Story perspectives

Historic Spanish Parliament Address: Pope Urges Migrant Rights, AI Oversight

6/8/2026

Summary

Story summary

Pope Leo XIV addressed Spain’s Congress and Senate, becoming the first pontiff to speak there and receiving a seven-minute standing ovation.
He praised Spain’s adherence to international law, urged respect for migrants’ rights and noted a plan to legalise half a million undocumented people.
He called sexual abuse an open wound, referenced a March compensation agreement, warned that rising European defence spending threatens ethics and urged oversight of AI-controlled weapons.

History

Historical Context

John Paul II broke precedent when he became the first pope to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress, an invitation extended by Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. His earlier U.S. tours, such as the 1979 New York visit that drew 75,000 worshippers, established a pattern of papal engagement that today continues with Pope Leo XIV, born in Chicago in 1955.

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Story summary

Pope Leo XIV addressed Spain’s Congress and Senate, becoming the first pontiff to speak there and receiving a seven-minute standing ovation.
He praised Spain’s adherence to international law, urged respect for migrants’ rights and noted a plan to legalise half a million undocumented people.
He called sexual abuse an open wound, referenced a March compensation agreement, warned that rising European defence spending threatens ethics and urged oversight of AI-controlled weapons.

1 / 2