Pope Leo XIV addressed Spain’s Parliament on June 8 in Madrid, receiving a standing ovation after calling on legislators to protect “the most fragile” lives — including migrants and the unborn — and to renew public life around human dignity.
Pope Leo XIV used a rare address to Spain’s Parliament on June 8 to argue that protecting human dignity — including the lives of those he described as most vulnerable — should be treated as a civic responsibility rather than a partisan fight.
In his speech to lawmakers at Spain’s Congress of Deputies, Leo called for a “moral renewal” in public life and urged respect for the inherent dignity of all people, explicitly naming migrants as well as “the unborn and the most vulnerable,” according to an Associated Press account of the address.
“The moral greatness of a nation is manifested, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect and love those lives that are most fragile,” the pope said, as quoted by AP.
Spanish lawmakers responded with a prolonged standing ovation. AP reported the ovation lasted about seven minutes.
Some commentary outlets characterized the address primarily as a “pro-life” intervention, but the most detailed contemporaneous reports emphasized Leo’s broader appeal, including references to migrants’ rights and international law. The Vatican has also recently published Leo’s first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, which focuses on safeguarding the human person in the age of artificial intelligence.
