Papal welcome with commuter trains and teachers

With that gift of opportunity that has always characterized him, Adif has made an offering to the Holy Father of a gift that allows him to grasp the reality of Catalan land as soon as he steps off the plane. Exactly at the same time that Leo XIV was landing at El Prat airport, an incident at Adif's Traffic Control Center in Barcelona left the entire country without commuter trains: R1, R2, R3, R4, R8, R11, R14, R15, R16, R17, RG1, RL3, RL4, RT1, RT2. The service was interrupted for more than half an hour, until it was gradually recovered. And it fell again. Your Holiness, welcome to Catalonia.

At the same time, and speaking of normality, striking teachers were demonstrating not far from Barcelona Cathedral, where the papal entourage made its first stop on its tour of our country.

The Department of Education is very concerned about the definitive explosion of a long-brewing educational crisis. So much so that the minister has asked for the opinion of her predecessors. The Government has needed time to process the magnitude of the overflow: what seemed to be solvable with a usual labor negotiation has ended up highlighting the need for a top-to-bottom review of the educational system, which suffers from a lack of material and human resources, a lack of empowerment of directors, the diversity of students, and the ease of civil servant access to a profession that demands more academic rigor. By the way, what is known about the agreement signed by the Government and the OECD, responsible for the PISA tests, to reverse Catalonia's poor results? Have they already provided an applicable diagnosis? In the meantime, striking teachers have overwhelmed even their own unions. It is a crisis of the sector and for the Government, but, more than that, it is a crisis of the country.