Meeting with the King and Authorities of Spain (2 November 1982)

On Tuesday, 2 November 1982, the Holy Father met with the King and Authorities of Spain in the Royal Palace. In his speech the Pope said, “I arrive in Spain as a messenger of faith, to fulfill Christ's mandate to teach his doctrine to all people.”

Your Majesty, Gentlemen.

1. It is a source of satisfaction for me to have this meeting with your Majesties, with the Government Authorities and the Representatives of Parliament. As well as with other illustrious members of the most qualified sectors of Spanish society.

I am grateful first of all for the exquisite welcome, in perfect consonance with the profound sense of hospitality of the Spanish people and the deferential words of His Majesty, who now so legitimately interprets the sentiment of the Spaniards.

And even if my trip to Spain has an eminently religious character, with this courtesy visit I wish to express my greeting and my respect to the legitimate Representatives of the Spanish people, chosen by them as their delegates to govern the fate of the Nation. A respect that I wanted to be beyond any shadow of doubt - if it could have crept into anyone - even before my arrival and which today I want to reiterate in your present public context.

2. Along the same lines as my previous apostolic journeys, I arrive in Spain as a messenger of faith, to fulfill Christ's mandate to teach his doctrine to all people. A message that is new for every person or generation, and is always Good News, because it speaks of faith, of love between men, of respect for their dignity and of the fundamental values ​​of peace, harmony, freedom and coexistence. All causes which help the advancement of man and which occupy a large space in my tasks.

Good News also for peoples, especially when they are committed to building their present and their future on renewed foundations. Because the Church, willingly respecting the areas that are not its own, signals a moral path that is not divergent or contrary, but which coincides with the needs of the dignity of the human person and the rights and freedoms inherent to it. And that forms the basis of a healthy society.

It is equally logical that, faithful to its duty, and still respecting the autonomy of the temporal order (cf. Gaudium et Spes , 36), the Church asks for the same consideration with regard to its mission, when it comes to the sphere of things that they concern God and which touch the conscience of his children. In the different manifestations of their personal and social, private and public life.

3. I am aware that I am arriving in a nation with a great Catholic tradition; many of his children contributed intensely to the humanization and evangelization of other peoples. They are historical pages that give you much honor for the old past.

You are now committed to a new organization of your public reality, which duly respects the unity and peculiarities of the different peoples who make up the Nation. Without claiming to give concrete judgments on aspects that are not within my competence, I ask God to enlighten you on the solutions to be adopted, so that harmonious coexistence, mutual respect and the good of all are preserved.

This balance in Spain will have positive repercussions on the geographical area to which you belong, and into which you legitimately want to integrate more fully. A prosperous and peaceful Spain, committed to promoting fraternal relations between its inhabitants and which does not forget its human, spiritual and moral essence, will be able to make a valid contribution to a future of justice and peace for Europe and for all Nations; especially those with particular historical ties.

4. To achieve these objectives I know that you are striving to create civil coexistence in freedom, participation and respect for human rights. Within the pluralism of legitimate options and due mutual respect, which Spanish society feels alive.

I hope that solidarity and responsible freedom, this precious gift of the human person and fruit of his dignity, will always be safeguarded. And that your system of freedom is based at all times on the observance of the moral values ​​of the person himself. Which will thus be able to truly come true, individually and collectively.

5. I cannot end these words without renewing my gratitude to His Majesty the King and the Government, for the invitation to come to this most noble country, and for all the facilities they are preparing for its best development. For all this I would like to convey my deep appreciation to them.

May God bless the Royal Family, all the Authorities and the beloved Spanish people, so that they may always enjoy a climate of peace, prosperity, justice and harmony.

© Copyright 1982 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Copyright © Dicastery for Communication - Libreria Editrice Vaticana