Pope Leo XIV strongly condemned abortion and euthanasia in an address to the socialist-dominated Spanish Parliament on Monday.
Pope Leo’s trip to Spain is the first papal visit to the country in 15 years. While Catholicism is still the dominant religion in Spain, the country has become increasingly secularised, a push that continues under the left-wing ruling party — a party that has legalized assisted suicide and abortion.
Pope Leo told Spanish lawmakers that “every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person,” and that “[s]uch 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.”
“It belongs to every human being by the very fact of their existence, and for this reason, it must guide every positive legal system,” he said. “The Christian faith proclaims it on the basis of Revelation; human reason can recognize it as a requirement inscribed in the truth of man. When this conviction remains alive, the law becomes a safeguard for all and a guarantee against the imposition of particular interests and agendas.”
“On this basis, it falls to me today to speak a calm and firm word to those who bear the grave responsibility of legally ordering social coexistence,” he continued. “This coexistence can be threatened by the throwaway culture, as Pope Francis so often warned. In this sense, 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?”
He went on to note 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,” he said. “For this reason, the moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile.”
After his speech, with spanned a variety of other subjects, including migration and AI, Spanish Parliament gave Pope Leo a standing ovation that appeared to have lasted up to seven minutes.
Some lawmakers could be heard chanting “Viva el Papa!” or “Long live the pope.”
The Pope’s visit to Spain has drawn massive crowds, and an estimated 1.5 million people attended Mass on Sunday in downtown Madrid, News Nation reported. Downtown Madrid also saw 600,000 young people for a prayer vigil.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.