Pope seeks end to ‘polarizing narratives’ on Spain visit
Madrid, SPAIN—Pope Leo XIV on Saturday called for an end to “polarizing narratives” and “sterile simplifications” on a weeklong visit to Spain expected to focus on the divisive issue of immigration.
Leo also thanked Spain, whose Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has clashed with US President Donald Trump over Iran and with Israel over the war in Gaza, for its “faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism.”
Speaking at the royal palace in Madrid, where he was received by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, he praised Spain’s “active commitment to peace and solidarity among peoples.”
The US-born Pontiff himself has been harshly criticized by Trump for his antiwar views.
‘Preconceived ideologies’
The Pope said the message of peace “at present unfortunately strikes some as naive and others as confrontational,” but should instead be “welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies.”
In contrast with many of its European allies, Spain’s left-wing government has a relatively liberal immigration policy.
But it is under pressure from the main conservative Popular Party and far-right, anti-immigration Vox, the third political force in the country.
Leo later met beneficiaries of a center for the homeless run by Catholic charity Caritas, extolling its mission against mistaken “secular ideologies” and those who “dismiss or ridicule charitable works.”
In the evening, the 70-year-old Pontiff led a prayer vigil at a square next to Real Madrid’s Bernabeu stadium teeming with 500,000 mostly young people, according to an official tally.
The faithful, including many families and children, gave him a rock star welcome with chants, cheers and Spanish and Vatican flags, while youngsters danced and jumped in circles before Leo’s arrival.
“His message from this morning seems pretty good to me because God is very good,” an excited Carlota Elices, 12, told Agence France-Presse (AFP) before the event, marked by energetic musical performances.
Teacher Pablo Fernandez said he went because of “a historic opportunity” to see the head of the world’s more than one billion Catholics.
The 28-year-old praised the Pope’s antiwar message as “common sense.” “As for migration, we cannot take responsibility for everyone, it has to be collective,” he added.
Leo exhorted youth at the vigil to lead the way in today’s world and use faith to “change history.”
“In the face of the emptiness of indifference and compliance, before the violence of war and lies, you must be the sparks of a new humanity,” he said.
Leo’s predecessor Francis largely overlooked many of Europe’s traditional bastions of Catholicism where, like Spain, religious observance has been falling rapidly.
