{"id":37509,"date":"2026-06-09T16:14:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:14:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/37509\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T16:14:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T16:14:37","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-gets-caught-up-in-spains-culture-wars-over-soccer-and-language","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/37509\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV gets caught up in Spain’s culture wars over soccer and language"},"content":{"rendered":"

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) \u2014 Pope Leo XIV found himself in the midst of Spain\u2019s two classic culture wars as he landed in Barcelona on Tuesday during his weeklong visit to the country.<\/p>\n

The U.S.-born pontiff had rubbed Barcelona\u2019s soccer fans the wrong way by saying he roots for Real Madrid instead of their beloved Bar\u00e7a. Barcelona\u2019s residents had already been speculating that he might make minimal use of their native Catalan during his trip to Barcelona instead of Spanish, which he speaks fluently.<\/p>\n

Click to Gallery<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd upon arriving to attend a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd after attending a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV presides over the midday prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Bacelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, on the fourth day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV presides over the midday prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Bacelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, on the fourth day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV greets people as he leaves after presiding over a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after presiding over a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)<\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd after attending a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

The pope sought to disabuse them of the latter assumption soon after his arrival by speaking first in Catalan. The languages and teams have been longtime wedges between Spain\u2019s two biggest cities.<\/p>\n

The Real Madrid-Barcelona divide is one of the biggest rivalries in club football.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pope is for all teams, but Prevost is for Real Madrid” were the words that sealed Leo’s sporting fate with many a Bar\u00e7a fan when he responded to a question on the papal plane en route to Spain.<\/p>\n

Real Madrid proudly posted the video of the moment, and social media filled with comments about how the club is \u201cthe team of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom\u00e1s Roncero, a popular sports commentator for the widely read Spanish sports daily AS, said in a video that \u201cthe pope can\u2019t be for Bar\u00e7a, because it is a sinful club … in his heart he is of a pure and clean club like Madrid.”<\/p>\n

For many non-Madrid fans, especially those in Spain\u2019s regions with different languages and strong local identities like Catalonia, Real Madrid is associated with strong central power. Many consider it almost a pillar of the state, along with the central government and the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

The pope, who preached unity to Spain’s capital, aligned himself closely with Real Madrid during events in the city. He visited the club’s museum to peruse its packed trophy case with Real Madrid president Florentino P\u00e9rez, who gave him a Madrid shirt with \u201cRobert F. Prevost\u201d on the back.<\/p>\n

On Monday, thousands of Catholics packed the home venue of Real Madrid for a rally with the pope featuring dancers kicking soccer balls, while dressed in the white and yellow colors of the Holy See.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday the Church in Madrid has scored a great goal to always be remembered!\u201d Leo said.<\/p>\n

Folks in Barcelona noticed.<\/p>\n

\u201cA figure as important as he is shouldn\u2019t take sides. Now that he has said that he supports Real Madrid, well, I am sorry, he has messed it up,” said Eduard Modro\u00f1o, an office worker and Barcelona fan. He noted that Leo and Madrid players, whose uniforms are pristine white, also dress similarly. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wears all white, doesn\u2019t he? Enough said,\u201d said Modro\u00f1o, as he spoke outside the Sagrada Familia basilica, where the pope on Wednesday will celebrate a Mass in the major event of his stop in Spain\u2019s second city.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday evening, Leo will preside over a vigil at Barcelona’s Olympic stadium with young people. Leo will end his visit to Spain with a two-day stop in the Canary Islands.<\/p>\n

Leo began his homily at Barcelona\u2019s cathedral with a few words in Catalan and switched between it and Spanish in his first public address in the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeloved brothers and sisters, it is with great pleasure that I start my visit holding the midday prayer at this cathedral,\u201d he said in Catalan.<\/p>\n

Catalan and Spanish are spoken side-by-side in Catalonia, but are often weaponized politically.<\/p>\n

Catalan, spoken by around 10 million people, was suppressed by Spain’s 20th-century dictatorship under Gen. Francisco Franco, according to Catalans, who remain protective of their tongue. Its survival was an important driver of separatist sentiment during a recent push for independence that reached its peak in a failed breakaway bid in 2017.<\/p>\n

Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI used some Catalan when they visited Barcelona in 1982 and 2010, respectively. Spain\u2019s king speaks Catalan when he’s in Catalonia, but it’s rare for Spanish politicians from non-Catalan speaking regions to do so.<\/p>\n

The pope speaking a few words in Catalan may not be enough for many residents. But some were appreciative of the gesture.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeaking the language of the land that welcomes you is a wonderful act of love and respect. I hope you enjoy your visit to Catalonia, my nation,\u201d M\u00edriam Noqueras\u2019 political party, Junts, said she told the pontiff \u2014 in English \u2014 when they briefly spoke at Spain\u2019s parliament on Monday.<\/p>\n

The archbishop of Barcelona, Juan Jos\u00e9 Omella, has tried to downplay the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pope knew beforehand that he is coming to a country (Catalonia) where people speak a very old language that has never been lost through the centuries,\u201d Omella told reporters. \u201cHe knows this and has prepared his speeches and his homily, while keeping in mind that he can only do so much and doesn\u2019t want to end up looking silly in a language he doesn\u2019t speak.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Modro\u00f1o, the soccer fan, speaking in Catalan is more important than anything related to sports.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a lack of respect not to speak entirely in Catalan,” he said.<\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd upon arriving to attend a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd after attending a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV presides over the midday prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Bacelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, on the fourth day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV presides over the midday prayer in the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Bacelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, on the fourth day of a seven-day apostolic journey to mainland Spain and the Canary Islands. (AP Photo\/Alessandra Tarantino)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV greets people as he leaves after presiding over a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves as he leaves after presiding over a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Bernat Armangue)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Pope<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV waves to the cheering crowd after attending a midday prayer at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (AP Photo\/Emilio Morenatti)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 House Republicans will look to get nearly $70 billion for immigration enforcement over the finish line Tuesday, enough to fund a pair of Homeland Security agencies through the next three years and the rest of President Donald Trump’s time in office.<\/p>\n

Speaker Mike Johnson will need near perfect attendance and unity on his side to complete weeks of action on the bill. The legislation got sidetracked when Republicans sought to include $1 billion for enhanced security on the White House grounds, including for Trump’s new ballroom, and the Trump administration tried to create a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the president who claim they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Those proposals proved politically toxic and were scrapped. <\/p>\n

Now, the bill is focused entirely on immigration enforcement, a topic that Republicans have treated as a defining issue between the two major political parties and one they hope will carry them to victory in this year’s midterm elections. The bill provides $38 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $26 billion for the Border Patrol and another $5 billion to cover unforeseen costs, fueling Trump’s deportation agenda.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s long overdue,\u201d said Johnson, R-La., of the bill. \u201cWe have to fund border security and immigration enforcement, and it’s sad that Republicans have to do it on our own.\u201d<\/p>\n

The funding comes on top of the nearly $140 billion that the Republican-controlled Congress gave ICE and Customs and Border Protection last year as part of Trump’s tax and spending cuts bill. <\/p>\n

Democrats objected to giving the agencies more money without significant changes in the way they operate after the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. For example, Democrats insisted that agents be required to display their ID badges during enforcement operations and that they get a judicial warrant before entering private property. Instead, the funding will come with virtually no strings attached.<\/p>\n

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed his party would oppose the package.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that taxpayer dollars should be used to make life more affordable for the American people \u2013 not give ICE another $70 billion blank check so that they can unleash brutality on American citizens and violently target law-abiding immigrant communities,\u201d said Jeffries of New York.<\/p>\n

The package is the result of a monthslong standoff in Congress after Democrats refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of the immigration enforcement actions in Minneapolis and other American cities, leading to the longest shutdown in agency history. <\/p>\n

Negotiations had been underway with the White House to alter ICE operations as Democrats were demanding. When those negotiations failed, Republicans turned to a complicated procedural maneuver to get around the filibuster and pass the immigration funding with no Democratic votes.<\/p>\n

If approved, the package would next go to Trump for his signature, all but assuring an essentially uninterrupted flow of funds for his immigration enforcement and deportation agenda into 2029.<\/p>\n

The Senate completed its work on the legislation last week during an all-night session that extended into the early morning hours Friday. The final 52-47 vote on the bill was nearly party line, with Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska the only Republican to oppose it. <\/p>\n

The money will come at a pivotal time for the Department of Homeland Security, which is under new leadership after Trump replaced Kristi Noem with new Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.<\/p>\n

While Mullin has vowed to keep the department out of the headlines, the administration is under pressure from anti-immigration advocates to deliver on Trump\u2019s campaign promise of the largest deportation operation in American history.<\/p>\n

So far, the administration has not hit its goal of 1 million deportations a year, but Trump\u2019s border czar, Tom Homan, has promised more to come, including hinting at immigration enforcement actions in New York, the nation’s biggest city, which is heavily Democratic.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the administration is making it more difficult for legal immigrants to remain in the U.S. by working to end Temporary Protective Status, changing the processes for obtaining green cards and leaving some Dreamers \u2014 the young people who were brought illegally to the U.S. as children \u2014 reporting delays in renewing their status, which allows them to stay and work.<\/p>\n

On the House side, Johnson has little margin for error. Republicans can afford to lose only a couple of votes if every lawmaker is present. GOP leadership opted to avoid any hiccups and sent lawmakers home last week rather than take up the bill early Friday once the Senate had completed its all-nighter.<\/p>\n

The bill is just a slim package, without the hundreds of pages of details and directives that typically come from Congress when it provides funding for agencies. <\/p>\n

Leading up to the vote, Democrats portrayed DHS as an agency that has used its new resources to buy private jets for its leadership, warehouse immigrants in deplorable conditions and attack U.S. citizens.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo give these rogue agencies another $70 billion now when they still have $100 billion in the bank from last year would implicate all of us in the escalating corruption and shameful actions of this department,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the ranking Democratic member on the House Judiciary Committee. <\/p>\n

Republicans countered that they were fulfilling their duty to safeguard the nation and support the men and women charged with enforcing the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cDemocrats can say whatever they want, but what it\u2019s about is public safety. What\u2019s it about is keeping Americans safe,\u201d said Rep. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn.<\/p>\n


\n \"Homeland<\/p>\n

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, lower left, testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on the Fiscal 2027 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cliff Owen)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"Homeland<\/p>\n

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin testifies before the House Committee on Homeland Security during a hearing on the Fiscal 2027 budget request for the Department of Homeland Security, in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cliff Owen)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"The<\/p>\n

The U.S. Capitol is seen behind a light pole, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (AP Photo\/Cliff Owen)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE – The seal of U.S. Department of Homeland Security is seen before a news conference at ICE Headquarters in Washington, May 21, 2025. (AP Photo\/Jose Luis Magana, File)<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n


\n \"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE – Department of Homeland Security, Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshals, patrol around Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce,File)<\/p>\n

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