The recent attempt of tens of thousands of migrants to illegally enter Spanish territory via the sea at Ceuta has caused both political upheaval and sensational commentary. It led to immense criticism of Spanish Socialist prime minister Sanchez, not just by the domestic right-wing opposition but across the EU as a whole. Even the Trump administration joined in on the attacks. Even the fact that over 50 people died while attempting this illegal mass crossing has not resulted in overly sympathetic portrayals or criticisms of strict border policy.
While the EU and most European countries have increasingly turned against mass migration (or at least act as if they have) Sanchez has been one of the dissenting voices, offering amnesty and regularization for at least 500.000 if not over a million illegals a few months ago. This has now subjected him to far reaching criticism. Even though most of those regularized are in fact Spanish speaking Latin America work migrants rather than Africans one of thew few remaining advocates for a narrative that ‘diversity is our strength’ risks being discredited. His government initially refused to declare a state of emergency or sent in military support despite appeals from the local authorities in Ceuta, resulting in them going public with their appeal and the military ended up having to come after all.
Signs suggest this may well become a significant turning point for the Church hierarchy which up till this point was largely on the same page as Sanchez. This may very well have changed now, with more orthodox bishops criticizing what they call an invasion and Pope Leo appearing to treat it as more of a political crisis rather than as a humanitarian tragedy. This is a clear change in tone.
In Spain, even conservative bishops have usually been pro-migration. This has been the case for several decades and is very similar to the USA. The only disagreement between conservative and progressive bishops is whether opposition to murder, in the form of abortion and euthanasia, deserves to be treated as a priority or not.
The Spanish bishops, including the president of their Bishops’ Conference, the conservative Archbishop Luis Argüello, applauded the regularization of the illegals. Yet, now he stated on social media that “The Ceuta invasion is a test. Demographics are a weapon.” This is especially noteworthy as Argüello appears to be on very good terms with Pope Leo and to have gotten a sneak peak of what Pope Leo’s message was going to be when the Pope visited Spain, including on the topic of migration. We suspect he may well be made a cardinal in just a few years.
Pope Leo himself simply said that he followed the alarming situation with concern and prayed that “solutions of peace, stability, and justice may be found.” That he acknowledged the situation as alarming is by itself noteworthy as is the fact that he refrained from a clear hint at a need for kinder treatment of the migrants. He didn’t even pray specifically for those who drowned.
Archbishop Emilio Rocha of Tangier went against standard pro-migrant narratives, denying the men had been victims of local crime and denying that Marocco was poor enough that people would need to flee it because of that.
The church in Marocco is helping people return home rather than facilitating their travels. Some radical priests in Spain are still preaching open borders, but it is no longer the mainstream episcopal position. Meanwhile, two important allies of the late Francis and active migrants advocates, Cardinal Cobo Cano, Archbishop of Madrid, and Cardinal Omella, Archbishop of Barcelona have remained virtually silent as of writing this article. Even though Cobo Cano is the vice-president of the episcopal voices (and the only Bergoglian elected to a high position to the conference in 2024). The post-WWII consensus on the topic seems truly dead.
Pope Leo has at least partially taken a more nuanced and realistic stance on mass migration than his predecessor. One needs to only compare the sanctions of Fratelli Tutti and Magnifica Humanitas to recognize this. As a cardinal, he already acknowledged mass migration is a problem and called for a balanced and humane approach. Yet, his calls for humane treatment, specifically of refugees, including during his visit to Spain, are quickly spun into support for open border policies including Sanchez’ mass regularization decree, even when it was a distinct issue from that. An overemphasis on humanitarianism risks obscuring any attempts at balance and the dangers to native populations that mass migration inherently brings. Ceuta has now finally made these issues undeniable and prominent.
The overwhelming majority of the migrants have already been returned though several thousands remain. Yet, so far there is little enthusiasm for them to be welcomed. Instead, stories of several girls entering hospitals because they were raped are coming in now, only sustaining and inflaming criticism of the Sanchez government.
Mass migration is finally being acknowledged as dangerous by the Church, as a risk to the countries that suffer its effects. A one-sided focus, on allegedly tragic migrants and a duty of Europe and the USA to welcome the whole world, is giving way to a more realistic perspective that acknowledges real security concerns that were treated as ‘far right rhetoric’ till just a few years ago. We’ll see in the coming months whether this is a fluke or has lasting effects.
