Pope Francis to Address Spain's Congress Amid Abuse Victim Controversy

Pope Francis is set to make history by addressing Spain's Congress on Monday, becoming the first pontiff ever to speak before the Spanish legislature. This significant event occurs amidst a period of heightened political tension in Spain and includes a scheduled meeting with victims of sexual abuse by clergy.

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The Pope does not want, under any circumstances, to have victims who pressure him and ask him uncomfortable questions he does not want to answer.

The planned encounter with victims, set for 4:15 PM at the nunciature, is not without controversy. Several victim associations have voiced criticism, expressing concerns that the meeting might be limited to participants of the 'Repara' project, an initiative by the Archdiocese of Madrid aimed at addressing the abuse scandal. Miguel Hurtado, one of the first to report abuse by the Montserrat Abbey, protested outside the nunciature on Sunday, stating his belief that the Pope wishes to avoid uncomfortable questions from victims.

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It has been very controversial that the Pope is going to Montserrat, which is the ground zero of clerical pederasty in Catalonia, without meeting the victims of the abbey.

Hurtado also questioned the Pope's upcoming visit to Montserrat, a site he described as the "ground zero" for clerical pederasty in Catalonia. He noted that the abbey has refused to fully compensate or repair the harm done to victims, adding to the controversy surrounding the papal visit. The Pope, when asked about the abuse issue by a journalist from El País during his flight to Spain, acknowledged it as an "open wound" and admitted the impossibility of meeting all victims, while vowing to continue fighting against it.

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It is an 'open wound'; I am going to continue fighting against it. It is impossible to receive all the victims.

Despite these controversies, the Pope experienced a warm reception from the public in Madrid on Sunday afternoon. Traveling by popemobile to the Movistar Arena, he was met with fervent cheers, smiling and blessing babies. Inside the arena, before an estimated 12,000 people, he presided over the 'Tejer Redes con el Mundo de la Cultura, del Arte, de la Economía y del Deporte' (Weaving Networks with the World of Culture, Art, Economy, and Sport) event, where actor Antonio Banderas was a notable attendee. Banderas spoke about art's role in helping humanity recover depth and soul in an increasingly fragmented and simplified world, particularly in the face of artificial intelligence.

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In a world that runs, that fragments, that is sometimes overly simplified, art helps us to recover the depth and the soul that is trying to be stolen by artificial intelligences.