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.<\/p>\n
Robert Prevost has arrived in Spain with a cross containing the relic of Blessed Anselmo Polanco<\/a>, an Augustinian like the Pope and Bishop of Teruel, who was executed by the Republican side on February 7, 1939<\/strong>, in Pont de Mol\u00edns (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<\/strong>, tensions largely fueled by Pedro S\u00e1nchez's own government to cover up its corruption scandals.<\/p>\n 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)<\/a>, in which he stated:<\/p>\n \"I see here a vocation particularly suited to Europe, in which Spain plays a unique and fundamental role.<\/strong> This is the gift that the \u201cOld Continent\u201d 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 \u201cghosts\u201d and enemies<\/strong> are the tasks of those who are heirs of a great history.\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n A pro-government media outlet has already rushed to link<\/a> that statement with the \"ultra-right-wing rise in Spain\"<\/strong>. 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<\/strong>.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> 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<\/strong>, even though Spanish is the national language of Spain and the most widely spoken language in Catalonia, Galicia, and the Basque Autonomous Community.<\/p>\n In 2023, I also explained here the tendency to blame entire groups based on identity politics<\/a>, pointing out some specific examples, such as the tendency to blame the rich, Jews, Christians, or men for all evils<\/strong>, something very common in certain ideologies. Of course, the left and separatism are not the only political currents poisoned by this type of discourse.<\/a> Last year I also talked here about what is happening in the \"woke\" right wing with their speeches against the \"boomers\"<\/a>, an absurd criticism that is directed against millions of people for the mere fact of being of a certain age.<\/p>\n Of course, xenophobic and racist rhetoric also falls under the identity-based approaches<\/strong> 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<\/strong>. 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<\/strong>, forgetting that these approaches have significant proponents in Spain among the S\u00e1nchez government and its separatist and far-left partners.<\/p>\n ---<\/p>\n
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