BARCELONA, Catalonia, Junts spokesperson Josep Rius said on Monday that party leader in the Spanish Congress Míriam Nogueras did more than Catalan president Salvador Illa to get Pope Leo XIV to speak Catalan during his upcoming visit to Catalonia.
Rius said the Generalitat had not used its political and diplomatic capacity before the Vatican to secure Catalan for the Pope’s public remarks. He said Junts expects to attend the papal events and wants the Pope to use Catalan in his addresses.
He added that if Pope Leo XIV does speak Catalan, it will be thanks to pressure from civil society and parties such as Junts. Rius welcomed the Pope to Catalonia and described it as an ancient nation with its own language and culture.
Rius also said he hoped the Pope would recognise that reality and use Catalan in his speeches, as previous popes visiting Catalonia have done. He said the language choice remains an important issue in Catalonia.
Catalan bishops and Barcelona archbishop
According to Rius, most Catalan bishops have asked the Pope to speak in Catalan. He said that was not the case for the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella, whom he accused of showing clear contempt for the Catalan language, culture and identity.
Rius declined to comment on a speech the Pope delivered in the Spanish Congress. For more Catalonia politics coverage, see our news tag. For official Vatican information, see the Vatican website and the Vatican News service.