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Vatican City, Oct 21, 2025 / 14:07 pm (CNA).

Authoritarian regimes are among the main drivers of religious discrimination and persecution in 52 countries, according to an Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) report. 

The pontifical foundation, alongside Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, released the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025 at the Vatican on Tuesday, highlighting the need for the Church to bear witness to the millions of people who face threats of persecution and violence.

The cardinal decried the "year on year" increase of violations affecting more than 5.4 billion people worldwide at the report's launch and stressed the need for governments to acknowledge religious freedom as an "inalienable right," as asserted by both the Second Vatican Council document Dignitatis Humanae and Article 18 of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"Men and women everywhere deserve freedom from any form of compulsion in matters of faith — whether that be subtle social pressures or overt state mandates," Parolin said at the Oct. 21 report launch at the Augustinian Patristic Pontifical Institute in Rome.

The 2025 biennial report, which provides a global overview of the state of religious freedom affecting all faith communities in 196 countries from January 2023 to December 2024, found that governments in 52 countries employ "systematic strategies to control or silence religious life."

"In China, Iran, Eritrea, and Nicaragua, authorities use mass surveillance technologies, digital censorship, restrictive legislation, and arbitrary detention to suppress independent religious communities," the ACN press release stated. 

During the report launch, ACN Editor-in-Chief Marta Petrosillo said that authoritarian regimes present in parts of Latin America and Asia have attempted to "erase religious identity" by shutting down churches, preventing or banning religious education, and even renaming entire villages.  

"In North Korea, the regime criminalizes all belief, punishing worship with imprisonment, torture, or even execution," she said.

"In Nicaragua, the government has taken extreme measures to silence the Church — a religious group has lost its legal status, and public worship and religious services have been banned," she added.

Other key factors driving religious freedom violations identified in the report include jihadism and religious nationalism across Africa and Asia, and armed conflicts, forced migration, and organized crime affecting countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.

ACN also noted the erosion of religious freedom in Europe and North America, reporting increased incidences of attacks on places of worship, assault of clergy, and disruption of religious services in France, Spain, Italy, Greece, and the U.S.

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CNA Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 15:56 pm (CNA).

Reports circulating in media outlets and on social media in October 2025 allege that the Vatican has opened a prayer room for Muslims in the Apostolic Library.

Claim: The Vatican Library has opened a prayer room for Muslims.

CNA finds: The library does allow Muslim scholars a room in which to pray while they are on site doing research in the Vatican's extensive archives.

Breakdown: In mid-October 2025, sensational news coverage rocketed around internet media outlets and social media feeds: The Vatican is "allow[ing]" a "designated Muslim prayer room" in its Apostolic Library (National Review); the library has "add[ed] a Muslim prayer room" (The Dallas Express); the Vatican has "[set] up [a] dedicated Muslim prayer room at [the] heart of [the] pope's 500-year-old library" (GB News); the Holy See has "open[ed]" a "Muslim prayer room in [the] Apostolic Library" (EuroWeekly News).

The headlines are not technically inaccurate. But they appear to suggest a sort of proactivity on the Vatican's part, as if the Holy See opened up a Muslim prayer room in order to cater to Rome's Islamic population. And readers could be forgiven for thinking the endeavor is more significant than it appears to be. 

Indeed, the reports generated passionate criticism online; one deacon, for instance, claimed the prayer room constitutes "a total betrayal of Our Lord Jesus Christ," while the news outlet Zenit noted the policy had sparked a "quiet storm" in response.

The truth appears to be somewhat more mundane. The prayer room's existence became widely known after the Oct. 8 publication of an interview between the Italian newspaper La Repubblica and the priest Father Don Giacomo Cardinali, the vice prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library.

In the wide-ranging interview, Cardinali described the library as a "universal institution" and "the most secular of the entire Holy See."

"Our interlocutors are research centers, public universities, the Louvre, the Metropolitan, NASA," the priest told the newspaper. "They don't really know what a priest is, much less how to distinguish him from a bishop or a cardinal." 

Asked if "scholars of other religions" ever come to the library, the priest responded: "Of course."

"Some Muslim scholars asked us for a room with a carpet to pray, [so] we gave it to them: We have incredible ancient Korans," the priest said. 

"We are a universal library," he added. "There are Arabic, Jewish, Ethiopian collections, unique Chinese pieces. Years ago we discovered that we have the oldest medieval Japanese archive that exists outside the Rising Sun."

The verdict: The Vatican Apostolic Library does indeed allow Muslims a room for prayer. But, importantly, it does not appear to be a generally accessible Islamic prayer space but rather one designated for the "Muslim scholars" that may be on site at the time. Further, it was only opened at the request of scholars themselves.

And though it is understandable that a Muslim prayer room in the Holy See may inspire a bit of cognitive dissonance, the vice prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Library describes the space as nothing more than "a room with a carpet."

Amid the sensational news coverage, Britain's Daily Mail may have said it best when it reported, simply: "The Vatican has granted Muslim scholars' request for a prayer room."

We rate this claim true, with important context.

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 16:26 pm (CNA).

Magis Center released this week an artificial intelligence (AI) app designed to provide instant, science-based answers to questions about the Church and Catholic moral teachings.

MagisAI was announced Oct. 20 by the Magis Center, an organization created by philosopher and author Father Robert Spitzer, SJ, to explore the relationship between science, philosophy, reason, and faith. The free app draws information from Spitzer's 20 books including "Christ, Science, and Reason" and "Science at the Doorstep to God."

The app provides spoken answers to users' questions accompanied by the text and reference. If the answer is too technical or confusing, the app can provide simplifications as needed, the Magis Center reported.

"Whether you're a teacher helping students navigate secular questions, a parent guiding your family, or anyone seeking clarity on faith, magisAI equips you with instant, credible answers grounded in reason, science, and Church teaching," the organization wrote.

MagisAI covers a wide range of topics within the Church including Catholic doctrine, Christian life and morality, and Scripture and history. It provides evidence for God and Jesus with explanations rooted in science, philosophy, and history, the organization wrote. It also answers science-based questions from quantum cosmology to evolution.

Through its question-and-answer format, magisAI says it addresses "the real challenges Catholics face in today's secular environment." It combats issues including cultural pressure, faith formation gaps, accessibility of knowledge, and language barriers by offering answers in 40 different languages.

MagisAI follows a number of new Catholic AI tools created to provide prompt and accurate information to those hoping to further their understanding of Church teaching, including Longbeard, Magisterium AI, and Truthly.

While Catholic companies are working to use the technology for good, it is important that Catholics remain aware of the harms of AI and potential threats to human dignity, the Vatican said. As AI has become a controversial topic, Pope Leo XIV has said that addressing the challenges of the technology will be a theme of his teaching.

In a September explanatory note on media, the Vatican wrote: "As Catholics we can and should give our contribution, so that people — especially youth — acquire the capacity of critical thinking and grow in the freedom of the spirit."

"The challenge is to ensure that humanity remains the guiding agent," the note said. "The future of communication must be one where machines serve as tools that connect and facilitate human lives rather than erode the human voice."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 16:56 pm (CNA).

Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul-Minneapolis delivered letters from victims of the Annunciation School shooting to Pope Leo XIV during a recent visit to Rome. 

The letters from students and their family members thanked Leo for his prayers in wake of the deadly shooting that claimed two lives and injured dozens more on Aug. 27, according to a newsletter posted by Hebda on Oct. 20. 

Hebda said the opportunity to deliver the letters to Leo had made their first meeting Oct. 2 "particularly meaningful" for him. 

"Our prayers for the victims of the tragic shooting during a school Mass in the American state of Minnesota," Leo had said on Aug. 31 after leading the weekly Angelus prayer from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square.

"The loss of life on that occasion was horrific and the impact on students, teachers, and their families traumatizing," Hebda said, adding: "I asked Pope Leo for his continued prayers for Sophia Forchas and the other survivors who continue their recovery, and especially his prayers for those who might find it difficult to return to Annunciation Church or even to the celebration of Mass."

Forchas, 12, was shot in the head during the attack and remains in an inpatient rehabilitation program after having been moved from critical care in September, according to an update from her parents on their GoFundMe. 

"Most of us would agree that the horror of the Aug. 27 shooting was magnified by the fact that it took place in the context of Mass, that most sacred of gatherings for our Catholic community," Hebda continued. "It's at the Mass where we come together to join in Jesus' offering of himself to the Father and where we have the opportunity to be nourished by God's word and the Eucharist. Like all of our churches, Annunciation is sacred because it has been set apart for divine worship. That's clear from the very inscription we find on the façade: 'This Is the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.'"

Hebda's meeting with Leo took place during the archbishop's visit to Rome for the ordination of two seminarians as deacons. 

St. Paul Seminary posted a video of the archbishop with Leo, writing: "Our very own shepherd Archbishop Hebda had the great honor to meet Pope Leo XIV during his recent visit to Rome!"

Hebda can be seen in the video holding a folder while speaking with the Holy Father in St. Peter's Square. 

The archdiocese did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

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CNA Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 17:26 pm (CNA).

Sister Reji Varghese began her three-year term as head of the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood for the United States after her recent installation presided over by Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson, New Jersey, on Oct. 13.

Varghese will be the delegate for the Daughters in the U.S., leading three missionary communities that live out their charism by "caring for the youth and the elderly while reflecting in the day-to-day life that same sacrificial love that impelled Christ shed his blood for our salvation," according to the statement from the Daughters.

The superior general of the congregation, who is based in Rome, appointed Varghese as the new delegate, an act that "renewed" the U.S. delegation, according to the Daughters. 

The Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood serve across the U.S., including in New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. 

Originally founded in Italy, the community is found throughout Italy as well as in Brazil, East Timor, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The congregation ministers to orphans, vulnerable children, the sick, and the elderly as well as educating youth. 

In 1873, Father Thomas Maria Fusco, now a "blessed" in the Catholic Church, moved by the plight of an orphaned street girl, founded the Daughters of Charity of the Most Precious Blood in Pagani, Italy. 

Beginning with the seven orphans at their founding, the three original sisters had a "mission of spreading the devotion of the charity of the precious blood of Christ by which God's infinite love for us is revealed," the Daughters told CNA in a statement. 

The sisters continue the founding legacy "by engaging in works of mercy through different apostolates such as assisting the poor, the sick, and the elderly as well as educating the children and young people, especially the most vulnerable," the congregation said. 

In Paterson, the Daughters operate a residential home for senior women called St. Joseph's Rest Home as well as a day care for young children. 

Sweeney celebrated the installation Mass on Oct. 13 along with five other priests including the sisters' chaplain, Father Charles Waller. 

Varghese in response to her installation said she is relying on the grace of God in her new role. 

"As our father founder said: 'To love God, great talents are not necessary ... it is enough to have a heart capable of loving,'" she told CNA. 

"I know my limits, but by the grace of God and Blessed Thomas Maria Fusco, and with the cooperation of all the sisters, God's will shall be done," she said.

"I am very happy for our sisters' ongoing support, friendship, and prayers during these days," Varghese continued. "My wish is that in whatever we do and say may the charity of the blood of Jesus keep us always united."

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 17:56 pm (CNA).

Protections for religious freedom in the U.S. have grown in recent years with multiple states adopting laws to strengthen the constitutional right to freely exercise one's religion.

As of 2025, 30 states have adopted a version of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) or similar legislative protection for religious freedom. 

The most recent states to adopt those protections for state-level laws were Georgia and Wyoming in 2025 and Iowa, Utah, and Nebraska in 2024. West Virginia and North Dakota adopted them in 2023 and South Dakota and Montana did the same in 2021.

RFRA was first adopted in 1993, when then-President Bill Clinton signed it into law to expand religious freedom protections. Under the law, the federal government cannot "substantially burden" the free exercise of religion unless there is a "compelling government interest" and it is carried out in the "least restrictive" means possible.

Congress passed the law in response to the 1990 Supreme Court decision in Employment Division v. Smith, which asserted that the First Amendment was not violated as long as a law was "neutral and generally applicable." The law was intended to provide a stronger safeguard for the free exercise of religion than what was provided by the highest court. 

Bipartisan consensus gone, but opposition weakening

When RFRA was adopted at the federal level in the 1990s, the protections had overwhelming bipartisan support. In the 2010s, that bipartisan consensus waned as most Democrats voiced opposition to the protections.

Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, told CNA that in 2013, two states adopted RFRA with nearly unanimous support from Republicans and about two-thirds support from Democrats. However, the law became more divisive after the 2014 Supreme Court ruling in favor of exempting Hobby Lobby from a mandate to provide abortifacient drugs based on RFRA.

"That [bipartisan support] seems like a million years ago," Schultz said. "Now I would say Republican support is about the same as it was then. Democratic support is under 5%."

Although Schultz did not express optimism that bipartisan support could return any time soon, he credited some cultural shifts for the strong success in Republican-leaning states over the past four years.

From 2014 through 2020, he said business groups and LGBT groups "were working together very strongly … in opposition to religious freedom bills" because they saw them as threats to certain anti-discrimination laws related to workplace policies from religious employers.

However, post-2020, he said, "the politics of RFRA are far more favorable," and he noted there has been "far less opposition from business groups."

One reason for this change, according to Schultz, was the widely-published story of NCAA championship swimmer Lia Thomas, a biologically male swimmer who identified as a transgender woman and competed in women's sports. This led polling to "change on every issue related to LGBT," he noted.

Another reason, he argued, was the response to transgender-related policies by Target and the Bud Light ads, which led to "consumer anger at both of them." He noted the money lost by the corporations "made business groups say 'we are not going to have the same posture.'"

In spite of the partisanship that fuels the current debate, Schultz noted RFRA has been used to defend religious freedom on a wide range of issues, some of which have pleased conservatives and others that have pleased progressives.

Although RFRA has been used to defend religious freedom on issues related to contraception, abortion, gender, and sexuality, it has also been used to defend religious organizations that provide services for migrants. 

"[RFRA is] not politically predictable," Schultz said.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 18:26 pm (CNA).

Rodrigo Paz Pereira of the Christian Democratic Party is the president-elect of Bolivia after defeating former Bolivian President Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga Ramírez of the Free Alliance coalition in a close runoff election on Oct. 19.

Both were seen as candidates from the political right, although Paz Pereira is considered more centrist. The election marks the end of nearly two decades of the South American country's Movement Toward Socialism government, which brought Evo Morales to power as president in 2005 and to which outgoing President Luis Arce also belongs.

According to preliminary results, Paz Pereira obtained 54.61% of the vote, while his opponent obtained 45.39%. Quiroga acknowledged his defeat at a press conference.

'I want to thank our God'

In his first speech as president-elect, on the evening of Oct. 19, Paz Pereira stated: "I want to thank our God … because he is a blessed God who also gives boldness to make decisions that affect the homeland, that lead to moments like these."

"God, family, and homeland are the foundation of the vision we have regarding our commitment to all of Bolivia, to all Bolivians," he continued.

The president-elect said that "it is with love that the country works out its differences, not with hatred or divisions. It is with the ability to unite all together for the purpose of moving our country forward," encouraging people to avoid "any more 'dirty wars' [government repression] in Bolivia."

Paz Pereira said that "today, since the victory, we extend our hand to govern with all the men and women who care about the country."

"This is not an ideological problem, because we Bolivians know that ideology doesn't put food on the table. What puts food on the table is the right to work, what puts food on the table is strong institutions, what puts food on the table is the just and impartial application of the law, respect for private property, what puts food on the table is having certainty in your future, and that's what we want to work on," the president-elect stated.

Origins and political career

Born in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, on Sept. 22, 1967, Paz Pereira is the son of former Bolivian President Jaime Paz Zamora, historical leader of the now-defunct Revolutionary Left Movement, and Spaniard Carmen Pereira. He was born in Spain during one of the many exiles his father was forced into as a result of his political career.

He is married to María Elena Urquidi Barbery, with whom he has four children: Catalina, Alicia, Paulino, and Elena.

Paz Pereira holds a bachelor's degree in international relations with a minor in economics from American University in Washington, D.C., where he also earned a master's degree in political administration.

He served as mayor of Tarija in southern Bolivia from 2015–2020 and as a senator from 2020–2025.

God's role in his life

Interviewed during the campaign on the Bolivian Christian channel XTO TV, Rodrigo Paz Pereira asserted that God plays a "central" role in his life. After stating that he is Catholic, he emphasized that "every time I see Christ crucified there, I always see the effort, the human sacrifice in that whole process."

"If God has given you anything, it's life. Use it, always be aware of it, care for it," he said, emphasizing that this perspective leads him to consider two aspects: "One is to love God above all things, who gives you this environment; around you and the other has to do with your neighbor, that teaching of respect, of loving your neighbor."

"If you set about looking at all the possible rules or commandments, it's complicated, but if you comply with these two, I believe you have a good relationship within your family.You try to fulfill your relationship with your neighbors, because [in this perspective] your daughter is your neighbor, your wife is your neighbor, that is, they are part of the environment around you. And if you understand this first [relationship], you also understand the larger environment, the green environment, and from [that conceptualization] many proposals within my platform have emerged."

In a statement to the Spanish news agency EFE, Paz Pereira also emphasized that in his native Santiago de Compostela, "I became very devoted to fatherly St. James, who in Bolivia has a very close relationship with rural areas and those who live there." 

Bolivian bishops: 'May better days come'

In a statement titled "A New Stage for Bolivia," the Bolivian Bishops' Conference noted that the country's "challenges are great, and we trust that the newly elected government will know how to face them, prioritizing the well-being of all Bolivians."

Among these challenges, the Bolivian bishops listed "attention to families living in poverty, improving access to health care and medicines, education, preferential attention to the most vulnerable sectors, as well as fuel supplies and economic recovery."

Highlighting the "peaceful exercise of democracy" on Sunday, Oct. 19, the bishops noted that "this participation expresses everyone's hope: that better days may come for Bolivia."

The bishops' conference "called on all political and social actors" to calmly accept "the results of the electoral process, respecting the sovereign decision of the Bolivian people, and working together for the good of the country."

"To those who have been elected, we remind you that your term in office must be exercised with ethics, transparency, and a spirit of service, always putting the common good before personal or partisan interests. Do not betray the trust the people have placed in you," the bishops stated.

They also asked all Bolivians to commit "to building a different tomorrow, keeping alive hope and commitment to building better days for Bolivia, mutually respecting each other and reaffirming dialogue as a path to reencountering one another and development, to move our economy forward."

"We entrust the present and future of our beloved Bolivia to the protection of God, Lord of life and history, and to the intercession of our Mother, the Virgin Mary. We ask our Creator to shower his blessings upon our homeland and upon the elected officials, and to inspire all Bolivians to work together for justice, reconciliation, and the progress of the nation," the bishops concluded.

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

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Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Oct 21, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

A controversial ad campaign posted in the New York City subway system has sparked criticism and vandalism over the past few weeks. The print ads are selling an AI companion necklace called "Friend" that promises to be "someone who listens, responds, and supports."

The device first launched in 2024, retailing at $129. It is designed to listen to conversations, process the information, and send responses to the user's phone via a connected app. While users can tap the disc's button to prompt an immediate response, the product will also send unprompted texts. The device's microphones don't offer an off switch, so it is constantly listening and sending messages based on conversations it picks up.

CNA did not receive a response to a question from Friend.com about the success of its subway ad campaign and how many people are currently using the devices, but Sister Nancy Usselmann, FSP, director of the Daughters of St. Paul's Pauline Media Studies who also studies AI, told CNA that "people are turning to AI for companionship because they find human relationships too complicated." 

But "without that complicatedness, we cannot grow to become the best that we can be. We remain stagnant or selfish, which is a miserable existence," she said.

Creating 'Friend' amid loneliness epidemic 

Avi Schiffmann, the 22-year-old who started Friend.com, was a Harvard student before leaving school to focus on a number of projects. At 18, he created a website that tracked early COVID-19 data from Chinese health department sources. In 2022, he built another website that matched Ukrainian refugees with hosts around the world to help them find places to stay. He then founded Friend and now serves as the company's CEO. 

Schiffmann and his company first turned heads when an eerie video announcing the new gadget was released in July 2024. The advertisement featured four different individuals interacting with their "friends." One woman takes a hike with her pendant, while another watches a movie with hers. A man gets a text from his "friend" while playing video games with his human friends. He first appears to be sad and lonely around his friends, until his AI "friend" texts him, which appears to put him at ease.

The marketing video ends with a young man and woman spending time together as the woman discusses how she has only ever brought "her" to where they are hanging out, referencing her AI gadget. 

"It's so strange because it's awkward to have an AI in between a human friendship," Usselmann said about the video ad. 

Hundreds took to the comments section of the YouTube video to respond — mostly negatively — to both the Friend.com ads and the technology. Commentators called out the company for capitalizing on loneliness and depression. One user even called the video "the most dystopian advertisement" he had ever seen, and others wrote the video felt like a "horror film."

"While its creators might have good intentions to bring more people the joys of companionship, they are misguided in trying to achieve this through a digital simulacrum," Father Michael Baggot, LC, professor of bioethics at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, told CNA.

The device "suffers from a misnomer, since authentic friendship involves an interpersonal relationship of mutual support," said Baggot, who studies AI chatbots and works on the development of the Catholic AI platform Magisterium AI. 

"The product risks both worsening the loneliness epidemic by isolating users from others and undermining genuine solitude by intruding on quiet moments with constant notifications and surveillance. Friend commodities connection and may exploit human emotional vulnerabilities for profit," he said, adding: "It might encourage users to avoid the challenging task of building real relationships with people and encourage them to settle for the easily controllable substitute." 

Usselmann agreed. "Only by reaching out in genuine compassion and care can another person who feels lonely realize that they matter to someone else," she said. "We need to get to know our neighbors and not remain so self-centered in our apartments, neighborhoods, communities, or places of work."

AI device ad campaign causes stir

In a post to social media platform X on Sept. 25, Schiffmann announced the launch of the subway ad campaign. The post has more than 25 million views and nearly 1,000 comments criticizing the pendant and campaign — and some commending them.

Dozens of the ads have since been torn up and written on. People have posted images to social media of the vandalized ads with messages about the surveillance dangers and the general threats of chatbots. One urged the company to "stop profiting off of loneliness," while another had "AI is not your friend" written on it.

One person added to the definition of "friend," writing it is also a "living being." It also had the message: "Don't use AI to cure your loneliness. Reach out into the world!"

Usselmann said the particular issue with the campaign and device is "the tech world assuming certain words and giving them different connotations." 

"A 'friend' is someone with whom you have a bond based on mutual affection," she said. "A machine does not have real affection because it cannot love. It does not have a spiritual soul from which intellect, moral agency, and love stem."

She continued: "And from a Christian understanding, a friend is someone who exhibits sacrificial love, who supports through the ups and downs of life, and who offers spiritual encouragement and forgiveness. An AI 'friend' can do none of those things."

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Rome, Italy, Oct 21, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

The murder of a 21-year-old Italian man after trying to break up a fight has prompted two southern Italian archbishops to sound the alarm against the rise of Mafia-style killings among young people.  

At a prayer service Oct. 18 for Paolo Taormina, who was killed one week ago outside the family-owned bar where he worked, Archbishop Gualtiero Isacchi of Monreale, Italy, told the faithful present that their presence was "a sign of resistance and a desire for change."

"The violent, typically Mafia-like logic of oppression, which some shamefully and unconsciously praise on social media, aims to erase human conscience and dignity, to extinguish hope, and to condemn the person to the resignation of 'nothing will ever change,'" Isacchi said, according to SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops' conference.

Archbishop Corrado Lorefice of Palermo also attended the prayer service, which was held at St. Philip Neri Church, located in the Zen neighborhood, the same area where Taormina was murdered. 

Invoking the memory of Blessed Pino Puglisi, a parish priest who was killed by the Mafia in 1993, Lorefice urged the people of Monreale and Palermo to "take on the challenge" of protecting youth from the influence of the Mafia and gang-related organizations.

"We must shout to young people that criminal organizations do not want their happiness, and we must remember that the center of the city is wherever the person is," the archbishop said.  

Taormina's murder is the latest in a series of gangland-style shootings related to a perceived rise in youth violence and organized crime in Monreale and Palermo.

In April, three young men — Massimo Pirozzo, Salvatore Turdo, and Andrea Miceli — were shot and killed after four men — one of whom was 19 years old — shot at a crowd after an argument broke out. Two others were seriously injured in the shooting, which was dubbed "The Monreale Massacre." 

Taormina's alleged killer, 28-year-old Gaetano Maranzano, was the son of one of the area's known drug kingpins and was caught with other firearms after he was arrested at his home.  

At the prayer service, Isacchi said that some may view their gathering to pray for an end to violence as "useless" or perhaps look at it "with an air of sufficiency and superiority." 

Nevertheless, "we choose to listen to the faint inner voice that whispers to us: 'God is there, lying on the ground next to Paolo, Massimo, Andrea, Salvo, to all our sons and friends, victims of senseless armed violence,'" he said. "It is a voice that calls us, asking us to do our part to stop the violence and restore dignity to every person and every environment."

Father Giovanni Giannalia, pastor of St. Philip Neri Parish, told SIR that while many singled out the troubled Zen neighborhood as "trivial" and "violent," there are still "many people willing to do good, and doing it here is more tiring than elsewhere."  

"Youth violence is worrying: three deaths in Monreale, one in Palermo. The situation is out of control, it's an emergency," Giannalia said, adding that everyone, especially priests, who "encounter evil" must fight against it. 

The warnings from Church leaders highlighted concerns regarding escalating violence among young people, particularly in Sicily, where the local Mafia, known as "Cosa Nostra," has taken to recruiting young people. 

According to a February report by the "Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime," a demographic analysis conducted after raids against the Mafia organization found that of 181 individuals arrested, 40 were under the age of 35 and 10 were under the age of 25.  

Following Taormina's murder, Isacchi and Lorefice issued a joint statement Oct. 14 saying they had hoped that "The Monreale Massacre" would mark a turning point in the region that would end the wave of youth violence.  

"Today, we renew the same hope. We believe that change is possible," the bishops wrote. "May Paolo's life become a sign of the transformation of our cities: a seed of rebirth."

"Let us entrust ourselves to Our Lady of Sorrows," the archbishops added. "Only she knows how to enter the pierced heart of a mother who holds her murdered son in her arms, but also into the heart of the mother of a son who is a killer. May the mother of Jesus teach us the way of rebirth, love for the little ones, the poor, the children, and for those who have no voice; the way of nonviolence and peace." 

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ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 21, 2025 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Malaga, Spain-born artist Raúl Berzosa has painted portraits of popes for the Vatican, and his works have graced the covers of booklets at Vatican ceremonies and even the Stations of the Cross at the Colosseum. However, as he himself confessed on X, none had ever hung on the façade of St. Peter's Basilica.

That honor came this week with the portrait of St. Peter To Rot, which Berzosa painted for the saint's canonization ceremony on Oct. 19. The Vatican commissioned the Catholic artist to paint the official portrait, which has been displayed since Oct. 17 on the façade of St. Peter's Basilica. Berzosa considers the work to be a fruit of grace and the culmination of a life dedicated to reflecting the light of faith in art.

Peter To Rot, who was born in Papua New Guinea, served as a catechist and died a martyr for the faith in 1945. He was canonized on Oct. 19 along with six others. 

In 1995, during his trip to Papua New Guinea, St. John Paul II described To Rot's life as "a beacon shining bright, a signal fire leading you to hold aloft the noble ideals which inspired him: faith in God, love of family, service of neighbor, and unswerving courage in the face of trials and sacrifice."

Berzosa, 46, renowned worldwide for his realistic style and religious themes, explained to ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner, that with his work depicting the Papuan saint, he sought to convey the inner light of which the Polish pope spoke.

"If the portrait manages to convey some of Peter To Rot's bright inner light and helps others strengthen their faith, then the work will have fulfilled its true function," the Spanish painter said.

"I hope that the faithful see in his gaze not only a martyr but a man full of peace, love for his family, and fidelity to the Gospel," he added.

For Berzosa, To Rot's essential witness lies in the conviction that holiness "can be lived out in everyday life, even in the midst of suffering, as in his case."

The artist said he wanted the lighting effects in the portrait "to emerge from within the face itself, something serene that engages the viewer and seeks to convey hope." Berzosa also noted that the "light blue and green brushstrokes" create a warm atmosphere, with the color and the overall composition seeking to accompany "this luminous message."

The challenges of painting the first Papuan saint

"The main challenge was to approach Peter To Rot's image itself with respect and accuracy. To achieve this, I had some black and white photographs as well as a color portrait based on one of the photographs. All of this helped me create my painting," he said.

In Berzosa's portrait, To Rot is dressed in the traditional attire of local catechists: a white shirt and a type of blue wrap.

"When the Japanese threatened the catechists and prohibited any apostolic activity, the vast majority — out of fear — hid the cross. Peter To Rot was the only catechist who continued to proudly display the white cross that identified him as a catechist," Berzosa noted.

"In one hand he holds a Bible and in the other [open hand he shows] two rings, a reference to his defense of marriage. A cross hangs from his neck," the artist explained. To Rot wanted to die wearing that cross, which would later be key to identifying his mortal remains. Behind the figure of the saint, the countryside of his native land at the time can be seen.

For the most accurate depiction, the painter researched photographs, traditional clothing, and other local references. 

"Throughout this work, I was assisted by Father Tomás Agustín Ravaioli, vice postulator of the cause," Berzosa explained.

Portraying a martyr

The artist noted that the lives of martyrs, although often short, are "full of meaning, dedicated out of love and fidelity to the Lord." He said he always seeks to convey the serenity of these witnesses to the Gospel in the most decisive moment of their lives.

"I try to understand that mixture of strength and peace of someone who gives his life for Christ," he said.

"When I paint portraits of martyrs, there is a special respect for the person portrayed. Their witness transcends cultures and eras," he noted.

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

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