The Pope Leo XIV claimed this Monday before the Spanish Congress of Deputies that the defense of human life is a guiding principle of legislative action and has warned of the risks of a “throwaway culture” which, as he has stated, leaves unprotected the most vulnerable people: “Can a community be called fully just that leaves in the shade the unborn child, the old, the sick, who suffers in silence or who depends entirely on the care of others?”, he mentioned.
In a solemn speech before the principal authorities of the Spanish Statethe pontiff has affirmed that “all human life must be recognized and guarded from its conception to its natural end” and remarked that this issue “is not a confessional interest or a partial issue, but a goal of civilization”.
The papa has placed the dignity of the human person as the foundation of any legal order and has defended that this dignity precedes any political decision or social consensus. “When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable are the first victims and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect each person”, he said.
The pontiff has extended the reflection to other social areas and has defended the role of the family as “the first school of humanity”, as well as the right of parents to choose the education of their children in accordance with their moral, cultural and religious convictions.
He has also addressed the migratory phenomenonwhich he has described as a moral and legal challenge of the first order, demanding legal and safe routes for migrants, respectful reception policies and measures that allow people to remain in their countries of origin with decent living conditions.
At the international level, Leo XIV has warned about the increase in geopolitical tensions and has expressed concern about the rearmament of several countries. As he pointed out, security is not built through the weapons but of justice, dialogue and respect for international law. He has also claimed one rigorous ethical monitoring on the development of the artificial intelligence applied to the military field.
The speech ended with a calls for harmony and dialogue in a society marked, according to the Pope, by the polarization and mistrust. The pontiff has encouraged the Spanish institutions to keep alive a political culture based on the mutual respect, freedom of conscience and service to the common good. “A law does not achieve its true greatness just because it has been formally approved. It achieves it when it can appear before the dignity of the person and come out of this examination without being ashamed”, he said.
