Bishop José Ignacio Munilla of Orihuela-Alicante asked on Sunday on the social network X that politicians not manipulate the Pope’s figure, in reference to the latest rally of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who on Saturday cited Leo XIV to encourage voting in the general elections on November 29. “Would it be too much to ask politicians not to manipulate the Pope’s figure, as @sanchezcastejon tried to do in his latest rally?” the prelate wrote.
Munilla added that “it is clear that those 7 minutes of applause for #PopeLeoXIV in the Spanish Cortes had more to do with image calculation than with welcoming his words.” The reference points to the ovation the Pope received during his address to the General Courts on June 8 during his visit to Spain.
Sánchez: “I don’t know what he voted, but he defends migrants”
On Saturday, November 7, Sánchez spoke at a PSC pre-campaign event in the port of Tarragona, alongside Salvador Illa. There he called for massive mobilization to “stop PP and Vox,” citing the U.S. legislative elections as an example, and added that “even Pope Leo XIV has voted,” alluding to the Pontiff’s participation in those elections.
The Prime Minister also stated that he does not know what the Pope voted, but that he has heard what he defends, and among those points of agreement he mentioned immigration, migrants arriving in search of a better future, a new social contract, the risks of artificial intelligence, and climate change. He did not mention, however, the Pope’s positions contrary to the Government’s policies, such as those regarding abortion.
A warning he had already made before the visit
Munilla had already warned before the Pope’s visit to Spain that his words could be interpreted partially, with each side seeking the fragment that best suited its interests. On that occasion he maintained that the key moment of the trip would be the Corpus Christi procession and not the speech in the Cortes.
Sánchez’s citation adds to the controversy over his absence from the funeral for the victims of the Urda accident, scheduled for November 10 in the cathedral of Toledo, which has been criticized by the PP spokesperson in Congress, Ester Muñoz.
The issue also comes amid ongoing discussion about the so-called “Christian vote.” Cardinal Cobo had already warned that no party can claim to be “the Christian vote” ahead of the 29N elections.