Historic Pope visit to Spain: Leo XIV warns "tragic migration crisis”

The word “historic” was omnipresent in Spanish media on Monday. This described the speech of Pope Leo XIV. im Parliament in Madrid. Such appearances by a church leader are a rarity anyway. In the event of Spain’s But it was also the first appearance of a pope before the elected representatives of the people.

The tension was correspondingly great when Leo XIV took the podium in the “Cortes” on Monday morning. The focus of the content – as on his entire six-day trip through the Iberian country – was on “tragic migration crisis”.

“Put people at the center”

The situation of migrants and refugees requires a response, said Leo This results in a double need for social justice: safe and legal routes, dignified reception conditions, offering real integration opportunities – and promoting the right to remain in one’s own country.

The pontiff’s commitment to refugees fits in with the course of Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchezwhich stands for a liberal migration policy. His, for example, has received a lot of attention Mass legalization of 500,000 migrantsfor which he also received approval from the Spanish Bishops’ Conference. However, the demand is a clear contradiction The Voice of the Party according to “national priority”, i.e. giving preference to Spaniards over people with a migrant background when it comes to social assistance, for example. Those too conservative People’s Party (PP) has increasingly adopted such demands from right-wing populists.

Second meeting

For Leo XIV it is the second meeting with Sánchez in a very short time. When the Spanish head of government visited the Vatican at the end of May, further allegations of corruption in his environment became known. The pontiff’s visit is also described as a breathing space for the ailing socialist.

Finally, the two also represent the fight against social inequality and rearmament (Sánchez refuses to accept the demand Donald Trumps to increase the defense budget to five percent of GDP) and the Iran War have similar views and have therefore already felt the wrath of the US President on several occasions.

In his speech in Parliament, the Pope also expressed concern that “in various places around the world, including Europe, rearmament is once again presenting itself as an almost inevitable response to the instability of the international situation.” True security “springs from justice, patient dialogue, respect for international law and policies capable of putting the lives of peoples above interests that benefit from war.” Every war is ultimately “a painful defeat for the ability to negotiate.”

However, there are differences of opinion on the topics abortion and euthanasiawhich Leo XIV addressed with allusion to the protection of life “from conception to the natural end of life.” Both are regulated very liberally in Spain.

Abuse in the church

However, his speech was followed by seven minutes of applause from all groups. Only MPs from the left-wing Podemos and the Galician BNG parties boycotted the Pope’s appearance in parliament. The background is the many cases of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, which Leo XIV subsequently criticized as a “plague” at a meeting with Spanish bishops. Afterwards, a meeting with victims of abuse was scheduled for Monday.

On Tuesday, the pontiff will travel to Barcelona and then to the Canary Islands, where, according to aid organizations, more than 3,000 people died last year trying to reach the islands off the west coast of Africa. This visit, which his predecessor Francis had already planned, is also considered historic: a pope has never visited the Canary Islands before.