Sánchez and Leo XIV exhibit harmony in the Throne Room

Judicial cases are piling up around the PSOE, but Pedro Sánchez maintains a fierce defense of his government's honorability and insists he will serve out the legislature. This Wednesday he did so from the Spanish embassy to the Holy See, taking advantage of his trip to the Vatican to meet with the Pope. Sánchez arrived in Rome on Monday for an official two-day visit during which he met with Leo XIV in the Vatican and had a crowd-pleasing appearance at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Despite the efforts of La Moncloa, however, he could not meet with his Italian counterpart, the far-right Giorgia Meloni, who cited agenda issues.The main meeting of the Spanish president was, in any case, in the Vatican, where Sánchez was received by the pontiff this Wednesday, a few days before the Pope travels to Spain to visit Madrid, Barcelona and the Canary Islands between June 6 and 12. Sánchez arrived at a quarter to nine at the Cortile di San Damaso where the Bosnian archbishop Peter Rajic, new prefect of the Pontifical Household, was waiting for him. A few minutes later, Leo XIV received him in the Sala del Tronetto and later both met in the Library of the Apostolic Palace in a private audience that lasted about 45 minutes. Before leaving the Vatican, Sánchez held a meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.During the audience, the first between Sánchez and the Pope since his election, now a year ago, both leaders have addressed issues of an international nature, with special attention to the consequences of conflicts in the world, and have agreed on the defense of multilateralism and on the urgent need to reach a commitment in favor of peace, according to a statement from the Holy See.The Spanish President, for his part, has highlighted the good rapport with Leo XIV in defending dialogue, diplomacy, and international law, and has defined the pontiff as "a moral compass in the fight against injustices and in promoting common sense and empathy in the face of unreason and the law of the jungle". The fight against hunger and immigration, on which the Pope has shown particular sensitivity, have been other issues addressed during the meeting. In this regard, Sánchez has applauded the Pope's decision to visit the Canary Islands, the entry point for migrants from Africa, during his next trip to Spain, as well as various humanitarian organizations helping refugees in Madrid and Barcelona.During the meeting, Sánchez presented the pontiff with an artisanal sculpture of a Spanish horse; and the Pope gifted the president of the government, among other things, a bound copy of his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, published this Monday, in which he reflects on human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence.Judicial imputations

The trip to Rome and the Vatican by the President of the Government has coincided with the indictment by the National High Court judge, Santiago Pedraz, of the former organization secretary of the PSOE, Santos Cerdán, and the party's manager, Ana María Fuertes, in the case in which former socialist militant Leire Díez was already being investigated. But above all, the meeting with the pontiff took place at the same time as UCO agents were appearing at the PSOE headquarters in Ferraz for an investigation by the National High Court into the Leire case. In front of journalists, Sánchez assured that the PSOE had already taken "all measures" when this case broke a year ago and announced that "as soon as new information emerges that affects illicit activities, the Socialist Party will act with force".The president has emphasized that "none of these investigations challenge everything that the Government of Spain is doing", and has ruled out early elections as even some socialist barons demand. "I cannot call elections for partisan interest," he assured.Despite acknowledging that "stability is not an end in itself", Sánchez has defended that a stable Government is indispensable to face the economic consequences of the current international crisis, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the rise of tensions in the Middle East. "Despite all the difficulties, stability is an important lever to achieve what we are achieving in terms of economics and job creation in such a complex international context", he concluded.