Pope Leo hopes to bridge Spain's political divide on papal visit
June 6 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV landed in Madrid Saturday to begin his one-week papal visit to the country, the first in 15 years.
Leo was greeted at the airport by King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia, then addressed them at the Royal Palace along with politicians and diplomats.
He acknowledged political polarization and called for an end to it in Spain and elsewhere in the West.
"I come among you to affirm, encourage and instill a renewed fidelity to the Gospel among believers, as well as a deeper reconciliation and collaboration among the various elements of this nation," the first American pope said.
"In reality, the message of peace, which at present unfortunately strikes some as naive and others as confrontational, is welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies, but are rather open to the truth," Leo said.
Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz told the Washington Post that the left in Spain embraces the pope.
"The [left's] alignment with Pope Francis was immediate: He defended Spain's labor reform and the Episcopal Conference also supported it, something that would have seemed unthinkable 20 years ago," she said. "With Leo XIV, that alignment deepens."
The Spanish far-right are battling the Church, which they believed an ally. They are particularly upset over the church's advocacy for migrants, The Washington Post reported. The left once saw the Church as complicit in the Franco dictatorship.
"The far right in Spain wants to copy the far right in the United States," Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez, who heads a Canary Islands diocese providing shelter, food, blankets and medical care for arriving migrants, told The Post. "To go to war with the bishops over the issue of migration."
On Monday, Leo will address the Spanish parliament, which is gridlocked. He's expected to discuss that type of polarization, and his other visits around the country highlight differing segments of the Church.
He will have a prayer vigil with young people Saturday, then march Sunday in a traditional Spanish street procession.
On Thursday, Leo plans to visit the Canary Islands, a landing for Latin American migrants and for those arriving by sea from the African coast. He is planning to visit Lampedusa on July 4, an Italian island where migrants from Africa and beyond land.
On his flight to Spain, Leo acknowledged that he would be competing popular with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who played the Super Bowl halftime show this year, for Spanish attention. Bad Bunny is scheduled to perform in Madrid Saturday night.
Leo said that more young people are turning to the Church, looking for something more.
"If they are confronted with the question: do they want to see Bad Bunny or do they want to see the pope, I think many will see Bad Bunny," Leo said. "But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something."
On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass on the feast of Corpus Christi in the Plaza de Cibeles. There will be a Corpus Christi procession, the Vatican said. He will also meet privately with members of the Order of St. Augustine to which he belongs.
Later, he will go to a gathering of representatives of culture, arts, business and sports at Madrid's Movistar Arena.
The Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said, "Leo XIV's trip to Spain is a sign that, despite the secularization of society, the pope still has something to say in many areas, in Spain and in Europe, where he can play a constructive role in public debate," Euro News reported.
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