SPAIN’S bishops have been warned by Pope Leo XIV that his greatest concern about the country was the rise of ultra-right ideology.
The comments came on November 17 when nine Spanish bishops who make up the executive commission of the Episcopal Conference(CEE) met the Pontiff at the Vatican.
Details of the meeting have now been disclosed by two sources to the El Pais newspaper.
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During the exchange, the Pontiff alerted the bishops about the rise of far-right groups and how they ‘seek to win the Catholic vote’ and ‘instrumentalise the Church’ according to the sources.
One bishop told El Pais: “The Pope sees that the ultra-right uses believers for its purposes.”
In their speeches and social media postings, those groups accuse bishops of betraying the faithful by supporting the government’s ‘anti-Christian’ policies as an ‘agreed deal’ for sexual abuse cases.
They also criticise the bishops for staying ‘silent in the face of the advance of Islamism’.
After their meeting with the Pontiff, the bishops returned home with a papal directive to be aware of the intentions of extreme right-wing groups.
They were also told to quickly resolve the issue of compensating sexual abuse victims- a matter that had been mired in disagreement with the Spanish government.
The effects of the Pope’s position became apparent as last month the CEE agreed with the government to compensate all victims of paedophile priests.
It also supported the administration’s plans to regularise illegal immigrants in Spain- something strongly opposed by the far-right Vox party.
For Leo XIV, combating polarisation, inside and outside the Church, is regarded as one of his priorities.
The pope sees the rise of the extreme right as one of the main risks, especially because of its demonisation of immigrants.
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