palace. For 30 years, the council has been dedicated to “combating a problem that has a devastating impact on the lives of so many people and families,” according to the Vatican Press Office.

In his address, the pontiff stated that “the phenomenon of usury points to the corruption of the human heart. It is a painful and ancient story, already attested to in the Bible. The prophets, in fact, denounced usury, along with exploitation and every form of injustice toward the poor.”

“How far God is from the attitude that crushes people to the point of enslaving them! It is a grave sin, at times very grave, because it cannot be reduced to a mere accounting issue; usury can bring crisis to families, it can wear down the mind and heart to the point of leading people to think of suicide as the only way out,” the pope said.

Although there are forms of usury that appear to be helpful to those in financial difficulties, in the end it reveals itself “for what it is. The consequences are paid especially by fragile people, such as those who are victims of gambling” or like those facing “difficult moments, such as for instance extraordinary medical treatment or unexpected expenses beyond their means or those of their families. What first presents itself as a helping hand in reality becomes, in the long run, a torment.”

Leo XIV continued, saying “usurious financial systems can bring entire peoples to their knees. Similarly, we cannot overlook ‘those whose usurious and avaricious dealings lead to the hunger and death of their brethren in the human family’ (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 2269): their responsibilities are grave and they fuel structures of iniquitous sin.”

After urging respect for the dignity of all, especially the weakest and most vulnerable, the Holy Father urged: “Either we regain our moral and spiritual dignity or we fall into a cesspool.”

Jesus, Zacchaeus, and a path to conversion of usurers

Pope Leo then referred to the Gospel passage (Luke 19:1-10) in which Jesus meets Zacchaeus, the chief tax collector of Jericho, who “was accustomed to abuse, oppression, and bullying. It was normal for someone like him to take advantage of his position to exploit people and earn money by robbing the weakest.”

“And so Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus: He calls him and tells him that he wants to stay at his house. And then the unthinkable happens: Jesus’ generosity completely takes the man aback and puts him with his back against the wall. Coming to his senses, Zacchaeus realizes that he has done wrong and decides to repay ‘with interest’!” Leo continued.

“No one asked him for so much, not even the Mosaic law. But the fact is that his encounter with Christ transformed his heart, and then everything changed. Only generosity is so effective that it reveals to us the meaning of our humanity,” the pope emphasized.

The pontiff pointed out that “when the pursuit of profit prevails, others are no longer people, they no longer have a face, they are just objects to be exploited; and so we end up losing ourselves and our souls. The conversion of those who engage in usury is just as important as closeness to those who suffer from usury.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Bishops fill St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican for the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Oct. 27, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 15:23 pm (CNA).

The Vatican has recognized an Australian bishop’s synodal plan to restructure the governance of his diocese. 

The Vatican’s General Secretariat of the Synod has officially recognized a pastoral plan laid out by Bishop Michael Kennedy of Maitland-Newcastle that will see the diocese adopting a governance structure that “will operate in synodal mode.”

In an Oct. 14 response to the pastoral letter on social media, the Vatican synodal office posted the letter. The social media post said the bishop invites the faithful to “embrace this vision more fully,” fostering a Church that listens, learns, and acts together in the service of the Gospel.

What’s in the plan? 

According to Kennedy’s missive, titled “Letter on Synodality and the New Diocesan Governance Framework for the Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle,” changes will be implemented on four levels. 

First, a diocesan pastoral council will be formed to lead the diocese’s synodal process through the revitalization of its pastoral planning cycle, which the letter said had been paused due to the death of Bishop Bill Wright in 2021. “The pastoral planning cycle allows significant synodal engagement in the future direction of the diocese,” he said. 

“This will be a significant milestone in our synodal journey,” Kennedy added, “but not its conclusion — the synodal journey is ever ongoing.” 

The pastoral planning cycle will also be implemented on a parish level, “adapted to the circumstances of each community,” Kennedy said, noting: “It is intended that the 2025 revised statuses for parish pastoral and finance councils will assist.” 

The diocesan curia will be restructured to reflect synodal “structures of participation.” Namely, Kennedy emphasized that “the governance of the bishops’ role has to be constitutional, follow the laws and customs of our Church, and be consultative (synodal); hearing those who need to be heard before decisions are made, which in some instances also requires receiving consent before acting.” The letter does not clarify what instances would constitute such procedures. 

Lastly, the plan stipulates the formation of “new advisory groups that will adopt synodal working methods.” The groups will include three civil councils and four canonical councils. Among the civil councils will be the bishop’s senior leadership group, a governance council, and a safeguarding council. Canonical councils include a council of priests, pastoral council, college of consultors, and a finance council. 

The advisory groups will provide advice to the bishop and diocesan trustees “for critical discernment” in their respective areas of expertise, Kennedy’s letter said.

A call to action

“In the coming months, we will invite expressions of interest from those who feel called to contribute their insight, skills, and experience as members of these advisory boards and councils,” Kennedy wrote.

“Whether your background is in pastoral life, education, social services, finance, governance, community leadership, or good plain commonsense problem-solving and decision-making,” he continued, “your perspective can help us faithfully serve our communities into the future.” 

The Maitland-Newcastle bishop concluded the letter noting more information about the nature and scope of the advisory groups will be posted to the diocese’s website in the near future. 

“I thank you for your ongoing commitment to the life and mission of our diocese,” he wrote. “Together, guided by the Holy Spirit, we will continue our journey as a local Church, faithful to the Lord” and focused on synodal listening, communion in faith and love, and mission to spread the Gospel.

Seven new saints were canonized on Oct. 19, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 20, 2025 / 14:53 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday highlighted the life testimony of the saints canonized Sunday, Oct. 19, as “luminous signs of hope” for today’s Catholics.

“The men and women we proclaimed saints yesterday are luminous signs of hope for all of us, because they offered their lives for love of Christ and their brothers and sisters,” the pontiff said in his address to the pilgrims, representatives of the clergy, and civil authorities who had traveled to Rome to participate in the canonization of the seven new saints.

Leo XIV expressed his hope that the canonization of Venezuela’s first two saints, Carmen Rendiles and José Gregorio Hernández, would be “a strong incentive for all Venezuelans to come together and recognize themselves as children and brothers and sisters of the same homeland, reflecting on the present and the future in the light of the virtues that these saints lived in a heroic manner.”

Pointing to the faith of both saints, the pope emphasized that “God was present in their lives and transformed them, turning the simple existence of a normal person, like any one of us, into a lamp that illuminated everyone with a new light in their daily lives.”

The Holy Father emphasized that these two saints, whose lives can illuminate the present, were “people very similar to ourselves, who lived confronting problems that are not unfamiliar to us and which we ourselves can face as they did, following their example.”

The Holy Father also indicated that “if God is our eternal reward, our work and our struggles cannot end in goals that are not only unworthy and degrading but also ephemeral.”

He also invited his listeners to recognize that “those who live alongside me — like me, like them — are called to the same holiness; I must therefore see them, above all, as brothers and sisters to be respected and loved, sharing the journey of life, supporting each other in difficulties and building the kingdom of God together with joy.”

St. Ignatius Maloyan, a pastor after the heart of Christ

Regarding the Armenian Catholic archbishop St. Ignatius Maloyan, Pope Leo XIV emphasized that he was “a pastor after Christ’s own heart, and in times of heavy difficulties, he did not abandon his flock; rather he encouraged them in order to strengthen their faith.”

He also noted that “when he was asked to renounce his faith in exchange for freedom, he did not hesitate to choose his Lord, even to the point of shedding his own blood for God.”

The Holy Father therefore prayed for the intercession of this saint “to renew the fervor of believers and bring fruits of reconciliation and peace for all.”

St. Peter To Rot, defender of truths of the faith

For Leo XIV, St. Peter To Rot, the first native Papuan saint, offers “an inspiring example of steadfastness and fortitude in preaching the truths of the Gospel when confronted by difficulties and challenges, even threats to our lives.”

The pope prayed that the example of this saint from Papua New Guinea “would encourage us to defend the truths of the faith, even at the cost of personal sacrifice, and to rely always on God in our trials.”

Murdered at the age of 33 in 1945 for defending the sanctity of marriage, he demonstrated, according to the pontiff, “extraordinary courage by risking his life to carry out his apostolate in secret, because his pastoral work was prohibited by the occupying forces during the Second World War.”

St. Maria Troncatti, an example of charity

Regarding the new Salesian saint who dedicated her life to serving the Indigenous peoples of Ecuador, Pope Leo noted that “she cared for the bodies and hearts of those she assisted with the love and strength she drew from faith and prayer.”

“Her truly tireless work,” the pontiff continued, “is an example for us of a charity that does not give up in the face of difficulties but rather transforms them into opportunities for free and total self-giving.”

St. Vicenta Maria Poloni: Perseverance in service to the weak

Pope Leo XIV highlighted St. Vicenta Maria Poloni, founder of the Sisters of Mercy, for her compassion toward the sick and marginalized.

Her example, the Holy Father explained, “encourages us to persist in daily service to the most fragile: It is precisely there that holiness of life flourishes!” he exclaimed.

St. Bartolo Longo and love of Mary in the rosary

Finally, he emphasized that the Italian St. Bartolo Longo “devoted all his energy to works of corporal and spiritual mercy, promoting faith in Christ and affection for Mary through charity toward orphans, the poor, the desperate.”

“Grateful to its founder, may the Shrine of Pompeii preserve and spread the fervor of St. Bartolo, apostle of the rosary. I wholeheartedly recommend this prayer to everyone, to priests, religious, families, and young people,” the pontiff encouraged.

With this prayer, the Holy Father said, “we assimilate the Gospel and learn to practice it.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Venezualans celebate their country’s two new saints during the canonization ceremony on Oct. 19, 2025, in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/EWTN News

Vatican City, Oct 20, 2025 / 14:23 pm (CNA).

Underlying political tensions have surfaced among Venezuelans in Rome celebrating the recent canonization of the country’s first two saints, José Gregorio Hernández and Mother Carmen Rendiles Martínez.

A Venezuelan government delegation led by Carmen Meléndez, mayor of Caracas, and hundreds of pilgrims from the Latin American nation were among the 70,000 people who attended the Oct. 19 canonization ceremony led by Pope Leo XIV in St. Peter’s Square.

However, in the days prior to Venezuelans converging at the Vatican to celebrate their country’s newly-proclaimed saints, reports of evident discord between government officials and citizens regarding President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime have also emerged.

Over the weekend, activists connected to the opposition political movement Vente Venezuela, led by 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, shared posts on Instagram highlighting their cause to free hundreds of men and women political prisoners.

The activists carried posters with photos of men and women detained by Maduro’s government with the slogan “Release All Political Prisoners” at an Oct. 18 protest in Piazza Venezia, a public square near the Vatican, and at the Oct. 19 canonization ceremony held in St. Peter’s Square. 

The Venezuelan government’s political agenda in Rome had also been called into question by the media in the days preceding the canonizations of the country’s first saints, with critics implying their presence at the Vatican is an attempt to project a positive image of national pride and unity under the Maduro regime.

Last week, a scuffle broke out between Venezuelan Vatican journalist Edgar Beltrán and  Venezuelan businessman Ricardo Cisneros, a member of the Venezuelan government delegation present at the canonization, at an event held at the Lateran University of Rome to honor the two new saints.

During the Oct. 17 event, Beltrán’s interview with the Vatican’s substitute for the Secretariat of State, Archbishop Edgar Robinson Peña Parra, was interrupted by Cisneros after the prelate was asked about the Maduro government’s “apparent politicization” of the canonizations, according to Catholic news outlet The Pillar.

Undemocratic measures and human rights violations in Venezuela have continued to garner increasing international attention, particularly since January when Maduro was sworn in for a third term after contested presidential election results.

Meanwhile, earlier this month opposition leader Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work in “promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela” and for “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”   

On Monday, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin in a Mass of thanksgiving for the two saints held inside St. Peter’s Basilica urged Venezuelans to respect human rights and “create spaces for encounter and democratic coexistence.”

“Only in this way, dear Venezuela, will you be able to respond to your calling for peace, if you build it on the foundations of justice, truth, freedom, and love,” the cardinal said in his Oct. 20 homily.

null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/Shutterstock

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 20, 2025 / 13:53 pm (CNA).

U.S. Catholic bishops are criticizing President Donald Trump’s effort to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) — a fertility treatment contrary to Church teaching that routinely discards human embryos.

Trump announced on Oct. 16 that the government entered an agreement with a pharmaceutical company to lower the cost of some IVF drugs and that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is working to expedite the review of a new drug.

IVF is a fertility treatment in which doctors fuse sperm and eggs in a laboratory to create human embryos to implant in the mother’s womb. Millions of excess embryos not implanted have been destroyed or used in scientific research. Some are indefinitely frozen.

“We strongly reject the promotion of procedures like IVF that … freeze or destroy precious human beings and treat them like property,” three bishops said in a joint statement released by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

“Every human life, born and preborn, is sacred and loved by God,” they continued. “Without diminishing the dignity of people born through IVF, we must recognize that children have a right to be born of a natural and exclusive act of married love rather than a business’ technological intervention. And harmful government action to expand access to IVF must not also push people of faith to be complicit in its evils.”

The bishops added: “We will continue to review these new policies and look forward to engaging further with the administration and Congress, always proclaiming the sanctity of life and of marriage.”

The statement was signed by Bishop Robert Barron, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth; Bishop Kevin Rhoades, chairman of the Committee for Religious Liberty; and Bishop Daniel Thomas, chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

Bishop Michael Burbidge of Arlington, Virginia, also released a statement criticizing the effort to expand IVF, calling such treatments “unethical and unjust.”

“God authors and blesses the life of every child born of IVF even as he wills the true good and thriving of all persons,” said Burbidge, who previously chaired the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities.

“The stark reality, however, is that IVF subverts the dignity of parents as well as the lives of unborn children,” he said. “Every child born by means of IVF will one day learn he or she has many missing brothers and sisters, who, although equal in dignity and rights, were conceived but deliberately denied their right to life. This is because many of the embryonic children brought about by every IVF process will either be discarded, having been deemed undesirable, or frozen, having been deemed unnecessary. By its nature, IVF both creates and destroys human lives.”

Pro-life fertility treatments also included

Regulators are also working to expand options for employers to offer fertility coverage for both IVF and treatments “that address the root causes of infertility.” 

Although IVF is contrary to Church teaching, some of the latter treatments may include options compatible with Catholic teaching, such as natural procreative technology and fertility education and medical management.

In the joint USCCB statement, the bishops wrote that they are “grateful” the administration included non-IVF fertility treatments that provide “comprehensive and holistic restorative reproductive medicine, which can help ethically to address infertility and its underlying causes.”

Similarly, Burbidge called the inclusion “a welcome opportunity for all employers, and especially for the Church and its apostolates, to enhance their health care coverage by offering new or expanded coverage for ethical fertility care.”

“It is my hope that, by God’s grace and with time, all Christians and people of goodwill, especially including our civil authorities, will come to encourage and favor ethical and life-affirming fertility care that is conducive to the true health and flourishing of American families,” Burbidge wrote.

Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, archbishop emeritus of Ancona-Osimo, in the northern Italian region of Marche, has died at the age of 86 after a long illness. / Credit: Daniel Ibanez/EWTN News

ACI Stampa, Oct 20, 2025 / 13:23 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, archbishop emeritus of Ancona-Osimo in the northern Italian region of Marche, has died at the age of 86 after a long illness.

“It is with great sadness that I learned that our Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli has returned to the Father’s house. Let us raise our prayers to the good Lord, rich in mercy, that he may welcome his beautiful soul into paradise,” Archbishop Angelo Spina of Ancona-Osimo said on the archdiocese’s website.

“Sick for some time, he faced his illness and heavy treatments with courage, revealing the indomitable spirit that characterized his temperament and his desire to live his consecration to the Lord with unshakeable faith until the end,” said Archbishop Francesco Massara of the nearby Diocese of Camerino-San Severino Marche.

Menichelli was born in Serripola di San Severino Marche on Oct. 14, 1939.

After studying at the Pius XI Regional Pontifical Seminary in Fano, he moved to Rome, where he obtained a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical Lateran University.

Ordained a priest in 1965, he was called to Rome in 1968 to work at the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, the Church’s Supreme Court. He remained there until 1991, when he was transferred to the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

On June 10, 1994, Pope John Paul II appointed him archbishop of Chieti-Vasto in the region of Abruzzo. He was consecrated by Cardinal Achille Silvestrini.

On Jan. 8, 2004, Menichelli was named archbishop of Ancona-Osimo. Pope Francis appointed him a member of the two Synods of Bishops on the Family in 2014 and 2015.

Pope Francis made Menichelli cardinal in the consistory of February 2015, assigning him the titular church of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary in Tor Fiorenza. 

Menichelli resigned in July 2017 upon reaching the age limit for bishops.

The funeral service for the late cardinal will take place at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 22, in the Madonna dei Lumi Sanctuary in San Severino Marche and will be presided over by Bishop Nazzareno Marconi of Macerata, president of the episcopal conference of the Marche region. 

At the end of the funeral, the coffin will be taken to Ancona and, according to the cardinal’s will, he will be buried in the Cathedral of San Ciriaco. 

The funeral chapel has been set up at the Madonna dei Lumi Sanctuary and will remain open from 5 p.m. to midnight Oct. 20 and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Oct. 21.

This story was first published by ACI Stampa, CNA’s Italian-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Iranian women walk in front of a relief sculpture of the Virgin Mary at the newly-opened Maryam Moghaddas (Virgin Mary) metro station near the Sarkis Cathedral of the Armenians in Tehran on Oct. 18, 2025. / Credit: ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

ACI MENA, Oct 20, 2025 / 12:51 pm (CNA).

This past week, social media was flooded with images showing a new metro station in Tehran called the “Virgin Mary” station. The photos went viral, sparking widespread debate among those who hail it as a rare gesture of openness, those who dismiss it as a staged act to polish the regime’s image, and others who simply wonder if it even exists.

According to the posts circulating online, the “Virgin Mary” station is located on Line 6 of the Tehran metro near the St. Sarkis Armenian Cathedral.

According to France 24, the station has been under construction for 10 years. Its arched concourse and dome feature religious frescoes and artwork honoring the Virgin Mary alongside what appears to be a church, presumably the cathedral.

For many, the idea of a metro station in Iran named after the mother of Jesus is a surprise. Others see it as consistent with Shiite culture, which also venerates the Virgin Mary. Still others interpret it as an attempt to highlight the country’s religious diversity.

Many argue that such a move does not align with the Islamic Republic’s record in dealing with religious minorities, and some dismiss it as propaganda designed to project a more tolerant image of the regime to international audiences.

The official X account of the Iranian Embassy in Yerevan weighed in, describing the station as “a beautiful sign of coexistence between Iranians and the Armenian community.” 

In reality, however, this “coexistence” falls far short of international standards on religious freedom and human rights.

Iranian law, for instance, prohibits evangelizing or conversion from Islam to Christianity and enforces strict religious and social codes. During the month of Ramadan, no person of any faith is permitted to eat in public, and during Muharram, followers of all religions are barred from holding weddings or celebrations. 

In addition, the compulsory hijab remains strictly enforced for women, and religious minorities are largely excluded from government employment, leaving communities such as Armenian Christians often feeling like second-class citizens.

Even if the metro station is a symbolic gesture toward Christians, particularly Armenian Christians, it serves as a reminder of a harsher reality: Christians in Iran continue to face arrest, torture, and imprisonment for their faith. In February 2024, an Iranian judge sentenced Hakop Gochumyan to prison for engaging in what authorities described as “illegal Christian activities.” 

According to the 2024 annual report by Article18, a London-based nonprofit advocating for persecuted Iranian Christians, 166 believers were arrested in 2023, a third of them simply for owning more than one copy of the Bible.

Yet despite this climate of persecution, Christianity continues to grow in Iran. In 2021, Open Doors estimated that nearly 800,000 Iranians had converted from Islam to Christianity — a remarkable trend that persists in secrecy and silence.

This story was first published by ACI MENA, CNA’s Arabic-language news partner, and has been translated for and adapted by CNA.

Ending Clergy Abuse board members and survivors hold a press conference after meeting with Pope Leo XIV on Oct. 20, 2025 in Rome. / Credit: Simone Padovani/Getty Images

Vatican City, Oct 20, 2025 / 12:21 pm (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV on Monday met with members of an international organization of clergy abuse survivors and advocates at the Vatican.

Four victims and two advocates from Ending Clergy Abuse (ECA) — a coalition representing clergy sexual abuse survivors from more than 30 countries — had an hourlong conversation with Leo on Oct. 20. According to participants, it was the first time during his pontificate that the pope met with survivors of abuse.

Gemma Hickey, ECA board president and survivor of clergy abuse, said that “this was a deeply meaningful conversation. Today we all felt heard.”

The group said it was invited to the Vatican after sending a letter to the newly-elected pontiff. 

“We came not only to raise our concerns but also to explore how we might work together to ensure the protection of children and vulnerable adults around the world. We believe collaboration is possible — and necessary,” said Janet Aguti, the ECA board’s vice president.

“The Church has a moral responsibility to support survivors and prevent future harm,” added Tim Law, ECA co-founder and board member from the U.S. “Our goal is not confrontation but accountability, transparency, and a willingness to walk together toward solutions.”

The Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors last week released its second annual report on the Church’s safeguarding policies and procedures in which it urged heightened awareness of abuse and the need to offer reparations to victims.

In an interview with Crux in July, Pope Leo said how to respond to the Church’s abuse crisis — including how to balance justice for victims with the rights of the accused — is “one of the many challenges that I’m trying to find a way to deal with.”

“An authentic and deep sensitivity and compassion to the pain, the suffering that people have endured at the hands of Church ministers, whether that be priests or bishops, laity, religious men or women, catechists, etc. That’s an issue that is with us, and I think it needs to be treated with deep respect,” he said.