Making history as the first pope to address the Spanish parliament, Pope Leo XIV delivered a balanced but strong speech that touched on the key political issues facing this majority-Catholic nation in a secular state: respect for life and human dignity, migration, war and rearmament, polarization, and freedom of conscience and religion.
He did so in a 30-minute speech on the morning of June 8, when he addressed a joint session of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate in the Palace of the Congress of Deputies. Almost all of the members were present, except those belonging to Podemos, the far-left party that disagreed with his coming to the congress of a secular state, and the Galician Nationalist Bloc.
The lawmakers applauded when Leo entered the chamber; Leo is clearly popular in this country, which he first visited in 1982 and has been to more than 20 times since. The socialist-led coalition government is headed by Pedro Sánchez, who today faces corruption allegations. The government is in harmony with the Holy See on the wars in Gaza, Iran, Ukraine, international law, multilateralism and immigration, though it differs with the church on abortion and euthanasia.
After thanking the Congress for its invitation, Leo recalled that “every legislative task ultimately confronts a decisive question: What conception of the human person inspires laws, and what kind of society do those laws build?”
In this regard, he said, “Spain has a particularly rich heritage” with its cultural and legal tradition, art and literature. Pointing to examples like Cervantes’ Don Quixote and St. Teresa of Ávila, he said, “Spain has known how to view the human being as more than just a cog in the social, economic or political order” and “as someone whose dignity takes precedence over all utility and to whose service legislative action is subject.”
He recalled the time of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, “when Spain found itself facing historic responsibilities of universal scope,” and how then the University of Salamanca undertook, with particular clarity, “the moral and legal reflection that the situation demanded” and taught that “reason could not be invoked to legitimize whatever force or self-interest that seemed convenient.”
Leo, who visited Salamanca as a young man, said the university “introduced into historical discernment the question of the irreducible value of every human being and the moral limits of power.”
He said Salamanca’s contribution “continues to guide the work of those who serve in public life today,” as “new worlds opening up before us are no longer marked on maps” but “unfold in technology, the economy, biomedicine, and the digital realm, where human power reaches into increasingly sensitive areas of personal and social life.”
Citing the recent encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas,” Pope Leo told the Spanish legislators that “in the face of the transformations of our time, our discernment must focus on the place of the human person in our decision-making and on how the dignity of work, solidarity, social policy and the common good are today being addressed in new ways.”
The pope said that “every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person” and, as Pope Benedict XVI told the German Parliament in 2011, “such dignity precedes any concession by the state and cannot be subordinated to shifting social consensus or the whims of the majority at any given moment.”
He urged the Spanish legislators not to succumb to the “throwaway culture” because “if life ceases to be recognized as a fundamental value, what future can our societies have? Can 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?”
Euthanasia and medically assisted suicide are legal in Spain, and its government is now considering an amendment to protect the right to abortion in its constitution.
Speaking firmly, Leo reminded them that “the defense of human life is neither a partisan issue nor a confessional interest: It is a goal of civilization. Every human life must be recognized and safeguarded from conception to its natural end, in every circumstance of its existence. When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person.”
For this reason, he said, “the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile. “
A shared horizon
Leo then went on to speak about the common good, which can be seen as “the social expression” of human dignity of every person. “When the common good ceases to be a shared horizon,” he said, “public action runs the risk of fragmenting into partial interests, incapable of safeguarding what belongs to all.”
In this context, he advocated government support for the family, “the first school of humanity,” and for “the right of parents to choose the kind of education and formation for their children.” Here, he was alluding to the fact that the socialist-led government has withdrawn much of the state support for Catholic and private schools.
He next addressed what sources here say is currently “the hottest political issue”: migration. Vox, the populist right-wing party in Spain, is speaking out strongly against migrants entering the country and getting employment in any public office. Spain’s conservative center-right Popular Party is moving in the same direction in the hope of winning the election in 2027.
In his speech at the Royal Palace on Saturday, Leo addressed the plight of migrants, and he did so even more forcefully this morning. “The affirmation of human dignity cannot remain abstract when so many people are forced to leave everything behind in search of peace, security and a future,” he said. “The tragic drama of migration also challenges the conscience of nations and the ethical foundation of the international order today.”
“This reality goes beyond any purely demographic or economic analysis: It constitutes an eminently moral and legal issue,” he said. “Wherever people are discriminated against because of their national, ethnic, religious or linguistic origin, or because of their economic or social status, the universal principle of the equal dignity of all human beings is seriously violated.”
He said the 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.” He called for “safe and legal pathways” for migrants, protection against human traffickers and smugglers, “a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration.”
He recognized that “no nation can face a challenge of this magnitude on its own,” and said “therefore, a coordinated, supportive and effective response is indispensable,” implying that a solution is needed at the level of the European Union. He is certain to return to this subject when he visits the Canary Islands, where many African migrants enter Spain, on June 11 and 12.
Leo then addressed the issues of polarization, war and peace. “The world is undergoing a profound spiritual and cultural crisis, which manifests in multiple forms of violence, polarization and mutual distrust,” he said. “In this context, peace emerges as a political aspiration and, even more so, as a true moral imperative.”
He said there is a need for “public discourse that respects those who think differently, institutions dedicated to fostering dialogue, a historical memory that seeks truth and reconciliation and a social life capable of sustaining civic friendship and mutual respect amid disagreement.”
Recalling “the obligation of States to resolve their disputes through the peaceful means offered by international law,” Leo denounced war as “a painful defeat of the capacity to negotiate” and said that “weapons may impose a temporary silence, but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace.”
He expressed concern that in various parts of the world, including Europe, “rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation.” He said, “true security, however, stems from justice, patient dialogue, respect for international law, and a policy capable of placing the lives of peoples above the interests that profit from war.”
He called for “rigorous ethical oversight” over the development of new technologies and artificial intelligence in the military sphere, so that “decisions regarding life and death are never left to automated systems” or removed from the moral responsibility of people.
Then, in words of particular relevance to the polarized situation in Spain today, Pope Leo told the Spanish legislators, “political pluralism should not degenerate into the constant disparagement of one’s adversary.”
He repeated his call “to disarm language” and said that “words can open paths or close them; they can illuminate reality or distort it to the point of making encounter impossible.” He said those who hold public office “have a special obligation to be mindful of their words” and added, “firmness does not require contempt; disagreement does not entail humiliation.”
‘A moral renewal’
He called for respect for “freedom of thought, conscience and religion” and to ensure that “faith is not a reason for which a person has to forfeit his or her contribution to society.”
He emphasized that “every truly free society also requires a proper limitation of public power, so that the freedom of individuals, communities and associations is not unduly restricted.” He said faith does not seek to impose itself through privileges or coercion, but “neither can it be silenced as if it were irrelevant to public life.”
In this context, he called for respect for “the sacramental seal of confession,” an issue that is hotly contested in next-door France today, where there are attempts to remove that protection in cases of abuse.
He reminded the Spanish legislators that “modern freedom has also been shaped by a long education of conscience, deeply marked by the Christian tradition.” Through that education, he said, “people learned that law must serve the good, that justice sets limits on force, that power requires legitimacy, that the poor belong fully to the community, that the foreigner must be welcomed in accordance with his dignity, and that human life can never be treated as a commodity.”
Again quoting the motto of his visit, “Alzad la mirada,” he urged the Spanish legislators “to lift your gaze to the world around you, not to turn away from reality, but to remember that every decision by public authorities affects real people, especially those who have less power to make their voices heard.”
Spanish journalists told America that the opposition to the socialist-led coalition government is likely to read the pope’s reference to “a moral renewal” as a critique of the corruption in the socialist party. But this may not be the case, they said, because significantly, Leo never once used the word “corruption” in his speech, whereas in Cameroon, for example, he did not hesitate to use it.
Pope Leo concluded his speech by urging “this noble nation” to “never lose sight of its roots nor the courage to look to the future.” He prayed that Spain “may continue to be a land of encounter, of culture, of solidarity and of hope. And may its public life always know how to unite the firmness of convictions with the nobility of dialogue and the greatness of service.”
When the pope concluded his speech, the lawmakers gave him a seven-minute standing ovation. Leo smiled and waited until they stopped, and then set out to meet the Spanish bishops.
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