Cardinal Cobo: ‘Madrid showed Pope is a moral authority for everyone’

As Pope Leo XIV left Madrid bound for Barcelona, the Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid said the Pope has already offered the Church and Spanish society very clear paths to follow for the future after the first intense days.

Cardinal José Cobo Cano accompanied the Pope during his time in Madrid and will continue in Barcelona and the Canary Islands.

Speaking to Vatican News at the end of the visit to Madrid, the Cardinal said the first leg of his Apostolic Journey to Spain surpassed every expectation, as seen in the enthusiastic response of the city.

He recalled Pope Leo’s words to politicians and his encounter with victims of clerical sexual abuse, which the Cardinal explained the Church is working to confront so that “no victim feels excluded.”They were days of intense preparation. Meticulous preparation, because we did not want this visit to be only an event, but rather a journey. And in fact, they were intense days, and we were surprised by the response we received and that the Holy Father received, not only in terms of numbers, but also because of the warmth of the Church of Madrid. We were also surprised by the warmth of the welcome in Parliament.