MADRID (AP) — Spanish lawmakers gave Pope Leo XIV a standing ovation on Monday after he called for respect for migrants' rights and international law in a historic address to parliament that signaled a new level of acceptance of the Catholic Church in the overwhelmingly secular country.
In the first-ever papal address to Spanish lawmakers, the American pope said a “moral renewal” was necessary in legislatures and public life to ensure respect for the inherent dignity of all people, including migrants, the unborn and the most vulnerable.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” Leo said.
Speeches by popes to foreign legislatures are rare, since they can imply recognition of a religious leader by lawmakers. Pope Francis addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 2015, and Pope Benedict XVI addressed his native German Bundestag in 2011.
That Leo was invited to speak to Las Cortes Generales showed a level of acceptance for the Catholic Church in a political setting that might have been unthinkable even a few years ago. The Catholic Church was a pillar of Gen. Francisco Franco’s dictatorship, enjoying broad control and influence over Spanish society, but that waned after democracy took root in the 1970s.
While many Spaniards still identify as Catholic, religious observance has dropped sharply amid secularizing trends seen in other once-staunchly Christian countries.
And yet lawmakers gave Leo a 7-minute standing ovation with chants of “Viva el Papa!” — “Long live the pope!”
Leo's weeklong visit to Spain — the first since Benedict visited in 2011 — has drawn large crowds, with an estimated 1.5 million people turning out for Mass on Sunday in a downtown plaza and 600,000 young people for a prayer vigil.
Pope calls for peace as Israel and Iran trade strikes
Leo's speech came Monday as Israel and Iran traded fire, threatening to drag the Middle East back into a full-scale regional war. The pope repeated his demand for dialogue, “diplomatic courage” and the "the obligation of states to resolve their disputes through the peaceful means offered by international law.”
He also lamented that European defense budgets were being built up as countries confront the threat posed by Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the Trump administration’s threats to reduce financial and military support for the continent.
“It is therefore a cause for concern that, in various parts of the world — and in Europe as well — rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation,” Leo said.
He repeated his demand for “rigorous ethical oversight” of automated weapons systems created by artificial intelligence “so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.”
Pope urges dignity, acceptance and integration for migrants
Spain’s Socialist-led government has bucked a trend in Europe and the United States by defending immigration on economic and humanitarian grounds, launching a legalization push earlier this year for hundreds of thousands of immigrants without authorization. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has highlighted the benefits to the economy with an aging workforce and low birth rate.
Leo called for strengthened international efforts to prevent the smuggling of migrants and create conditions where they can choose to stay home.
For those who flee conflict, poverty and climate change, he called for welcome and integration. Pope Francis made the plight of refugees reaching Europe a hallmark of his papacy, and Leo has insisted especially on the dignity of migrants in his native United States amid the Trump administration’s crackdown.
“This gives rise to a twofold demand for social justice: to offer safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration; and, at the same time, to promote the right to remain in one’s own land, working to ensure that no one has to leave their home due to a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, including economic inequalities and the effects of the climate crisis,” Leo said.
Leo references the Spanish conquest and the slave trade
Leo cited the 16th century Spanish intellectual tradition, known as the School of Salamanca, that gave rise to concepts of international law and inherent human rights after Spain’s colonial conquests of the Americas.
He praised the theologians involved in the movement who “understood that reason could not be invoked to legitimize whatever force or self-interest that seemed convenient” and that there were “moral limits of power.”
“It must be acknowledged that society and the church herself did not always live up to these insights found in their own Christian tradition,” Leo said.
It was a reference to the Catholic Church’s own role in the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonial conquest, and recalled Leo’s recent apology for the role the Holy See played in legitimizing slavery.
Pope visits at a delicate political moment
Leo's visit comes at a delicate time for Sánchez.
Sánchez’s Socialist Party has been hammered by corruption scandals, though none have directly implicated him. Probes have touched some of Sánchez's closest confidants, as well as his wife and brother.
As they play out in the courts, Spain is increasingly frayed by political polarization. Sánchez's minority government has been unable to pass legislation, including a budget for the past three years.
Leo, in an apparent reference to polarization, warned that “political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one's adversary."
Spain's progressive leader, who is an atheist, and the pope have converged on major issues including opposing the war in Iran. Both have been outspoken critics of the Trump administration.
Last month, after visiting Leo in the Vatican, Sánchez called the pope's voice “a moral compass in the fight against injustice."
Traditionally, the Catholic Church in Spain has been closer to the conservative Popular Party than the Socialist Party, which championed social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion rights.
However, by placing issues of justice at the center of their public discourse, Pope Francis and now Leo have narrowed the gap between the Vatican and progressive governments, said Rafael Ruiz Andrés, a sociology professor at Complutense University of Madrid who specializes in religious dynamics.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
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