Pope Leo, after taking on Trump and AI, prepares for new duels in Spain
- The San Juan Daily Star
- 5 hours ago
- 4 min read
By JASON HOROWITZ
Pope Francis never made a papal visit to Spain, one of the capitals of European Catholicism, preferring instead to draw attention to the world’s marginalized populations. He turned down invitations from Spain’s king, its prime ministers and even a Spanish reporter who enticed him with a gift of soil from every region of the country. Francis was not enticed. He would go “when there is peace,” he cryptically said.
Now, just over a year after succeeding Francis, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday began a weeklong visit to Spain, his first major European destination since he became pontiff in May 2025.
Francis never clarified what he meant by “peace,” whether it alluded to tensions in the country or the church, or just organizational chaos. But Leo has anyway decided to take the leap into one of Europe’s most politically polarized countries as war rages on several continents and his recent confrontations with President Donald Trump are still raw. The trip may invite further hostility from the White House by bringing together Leo and Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez of Spain, two of Trump’s biggest international critics on Iran and migration.
Speaking in Spain’s Royal Palace on Saturday, Pope Leo called for “a deeper reconciliation and collaboration” in Spain, but expressed gratitude for its “faithful adherence to international law and multilateralism, which is reflected in an active commitment to peace.”
The visit will showcase the balancing act of Leo’s young pontificate. On the one hand, he is a conciliator, extending an olive branch to conservatives — and countries — who felt Francis’ cold shoulder. He is expected to emphasize unity in the first-ever address by a pope to the Spanish parliament in Madrid, a capital with a history of dictatorship within living memory and a present torn apart by political polarization.
On the other hand, the visit gives Leo, the first American pope, another chance to present himself as a change agent and global figure. After recently finding his voice by standing up to the Trump administration and multinational corporations developing artificial intelligence, Leo will be visiting a country crossed with political and historical tripwires, where a papal misstep could trigger harsh feelings and damage the fledgling papacy.
Spain is also an increasingly vibrant country that has emerged as a European outlier for liberal policies, including welcoming immigrants, which is in sync with Leo’s own vision. And by speaking fluently in Spanish, Leo, formerly a bishop in Peru who has Peruvian citizenship, will wield an international megaphone that will be heard far beyond the borders of both Spain and the Anglophone world.
“It’s a platform,” Cardinal José Cobo of Madrid said in an interview before Leo’s arrival.
Leo’s visit has plenty of the standard papal stuff. He met King Felipe VI and focused on how to nurture Catholicism in Spain, which, despite the country’s number of self-identifying Catholics plummeting over the past 15 years, is registering a rare uptick in spirituality.
Leo is also expected to draw attention to the church’s landmarks, this time blessing a newly completed tower at the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona. Thanks to the tower, it is now the world’s tallest church.
Spain also offers Leo a chance to soothe historical grievances with the Catholic Church.
In the past, the Spanish church acted as an essential ally of the Franco regime, which ruled Spain until the 1970s. Even in this century’s now-settled battles over issues including same-sex marriage, the church was a major element of polarization. Francis instead seeded the Spanish hierarchy with new bishops and cardinals who emphasized pastoral leadership over waging war on cultural issues, and Leo seems set to continue in his footsteps.
His address in parliament on Monday, then, will be a key moment for him “to reflect on how the relationship between church and state, church and politics” has been transformed in Spain, said Joseba Louzao, author of “A Brief History of the Catholic Church in Spain.”
After arriving on Saturday, Leo gave a taste of what might be to come, warning against “the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization.”
That unifying approach will probably give politicians from across the ideological spectrum the opportunity to interpret Leo how they see fit, Louzao said.
“There is a temptation there,” Louzao said, “for all political parties to try to use the words of Pope Leo.”
Yet Leo is still expected to offer plenty of ammunition to critics from all backgrounds. The pope is likely to discuss issues that infuriate the left, such as the church’s opposition to abortion, among other subjects that progressive Catholics have called the “pelvic issues” that the church long obsessed over. Some far-left lawmakers have even said they will boycott the pope’s address.
Separately, the church’s emphasis on social justice has put some Spanish right-wing leaders in a position of claiming to be more Catholic than the pope.
At the end of his visit, Leo will visit the Canary Islands to meet with migrants, foregrounding an issue that has enraged Spain’s right wing. While many European countries have closed their doors to immigrants, Spain has opened them.
Santiago Abascal, leader of the far-right party Vox, once disparagingly referred to Francis by his surname, calling him “Citizen Bergoglio” to express opposition to his pro-migrant policies.
That approach continued after Leo became pope, as Vox attacked Spanish bishops over their welcoming position toward migrants.
Abascal’s interpretation of Catholicism offers another potential flashpoint with Leo. Abascal has tried to appeal to Catholic voters by emphasizing opposition to abortion, gay rights and promoting traditional Spanish family values.
Privately, Leo has told Spanish bishops that he opposes people politicizing the faith. In a November meeting between top Spanish prelates and the pope at the Vatican, Leo expressed concern about ideological forces in Spain exploiting Catholic voters for their own political gain.
“It worries us that they want to approach the Catholic sphere to get votes,” said Cobo, who was at the meeting and was among several attendees who described it in an interview. He said he did not know if Leo was singling out Vox, though he added, “Whoever feels targeted is because they are the ones doing it.”
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