{"id":31714,"date":"2026-06-09T18:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=31714"},"modified":"2026-06-09T18:42:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T01:42:37","slug":"pope-leo-xivs-inspiring-words-to-everyone-politicians-bishops-victims-of-abuse-devotees-of-mary-and-the-catholic-community-of-madrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2026\/06\/09\/pope-leo-xivs-inspiring-words-to-everyone-politicians-bishops-victims-of-abuse-devotees-of-mary-and-the-catholic-community-of-madrid\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV\u2019s Inspiring Words to Everyone: Politicians, Bishops, Victims of Abuse, Devotees of Mary, and the Catholic Community of Madrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

Photo \u00a9: Vatican Media<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(ANS \u2013 Madrid)<\/strong> \u2013 The third day of Pope Leo XIV\u2019s<\/strong> apostolic journey to Spain was marked by high-level institutional engagements, including a meeting with the Prime Minister and an address to parliamentarians in the morning, followed by an encounter with Spanish bishops in the afternoon. The day also included more pastoral and spiritual moments, such as a private meeting with victims of abuse, a prayerful visit to Our Lady of Almudena<\/strong>, and an encounter with the diocesan community of Madrid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The long day on Monday, June 8, 2026, began with a 20-minute private meeting between Pope Leo XIV and the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro S\u00e1nchez P\u00e9rez-Castej\u00f3n<\/strong>, whom the Pope had met at the Vatican shortly before his departure. The content of their discussion was not made public, but during their earlier meeting on May 27, the Vatican Press Office had noted that discussions included \u201cmatters of common interest, such as the need to foster constructive dialogue between the local Church and public authorities, as well as among different sectors of civil society, based on mutual respect and aimed at promoting the common good,\u201d along with \u201cinternational issues, particularly the impact of global conflicts, migration, the importance of multilateralism and respect for international law, and the urgent need for continued efforts to support peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Holy Father then proceeded to the Congress of Deputies<\/strong>, the seat of Spain\u2019s legislative and democratic life, where he met with members of parliament. Before an audience of approximately 500 deputies and senators, Pope Leo XIV\u2014the first Successor of Peter to receive such an invitation\u2014delivered a substantial address centered consistently on human dignity as the guiding principle of political life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He addressed several themes: peace, not merely as a \u201cpolitical aspiration\u201d but as a \u201cgenuine moral imperative\u201d; security, which must arise from \u201cjustice, patient dialogue, respect for international law, and policies that prioritize the lives of peoples over interests that profit from war\u201d; and the family, described as \u201cthe natural foundation of society\u201d and \u201ca school of humanity\u201d where fundamental principles of coexistence are learned. He also warned against the \u201cculture of waste\u201d (quoting Pope Francis), which particularly affects the most vulnerable: the unborn, the elderly, and migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery human life must be recognized and protected from conception until natural death, in every circumstance,\u201d the Pope affirmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first to suffer, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, addressing migration, he called for an integrated approach that offers \u201csafe and legal pathways, respectful reception, and real opportunities for integration\u201d for migrants, while also promoting \u201cthe right to remain in one\u2019s own land, working to ensure that no one is forced to leave due to lack of peace, security, or decent living conditions, or because of economic inequality or the effects of the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, looking at the paintings in the parliamentary chamber\u2014some of which depict Gospel scenes\u2014the Successor of Peter reaffirmed that \u201cthe poor fully belong to the community,\u201d \u201cthe stranger must be welcomed in accordance with his dignity,\u201d and \u201chuman life can never be treated as a commodity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the afternoon, during a meeting with the bishops of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Pope Leo XIV encouraged them to continue the synodal path they have undertaken and to embrace dialogue with all, through a \u201cprocess of deep listening\u201d aimed at \u201crecognizing the voice of God speaking through the ecclesial community,\u201d in a process that balances \u201cfreedom and prudence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also urged the bishops to build communities capable of communicating their lived faith, fostering communion, healing divisions, and accompanying the People of God\u2014especially those \u201cgoing through dark times\u201d and those \u201cwounded by those who were supposed to care for them, including members of the clergy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before concluding, the Pope pointed to St. John of \u00c1vila<\/strong>, patron of the Spanish clergy\u2014whose 500th anniversary of priestly ordination is being commemorated this year\u2014as a model of the \u201cpriestly life that every bishop is called to protect and foster within his presbyterate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in the day, in continuity with his concern for victims, Pope Leo XIV held a private one-hour meeting at the Apostolic Nunciature in Madrid with six survivors of clerical abuse. The encounter was marked by attentive listening and empathy, and the participants presented several proposals \u201cto make the Church\u2019s response to such tragic cases more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later, during prayer before the Virgin of Almudena at the Cathedral of Santa Mar\u00eda la Real de la Almudena<\/strong>, the Pope recalled the \u201cmiraculous collapse\u201d of the cave where the statue had been hidden during the Arab domination, allowing it to be venerated once again. He reflected on this event as a metaphor for today\u2019s world: rather than reinforcing or ignoring barriers, society must be willing to open spaces that restore hope and allow people to \u201cglimpse the horizon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, in a meeting with the diocesan community of Madrid held at Santiago Bernab\u00e9u Stadium<\/strong>, Pope Leo XIV addressed the city\u2019s faithful, asking provocatively whether \u201cwhat we are and what we do as Christians\u201d truly reaches the heart of urban life. He encouraged them to \u201crelearn the spiritual art of attentiveness,\u201d and to trust that \u201cone can return to the faith or encounter it for the first time even in adulthood.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo \u00a9: Vatican Media (ANS \u2013 Madrid) \u2013 The third day of Pope Leo XIV\u2019s apostolic journey to Spain was marked by high-level institutional engagements, including a meeting with the Prime Minister and an address to parliamentarians in the morning, followed by an encounter with Spanish bishops in the afternoon. The day also included more pastoral and spiritual moments, such as a private meeting with … Continuar leyendo Pope Leo XIV\u2019s Inspiring Words to Everyone: Politicians, Bishops, Victims of Abuse, Devotees of Mary, and the Catholic Community of Madrid<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":31718,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[299562,516714022],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-holy-father","category-salesian-world-news"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-8fw","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/2026-06-09-PopeLeo-Spain-feature.jpg?fit=1600%2C875&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31714"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31720,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31714\/revisions\/31720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}