Pope Leo calls for leaders to reject polarisation as he begins Spanish tour | Pope Leo XIV

In the opening speech of his trip to Spain, Pope Leo invited political leaders to seek unity rather than dividing their people for political gain and said that they should fight for peace.

The pope has made marginalized people the focus of his visit, his first tour to an EU country outside Italy, including meeting homeless people in Madrid and migrants in the Canary Islands. The Pope, who clashed with US President Donald Trump over immigration policies and the war with Iran, said his visit aimed to set an example of respecting “every human being”.

She would also meet survivors of clergy sexual abuse in the Spanish Catholic church; this institution is only now confronting its history of covert abuse. Leo said he would meet several survivors and acknowledged that “the abuses are still an open wound.”

Thousands of people gathered in the streets of Madrid to greet the pope, who was touring the city in a priest’s vehicle. This is the first time a pope has visited Spain since 2011. There has been a resurgence in the number of people identifying as Catholics in Spain in recent years; In 2025, the proportion of young people identifying as Catholic was 28.8%, compared to 17.6% in 2010.

The pope is scheduled to give 20 speeches during his tour, with themes emphasizing empathy for immigrants, anti-demagoguery and acknowledging what Leo said is “a world that cries for peace from its depths.”

“Today, the desire to gain popularity by fanning the flames of polarization seems to have increased rather than decreased, and human dignity continues to be violated,” he said in a speech attended by King Felipe VI at the royal palace in Madrid. “I challenge everyone to put aside divisive and polarizing narratives about your social reality and history to overcome sterile simplifications through a productive appreciation of complexity.”

He suggested that technology and social media play a role in deepening divisions and preventing social introspection. Leo recently published a letter focusing on the dangers of AI, arguing that humanity is at a moral crossroads as AI technology advances rapidly.

Noting that Spain is a country with a history of coexistence between different religions, he touched on how Christians, Muslims and Jews coexisted peacefully in the Middle Ages and collaborated in their own languages ​​to advance knowledge.

“Your own history shows that it is the culture of encounter, not conflict, that fosters stability and prosperity. In reality, unfortunately, the message of peace, which now seems naive to some and confrontational to others, is welcomed by those who are more open to the truth, who do not close themselves off to prejudiced ideologies,” he said.

Spain, under its Socialist prime minister Pedro Sánchez, launched a mass amnesty program that provided a path to legal residence for nearly half a million immigrants. Spain’s policies contrast with much of Europe and the wider western world, which has seen a rise in xenophobia and anti-immigration policies in recent years.

In addition to meeting immigrants in the Canary Islands, she will also meet survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. Spain’s human rights ombudsman estimated in a 2023 report that there were hundreds of thousands of abuse survivors over the past decade.

King Felipe told Leo, in an apparent reference to the recently introduced church-state compensation system for some survivors of religious abuse: “Your clarity and determination, which I also want to acknowledge, are very important in the process of healing and repairing the damage done. They are necessary for the victims, the believers, the church and society.”

The Spanish church also suggested the pope might meet Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who is in the midst of a 10-day gig in Madrid. Leo joked that he faces an uphill battle competing with the pop star for the youth’s benefit.

During his flight from Rome he said: “If they are faced with the question: do they want to see the Bad Rabbit, or do they want to see the pope, I think many people will go to see the Bad Rabbit.”