What are these 'identity-based approaches' that Pope Leo XIV spoke about in Spain?

Spain is experiencing a momentous day today with the visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. It is the first papal visit to Spain since 2011.

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Robert Prevost has arrived in Spain with a cross containing the relic of Blessed Anselmo Polanco, an Augustinian like the Pope and Bishop of Teruel, who was executed by the Republican side on February 7, 1939, in Pont de Molíns (Girona) during the Spanish Civil War. The Pope has already delivered some very interesting messages, speaking about reconciliation and coming together in a country torn apart by political tensions, tensions largely fueled by Pedro Sánchez's own government to cover up its corruption scandals.

In a meeting with authorities, civil society, and the diplomatic corps at the Royal Palace in Madrid, Leo XIV delivered a speech (which can be read in full here), in which he stated:

"I see here a vocation particularly suited to Europe, in which Spain plays a unique and fundamental role. This is the gift that the “Old Continent” can offer the world if it wishes to remain young, for youth is found in those who feel they have a future and a mission that still have meaning. Appreciating and studying complexity, learning not to deny it but to embrace it as a blessing, and fleeing from identity-based approaches that seem to explain everything yet only fill the world with “ghosts” and enemies are the tasks of those who are heirs of a great history."

A pro-government media outlet has already rushed to link that statement with the "ultra-right-wing rise in Spain". This statement will only reflect reality to the extent that this media outlet identifies that rise with what can be seen within the government itself and among its parliamentary partners, a political environment in which there are socialists, communists, and separatists who promote this type of approach.

I have already referred to identity ideologies on this blog several times. Ten years ago I denounced here the identity-based whims and linguistic supremacism promoted by separatist nationalism, a pernicious ideology that is promoting discourses that identify those of us who speak Spanish as bad Catalans, Galicians, or Basques, even though Spanish is the national language of Spain and the most widely spoken language in Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Autonomous Community.

In 2023, I also explained here the tendency to blame entire groups based on identity politics, pointing out some specific examples, such as the tendency to blame the rich, Jews, Christians, or men for all evils, something very common in certain ideologies. Of course, the left and separatism are not the only political currents poisoned by this type of discourse. Last year I also talked here about what is happening in the "woke" right wing with their speeches against the "boomers", an absurd criticism that is directed against millions of people for the mere fact of being of a certain age.

Of course, xenophobic and racist rhetoric also falls under the identity-based approaches to which Leo XIV referred today. These are discourses that commit the injustice of attributing evils to entire groups simply because of their origin or skin color, something a Christian must always reject. People should be valued individually and for their actions, not for their identity. It is certainly quite cynical for a pro-government media outlet to offer a biased interpretation of Leo XIV's statement, forgetting that these approaches have significant proponents in Spain among the Sánchez government and its separatist and far-left partners.

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Photo: Casa Real.