{"id":1186,"date":"2026-06-06T12:38:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T12:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=1186"},"modified":"2026-06-06T12:38:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T12:38:44","slug":"pope-urges-leaders-to-temper-divisions-at-start-of-spain-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=1186","title":{"rendered":"Pope urges leaders to temper divisions at start of Spain trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>MADRID, June 6 (Reuters) &#8211; Pope Leo on Saturday urged global leaders to avoid dividing their electorates with &#8220;sterile simplifications&#8221; to gain popularity \u200band called on them to listen to the world&#8217;s cries for peace, in a forceful speech opening a week-long tour of Spain.<\/div>\n<div>Leo, who has angered U.S. President Donald Trump by criticising \u200chis anti-immigration policies and the Iran war, will meet homeless people in Madrid and migrants in the Canary Islands during a visit he has said he hopes will set an example to the world about respecting &#8220;every human being.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Today, the temptation to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have grown rather than diminished, and human dignity continues to be violated,&#8221; Leo said in a speech before King Felipe VI at the Royal Palace in Madrid.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I invite everyone to set aside the \u200bdivisive and polarizing narratives of your societal reality and history, so as to overcome sterile simplifications through the fruitful appreciation of complexity,&#8221; he added.<\/div>\n<div>Technology was partly to blame for creating an environment \u200bwhich magnifies prejudices and weakens critical thinking, Leo said. The world was crying &#8220;from its depths for peace,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>He drew on Spain&#8217;s history as an example \u2060of peaceful co-habitation between religions and cultures, making reference to how Christians, Muslims and Jews cooperated during medieval times to enhance human knowledge by translating Arabic texts into Latin, Spanish and Hebrew at the School \u200bof Translators in Toledo.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Your own history suggests that a culture of encounter, not confrontation, is what fosters stability and prosperity. In reality, the message of peace, which at present unfortunately strikes some as na\u00efve and others \u200bas confrontational, is welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies, but are rather open to the truth,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<h2>HUGE CROWDS EXPECTED<\/h2>\n<div>Thousands lined the streets of central Madrid, some waving Vatican and Spanish flags under clear spring skies, as Leo toured in an open-air popemobile. Huge gatherings are expected in the coming days for the first visit to Spain by a pope since 2011.<\/div>\n<div>The pope&#8217;s visit coincides with 10 days of concerts by Puerto Rican singer Bad \u200bBunny, and local church officials have indicated a meeting between the two is possible, but not confirmed, while the pope is in Madrid.<\/div>\n<div>Bad Bunny will perform on Saturday at football club Atletico Madrid&#8217;s Metropolitano stadium. \u200bThe pope will meet young people in the square outside the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u stadium, home to bitter rival Real Madrid.<\/div>\n<div>A 2025 survey by Fundacion SM found there has been a surge in interest in Catholicism by young people \u200cin Spain, with \u206028.8% declaring themselves practicing Catholics in 2025 compared to 17.6% in 2020.<\/div>\n<div>Leo joked on his flight from Rome that he was competing with Bad Bunny for young people&#8217;s attention.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;If they were confronted with the question: do they want to see Bad Bunny or do they want to see the pope, I think many will go to see Bad Bunny,&#8221; he said, before adding: &#8220;But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope.&#8221;<\/div>\n<h2>POPE ADOPTS MORE DIRECT TONE<\/h2>\n<div>Leo, who has adopted a more assertive tone against the direction of global leadership in recent months, is scheduled to give more than 20 speeches during his first \u200btrip to a European Union country outside Italy, and \u200bwill be the first pope to address the \u2060Spanish parliament.<\/div>\n<div>Leo spent decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming pope last May, and will speak Spanish throughout most of the trip.<\/div>\n<div>But when he meets migrants in Tenerife, part of the Spanish Canary Islands archipelago off the west coast of Africa, he expects to speak French, as many have come \u200bfrom Francophone Africa.<\/div>\n<div>In sharp contrast to many leading Western powers, not least Trump&#8217;s United States, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez&#8217;s government has opened a mass amnesty \u200bprogramme, allowing an estimated 500,000 \u2060immigrants to apply for legal status.<\/div>\n<div>More than 3,000 people died in 2025 trying to reach the Canary Islands, often in makeshift dinghies, according to the NGO Caminando Fronteras.<\/div>\n<div>Sanchez has been lauded abroad by some for criticising Trump, but at home is under heavy pressure from a string of corruption allegations against his party.<\/div>\n<h2>MEETING WITH VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE<\/h2>\n<div>During his June 6-12 trip, the first U.S. head of the Catholic Church will also inaugurate a new tower in Barcelona&#8217;s \u2060famed Sagrada Familia basilica \u200band will meet survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, the Vatican said, adding that further details will be provided after the \u200bmeeting.<\/div>\n<div>A 2023 report by Spain&#8217;s human rights ombudsman estimated hundreds of thousands of victims of clergy abuse there over decades, echoing similar scandals that have shaken the Church internationally.<\/div>\n<div>In a speech welcoming Leo to Spain, King Felipe acknowledged the pain caused by the cases \u200bof abuse and said the pope&#8217;s &#8220;clarity and firmness&#8221; were &#8220;essential in the process of healing and reparation for the harm inflicted.&#8221;<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=1184\">Screwworm border closure fuels beef boom in Mexico, gloom in Texas<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=1171\">Exclusive: Brazil to announce first panda bond issuance during China visit in June, say sources<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=1169\">Lululemon shares drop as forecast cut spotlights challenges for incoming CEO<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pope Leo on Saturday urged global leaders to avoid dividing their electorates with &#8220;sterile simplifications&#8221; to gain popularity \u200band called on them to listen to the world&#8217;s cries for peace, in a forceful speech opening a week-long tour of Spain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[18,12],"class_list":["post-1186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-europe","tag-human-rights"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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