In the catechesis of the jubilee cycle dedicated to “Jesus Christ, our hope”, Pope Leo XIV once again insisted this Wednesday on the centrality of human life as a gift from God. His words come at a particularly delicate moment, while the Government of Andorra maintains negotiations with the Holy See on the possible decriminalization of abortion, a process that has reopened political tensions in the Principality.
“Life is a gift”: the Pope's message at a critical moment
Before a packed St. Peter's Square, the Pontiff warned about a “lack of trust in life” that is spreading in Western societies and called for rediscovering existence as a received gift and not as a burden. He emphasized the urgency of “generating life” in all areas—family, community, social, and spiritual—and recalled that Christ's Resurrection is the force that sustains the believer in the face of darkness.
The Pope's words inevitably resonate in the Andorran context, where the debate on the voluntary interruption of pregnancy is advancing with internal tensions and discreet negotiations with Rome.
Ongoing negotiations: Andorra seeks a path without breaking institutional balances
As La Veu Lliure recalls, a month ago the head of Government, Xavier Espot, along with the Minister of Institutional Relations, Ladislau Baró, and Ambassador Carles Álvarez, held a meeting at the Vatican with Cardinal Pietro Parolin to address possible scenarios regarding the decriminalization of abortion.
The meeting generated debate in the Consell General. Councilor Núria Segués expressed her frustration over the lack of progress: “We've been at this for two years and every time we talk about it, we go in circles”. Baró replied firmly: “I cannot allow you to say this because it is not true. We come from a meeting at the Holy See to discuss it. We went to seek a definition of scenarios that would allow us to move forward, not to eat pizza”.
Moderate optimism and warnings about limits
Minister Baró, who admitted to having been too optimistic about the deadlines, now points to December as a new reference. He assures that the meeting with Parolin was decisive in identifying the “knots of difficulty”, which have varied since the February conversations with Imma Tor and Mons. Gallagher. The legal text drafted by Federico de Montalvo will have to wait.
Baró insisted that there is no delaying maneuver or attempt to halt the debate from a “patriarchal” perspective. As he explained, the Government will not bring the proposal to the Consell General until it is certain that it respects the “red lines” of the Andorran institutional system.
Cardinal Parolin himself, as La Veu Lliure recalls, already outlined in 2023 the narrow limits imposed by the Constitution, Church doctrine, and the protection of human life.
A debate intertwined with papal catechesis
In the meantime, Minister Imma Tor reiterated before the Human Rights Council that the Government maintains its commitment to decriminalize abortion in this legislature, with a project to be presented in the coming months.
In this climate of high sensitivity, the Pope's words on “promoting life in all its expressions” take on particular weight. Rome and Andorra continue to negotiate discreetly, and Leo XIV's message sets the doctrinal framework in which the Holy See should position any legislative progress.