Bombay Durpun - Pope urges action on 'tragic drama' of migration

The pope also urged lawmakers to defend life "from conception to its natural end", in a country whose left-wing government has legalised euthanasia under strict conditions and wants to include abortion rights in the constitution.

The leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics later on Monday will reportedly meet in private with victims of sexual abuse by clergy, which he has called "an open wound" for the Church.

In his address to parliament, he called for "safe and legal pathways" for immigration and for migrants to be given "a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration".

"The tragic drama of migration... challenges the conscience of nations and the ethical foundation of the international order today," he said.

In contrast with many of its European allies, Spain under Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has a relatively liberal immigration policy.

But the government is under pressure on the issue from the main conservative Popular Party and from far-right party Vox, now the nation's third-largest political force.

The pope's seven-day visit to Spain will include a trip to the Canary Islands, where he will pay tribute to the migrants who have lost their lives at sea on perilous journeys from Africa.

The Spanish archipelago has become one of the main entry points for irregular migrants into Europe.

The pope, who has been harshly criticised by US President Donald Trump for his anti-war views, also called for "patient dialogue" instead of conflict and rearmament in Europe and beyond.

"Weapons may impose a temporary silence but they can never build a genuine and lasting peace," he said.

Lawmakers gave the pontiff a lengthy standing ovation, with some shouting "Hooray for the pope!"

- 'Disappointed' -

Spanish media said the pope would speak later on Monday with some sexual abuse victims at the Vatican embassy in Madrid, formally known as the apostolic nunciature.

Ahead of the meeting, representatives of some victim groups complained about being excluded.

"We are disappointed that the pope, instead of listening to a sufficiently large and solid representation of victims, prefers to leave us out," Juan Cuatrecasas, spokesman for the association Infancia Robada (Stolen Childhood), told AFP.

"We are going to keep pushing until the end, insisting that the Pope has to see us, has to hear us, we have a voice," he said, speaking outside the nunciature.

The Vatican has said that a meeting will take place during the visit but that it will not give further information until after it has taken place out of "respect for the victims".

Speaking to reporters on the flight to Madrid on Saturday, Leo, 70, said the scandal of abuse was "still an open wound" for the Church.

Around 200,000 minors are estimated to have suffered abuse by clergy in Spain since 1940, according to a 2023 report from Spain's national ombudsman.

Sanchez's government and the Catholic Church in Spain signed an agreement in March to compensate victims, after years of reticence and opacity from the Church hierarchy.

On Sunday, the pope celebrated an open-air mass in central Madrid that was attended by more than 1.5 million people.

He will hold another large gathering at football club Real Madrid's famed Bernabeu Stadium later on Monday.

He will then travel to Barcelona, where on Wednesday he will bless the new tower of the Sagrada Familia Basilica -- a still-unfinished masterpiece by revered architect Antoni Gaudi that recently became the world's tallest church.

The visit will conclude on Thursday and Friday in the Canary Islands, where the pope will be joined by Sanchez.

R.Altobelli--BD