On the second day of his apostolic trip to Spain, the Pope invited players from the world of culture, sport and the economy to a meeting at the Movistar Arena in Madrid. In his speech, Leo XIV invited them to work for social dialogue and not to forget the spiritual imprint left by the Church in Europe.
Alexandra Sirgant – Special Envoy to Madrid
Ten minutes of ovation, applause and “Long live the Pope!» accompanied the entry of Leo XIV into the Madrid Sports Palace. In this multipurpose space intended for sporting events and shows, nearly fifteen thousand representatives from the world of culture, sport and economy warmly welcomed the Pope who came to meet them this Sunday evening, on the second day of his apostolic trip to Spain.
«It is not a visit, but a gesture of listening and proximity» declared the famous Hispanic actor Antonio Banderas, chosen to bring the voice of Spanish artists to the Sovereign Pontiff. After a vibrant flamenco demonstration and several testimonies from various representatives of the world of work, the three-time badminton world champion Carolina MariÌ n and the Spanish Paralympic swimmer Teresa Perales took the floor to thank the Holy Father for his calls to make sport a “bridge of solidarity, inclusion and peace”. The two athletes concluded their testimony by offering a badminton racket to the Pope, whose love of tennis is no secret.
Leo XIV then took the floor and invited the thousands of people present to question the meaning of the heritage left to future generations. HAS”Notre société, highlighted by the Popeindeed has an extraordinary capacity to produce, innovate and communicate. However, he warnedit seems we still need to learn how to preserve the essence of what she creates.” The Sovereign Pontiff invites us not to lose sight of the reasons why human societies produce, letting ourselves be guided solely by the efficiency of “production”. And to respond to this challenge, “The Church, aware of its successes and its errors throughout history, aspires to remain in dialogue with the contemporary world.”
Communication can destroy or heal
The Pope then proposed three guidelines to promote social dialogue comparable to “the art of weaving networksHAS”. First, the importance of taking care of the language used, whether written, oral, or visual car «communication is never neutral», the hammer Léon XIV. «Every expression speaks, transmits; it can hurt or heal, destroy expectations or open horizons, sow division or awaken the hope of building together something truly human.”.
Leo XIV continued by illustrating all the expectations that accompany this dialogue between institutions centered on human dignity: “that the university neither turns its back on the world of work nor renounces the truth; that entrepreneurial activity does not consider the employee as a simple factor in the equation of his interests; that art is not only aimed at the elite; that sport is not reduced to a spectacle or transformed into simple commerce; that technological progress takes into account the elderly, the poor and those who have no voice».
Tisserensemble» and thus distinguished
Then, the Sovereign Pontiff stressed that “bonding means creating togetherHAS”. Faith, vector of joy and love, creates beauty, like the writings of Lope de Vega, Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint John of the Cross, Calderón de la Barca or Saint Thomas Aquinas. «T“All this shows the link between the material and the spiritual which constitutes our existence” a affirmé Léon XIV.
Finally, building connections means “serve as a manifestation of disinterest». «An objective look reveals that men and women animated by faith built hospitals and schools, gave birth to solidarity initiatives and spoke a language restoring dignity to people. highlighted by the Pope. “That is why, he continuedit is appropriate to ask ourselves in all honesty whether the world – and in particular Europe – would have forged its identity without the spiritual imprint which has permeated its history.” A question addressed to the Old Continent that the Pope does not intend as a provocation, but as a “invitation à réfléchir to the question of whether eternity, which burst into time and space through the incarnation of Jesus Christ, can be reconciled again with everyday life.
Quoting passages from his apostolic exhortation I loved you and his encyclical Magnificat humanitas, the Holy Father invited us not to forget the people excluded from his links, emphasizing “their virtues and their abilities».
The Pope concluded his speech by inviting us to become “new threads in order to weave new networks that harmonize all areas of life, and to build a renewed society where time is imbued with eternity, where culture preserves memory and promotes dialogue, where education promotes the search for the truth in a critical spirit, where art arouses wonder and generates noble emotions, where the company recognizes the dignity of the person and where work remains an engine of hope».
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