The pontiff warned against subordinating human dignity to shifting majorities and called for stronger protections for life, migrants, families, peace and religious freedom.<\/p>\n
MADRID \u2014 Pope Leo XIV made history Monday by becoming the first pope to address Spain\u2019s Congress of Deputies, delivering a forceful appeal to the country\u2019s political class to defend human dignity and protect life \u201cfrom conception to its natural end.\u201d<\/p>\n
The June 8 address<\/a>, given before about 700 guests amid tight security, drew a standing ovation that lasted nearly seven minutes, with shouts of \u201cLong live the pope!\u201d echoing through the chamber.<\/p>\n In his speech, Pope Leo warned lawmakers not to subordinate human dignity to \u201cshifting social consensus or the whims of the majority at any given moment,\u201d insisting that \u201cevery truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIn this sense, if life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have?\u201d the pope asked. \u201cCan a community that casts into the shadows the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, those who suffer in silence, or those who depend entirely on the care of others be called fully just?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: it is a goal of civilization,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pope\u2019s remarks came as Spain\u2019s socialist-led government has been advancing efforts to enshrine abortion protections in the country\u2019s Constitution. Such a reform would require broad parliamentary consensus, including support from the center-right People\u2019s Party.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence,\u201d Pope Leo said. \u201cWhen this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFor this reason,\u201d he added, \u201cthe moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope also defended the family as \u201cthe primary human reality and the natural foundation of the community,\u201d saying that \u201cwhere the family is upheld, the spiritual and social stability of nations is also strengthened.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe family will always be the first school of humanity, where one learns, before anywhere else, the basic grammar of living together: welcoming life, caring for others, forgiving, serving and belonging,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Pope Leo drew on Spain\u2019s intellectual and Catholic heritage, citing Cervantes, St. Teresa of \u00c1vila, Miguel de Unamuno and the School of Salamanca, especially the 16th-century Dominican friar Francisco de Vitoria.<\/p>\n From that tradition, he said, Spain helped shape \u201ca legal and moral consciousness capable of remembering that authority always entails responsibility and that every human being must be recognized as a subject of rights and duties.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope said that legacy remains alive whenever lawmakers ask \u201chow to ensure that what is possible is just, that what is legal is truly humane, and that the will of the majority safeguards those goods that belong to all and respects that which no majority can legitimately violate.\u201d<\/p>\n He also cited his recent encyclical \u201cMagnifica Humanitas,\u201d published May 25, saying that in an age of artificial intelligence, biotechnology and rapid technological change, political discernment must focus on \u201cthe place of the human person in our decision making.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope devoted part of his address to migrants and refugees, a major theme of his trip to Spain, which will conclude with visits to Tenerife and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, a key entry point to Europe for migrants.<\/p>\n \u201cThe situation of migrants and refugees calls for a response that focuses on people, addresses the root causes that force them to leave, and goes beyond the mere management of migration flows,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He called for \u201csafe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration,\u201d while also promoting \u201cthe right to remain in one\u2019s own land,\u201d so that no one is forced to leave home because of war, insecurity, poverty or the effects of the climate crisis.<\/p>\n Pope Leo also warned that many migrants remain \u201cprey to traffickers and smugglers who take advantage of their desperation,\u201d calling for stronger prevention, rescue and assistance efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cNo nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Turning to global conflict, Pope Leo said the world is undergoing \u201ca profound spiritual and cultural crisis\u201d marked by violence, polarization and mistrust.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery war constitutes, ultimately, a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate and also of that common human consciousness that recognizes bonds of justice among nations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWeapons may impose a temporary silence; but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace,\u201d the pope said, warning that \u201cin various parts of the world \u2014 and in Europe as well \u2014 rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope also warned against the use of artificial intelligence in warfare, saying new technologies in the military sphere require \u201crigorous ethical oversight, so that decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems nor removed from the moral responsibility of the human person.\u201d<\/p>\n Addressing Spain\u2019s polarized political climate, the pope urged lawmakers to resist contempt for political opponents.<\/p>\n \u201cPolitical pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one\u2019s adversary,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a mature society, even conflict can become a path to peace, when differences are softened by listening and directed toward recognizing the needs, aspirations and capabilities of all.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFirmness does not require contempt; disagreement does not entail humiliation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Only two left-wing parties, Podemos and the BNG, which together account for six lawmakers out of more than 600 parliamentarians, chose not to attend the pope\u2019s address.<\/p>\n Pope Leo also made a strong appeal for religious freedom, calling freedom of thought, conscience and religion \u201ca fundamental right that protects the most intimate sphere of the person.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe freedom upon which the contemporary state is built, if it is authentic, recognizes the religious dimension of the human person, respects it and protects it legally,\u201d he said. Authentic freedom, the pope added, \u201censures that faith is not a reason for which a person has to forfeit his or her contribution to society.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFaith does not seek to impose itself through privileges or coercion; yet neither can it be silenced as if it were irrelevant to public life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The pope also defended the sacramental seal of confession, saying it \u201cholds special importance for the Catholic Church\u201d and forms part of the broader sphere of religious freedom.<\/p>\n \u201cTo protect it legally, as is done in a similar way in some professions, means preserving a sacred space of inner freedom, where the believer can open his or her soul to God without fear of external pressures,\u201d Pope Leo said.<\/p>\n The remarks came shortly after French bishops criticized a June 1 proposal in France\u2019s National Assembly that they said could have endangered the seal of confession. The proposal was later withdrawn.<\/p>\n Near the end of his address, the pope invited Spanish lawmakers to \u201clift your gaze to the world around you,\u201d not to escape reality, but to remember that every public decision \u201caffects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cA law does not attain its true greatness merely by having been formally enacted,\u201d he said. \u201cIt attains it when, in addition to being valid in form, it can stand before the dignity of the person and pass that test without shame.\u201d<\/p>\n The pope concluded with a blessing for Spain, praying that the nation \u201cnever lose sight of its roots nor the courage to look to the future.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMay Spain continue to be a land of encounter, of culture, of solidarity and of hope,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd may its public life always know how to unite the firmness of convictions with the nobility of dialogue and the greatness of service.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was first published<\/a> by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The pontiff warned against subordinating human dignity to shifting majorities and called for stronger protections for life, migrants,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":37506,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17718,16018,17908,17909,82,3593,70,11315,17,17910],"class_list":["post-37505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-spain","tag-abortion","tag-aci-prensa","tag-human-dignity","tag-human-life","tag-madrid","tag-migrants","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-religious-freedom","tag-spain","tag-spain-parliament"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/37506"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=37505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=37505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}