Carmen Álvarez Cuadrado
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was welcomed like this ahead of his first face-to-face meeting with Leo XIV, just 10 days before the pope’s trip to Spain.
Upon his arrival, a few journalists were waiting, most of them Spanish. Sánchez entered the Vatican at 8:50am, but media alerts began to go off right afterward, even reaching Spanish Parliament. Nobody seemed to know what was happening.
Police specializing in economic crimes had entered the headquarters of Sánchez's party to seize documents related to an alleged corruption scheme linked to the Socialist Party.
But at that point, Sánchez was already meeting with Pope Leo in a visit intended to show Spanish rapport with the Vatican ahead of the pope’s trip to Spain. The two leaders are expected to meet again in private for a second time before the pope’s speech before Spanish Parliament.
This latest meeting took about 40 minutes. As is customary with high-ranking political officials, Leo and Sánchez exchanged gifts.
When it ended, the media were ready this time, and were waiting for Sánchez at the press conference—the story had quickly spread to Italian and international media outlets.
Interest and anticipation grew over what Sánchez would say. He began by speaking about the pope, whom he described this way:
PEDRO SÁNCHEZ
Prime Minister of Spain
ORIG. SPANISH
His voice is a moral compass in the fight against injustice because he is always, indeed, on the side of the weakest, and because of his message of solidarity and opposition to selfishness, and for promoting something that may seem revolutionary these days, but is really common sense and empathy in the face of irrationality and the law of the jungle.
But the media's questions focused more on his party: What did Sánchez say when he learned that police had entered his party’s headquarters while he was meeting with the pope?
PEDRO SÁNCHEZ
Prime Minister of Spain
The actions currently taking place at the Socialist Party headquarters, that is also why I was delayed, because I was unaware of them. I had to ask exactly what was happening.
The same police force had also searched a specific office two days earlier—the office of former Socialist Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, where, among other things, they seized more than 100 pieces of jewelry.
This is one aspect of a broader judicial case that will bring Zapatero before a court. He is currently being accused of organized criminal activity, forgery, and influence peddling. Sánchez addressed this matter, and has defended Zapatero from the very beginning.
PEDRO SÁNCHEZ
Prime Minister of Spain
After what I have read and what I have been able to discuss with people who know far more about the law than I do, I believe there are not sufficient grounds, there are no reasons, to change that position.
With under two weeks before Leo XIV sets foot in Spain, this is the current political environment the pope will encounter early next month—one that dominated headlines in Spanish, Italian, and international media during Sánchez’s visit to the Vatican.
