European politicians and commentators cheered when Pope Leo XIV stood up to Donald Trump and JD Vance. But it’s a different story now that he’s criticising the European Union’s policies on migration and rearmament.
Speaking truth to power
Pope Leo’s visit to Spain this week has been a triumph, attracting huge crowds and almost universally positive coverage in a country where less than 55 per cent now identify as Catholics, compared to 90 per cent in the 1970s and 80 per cent just 25 years ago. In his speeches, sermons and meetings with groups, including survivors of clerical sex abuse, he demonstrated an intellectual depth the match of Pope Benedict XVI combined with an emotional intelligence like that of Pope Francis.
His most political speech was at the national parliament in Madrid on Monday afternoon when he reached back into five centuries of Spanish moral philosophy to ask what concept of the human person inspires society’s laws, and what kind of society do those laws build. He reaffirmed the church’s opposition to abortion and euthanasia before telling an audience including Spain’s right-wing and far-right politicians that the issue of migration was challenging the conscience of nations and the ethical foundation of the international order.
“The situation of migrants and refugees calls for a response that focuses on people, addresses the root causes that force them to leave and goes beyond the mere management of migration flows,” he said.
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“This gives rise to a twofold demand for social justice: to offer safe and legal pathways, a respectful welcome and real opportunities for integration; and, at the same time, to promote the right to remain in one’s own land, working to ensure that no one has to leave their home due to a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, including economic inequalities and the effects of the climate crisis.”
The European Parliament and the Council agreed last week to introduce a Returns Regulation that will allow member-states to establish deportation hubs in countries outside the EU where migrants due for deportation but rejected by their country of origin could be sent. Deportation hubs have been tried before, by Italy in Albania, by Britain in Rwanda and by the Trump administration in a number of countries including El Salvador.
They have proven to be expensive and inefficient, handling small numbers of migrants, usually at much greater cost than keeping them in Europe or the US and subject to delays and legal challenges. But for the coalition of conservative and far-right MEPs behind the regulation, it is the system’s cruelty rather than its efficiency that is its purpose, as it is meant as a deterrent, not a solution.
Deterrence is also the watchword with Readiness 2030, the EU’s plan to borrow up to €800 billion to strengthen Europe’s defence infrastructure by 2030. European defence spending surged in 2024 and 2025, boosting the profits of arms manufacturers like Germany’s Rheinmetall, which saw its revenues grow by 29 per cent last year.
In his speech to the Spanish parliament, Pope Leo rejected the logic of military deterrence, arguing that although weapons may impose a temporary silence, they can never build a genuine and lasting peace.
“It is therefore a cause for concern that in various parts of the world – and in Europe as well – rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international situation. True security, however, stems from justice, patient dialogue, respect for international law and a policy capable of placing the lives of peoples above the interests that profit from war,” he said.
Those interests suffered a temporary setback this week when Germany and France abandoned a €100 billion plan to build a joint fighter jet after years of wrangling about what it should look like. Among their disagreements was that France wanted an aircraft capable of carrying its own nuclear weapons, but Germany wanted the fighter jet to be able to drop American B61 nuclear gravity bombs – a distinction unlikely to make much of a difference to the people below.
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