Pope Leo XIV remarked this Saturday, during his first day in Madrid, that “charity admits no delays” and warned of the “risk” involved when certain political and economic positions lead to deception and indifference in the face of unjust situations.
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The Pontiff’s first act, commitments and protocol aside – he himself said in his speech that this was his first act in Madrid – was at Cedia 24 horas, a Caritas center always open that welcomes homeless people and those in vulnerable situations on the outskirts of the city, in Lucero, a humble neighborhood. A place where he listened to the testimonies of four people connected to this space, which gives the Pontiff’s trip a social dimension that will increase. In the audience seats, authorities were relegated to the back rows.
On a simple stage in the courtyard of the premises, sometimes a basketball court, in an act that contrasted with the carpets and pomp of the previous ceremony at the Royal Palace, accompanied by the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo, Leo XIV remarked that “charity admits no delays,” an aspect he linked to the motto of this trip – Lift up your gaze – which has its origin in the Gospel of Saint John, although it was rethought for the occasion due to the tower of Jesus that crowns the Sagrada Família.
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“They are an invitation to contemplate the fields that, ripe, await the harvest, and remind us that charity admits no delays. If the wheat is not harvested when it is ripe, the harvest is lost, and this is our responsibility towards those in need,” explained the Pontiff, who immediately after warned of the “risk” of deception that certain political and economic positions entail in the face of injustices. Therefore, he asked not to replace the Gospel with a “worldly mentality.”
“Christians too, on many occasions, allow themselves to be infected by attitudes marked by worldly ideologies or by political and economic positions that lead to unjust generalizations and misleading conclusions,” stated Robert Prevost. “The fact that the exercise of charity is despised or ridiculed, as if it were the obsession of a few and not the incandescent core of the ecclesial mission, makes me think that it is always necessary to reread the Gospel, so as not to run the risk of replacing it with a worldly mentality,” continued the American pontiff, paraphrasing his apostolic exhortation Dilexi Te.
In that sense, the Pope emphasized that “it is not possible to forget the poor” if one does not want to “step outside the living current of the Church that springs from the Gospel” and called for “cultivating a sensitive heart to the needs of others,” a moment in which he quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, with one of his messages against indifference and coldness.
“From this place, the diocese of Madrid wants to offer him the first of many embraces he will receive these days: an embrace born at this humble and narrow door, from which one enters the city and, at the same time, learns to truly look at it,” said Cobo in his previous speech, in which he also emphasized that it is a humble area. “We are at a crossroads of neighborhoods – Carabanchel, Latina, Aluche, Lucero – with names that taste of simple life,” Cobo detailed.
The Peruvian community, present
At the entrance to the center, there was a woman originally from Chiclayo, the Peruvian diocese where Prevost was, with a banner and chanting “the Pope is Peruvian,” a chant sung after a while by many more people, who received a greeting from a distance from the Pontiff. Although the surroundings of the premises were heavily guarded by agents of the National Police Corps, including the building’s rooftop, there were a few lucky neighbors who watched the stage where the Pontiff stood from their home balconies and windows. Some took the opportunity to hang their flags on their balconies; from Peru, Ecuador, or Cuba, among others.
“Allow yourselves to be challenged by the gaze of those who need your help and welcome them with the charity of Christ. With all affection, I ask God to bless you,” the Pope wrote in the center’s book of honor.
Before leaving the nunciature, the Pope met with a group of about 40 people with disabilities and the sick, accompanied by various Catholic charitable organizations and the Archdiocese of Madrid. Prevost addressed a few words to them and, before greeting them individually, prayed the Our Father with them.
Leo XIV’s first steps in Madrid were marked by his status as head of state, with a welcome ceremony at the Royal Palace attended by the King and Queen, authorities, and social agents, an event in which he delivered a clear and frank message about the political situation and gave those present a preview of what his message would be, which, as Prevost himself remarked, will be addressed to both Catholic faithful and society in general. “I come to encourage reconciliation and cooperation among the forces of this nation,” he declared before the political establishment.
