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National Catholic Register

US Embassy Debunks Claim Vatican Honored Iran With Top Diplomatic Award

Isabella Bonotto
Iranian Ambassador to the Vatican Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, left, and Seyed Reza Salehi Amiri, Iran’s culture minister, arrive to attend Mass at the start of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate in St. Peter’s Square on May 18, 2025.

‘Contrary to news reports, Pope Leo has not bestowed an exclusive special honor on the Iranian ambassador to the Holy See,’ the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See said.

Deaths of Christian Sanitation Workers in Pakistan Highlight Systemic Discrimination

Akash Masih wears a plastic bag over his head to prevent dark sewage sludge from getting on his hair while cleaning a manhole in Johar Town, Lahore, on May 9, 2026.

At least six Christian sanitation workers have died in recent weeks cleaning sewers in Pakistan. Rights groups say minorities are systematically channeled into hazardous work.

Leo XIV Returns to La Sapienza, Where Benedict XVI Was Silenced

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE
Italian police block the main entrance of Rome’s La Sapienza University as students protest against Pope Benedict XVI on Jan. 17, 2008.

Eighteen years after protests forced Benedict’s cancellation, the episode still reveals a deeper clash between faith, reason, and the fallacy of much secular tolerance.

U.S. Bishop Joins Slovaks Honoring Blessed Bishop Tortured by Communists

A portrait of Blessed Vasiľ Hopko is displayed amid flowers and vigil lamps during a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of his death in Hrabské, Slovakia, on May 10, 2026.

Greek Catholic faithful gathered in the birthplace of Blessed Vasiľ Hopko, a bishop imprisoned and tortured under communism in Czechoslovakia, to mark 50 years since his death.