The low presence of Catalan in the events planned for the visit of Pope Leo XIV has unleashed a wave of indignation and a chain reaction in Catalonia. In recent hours, the political sphere, led by the Government and the Parliament, along with civil society entities and a good part of the Catalan Church itself, have raised their voices to demand that the Vatican rectify and grant Catalan a leading role. According to various sources consulted by ARA, in fact, an agreement is being finalized to inform the Vatican that Catalan will finally also be present in the blessing at the Tower of Jesus of the Sagrada Familia. Consulted by ARA, the Archdiocese of Barcelona, headed by Joan Josep Omella, denies that any change has been communicated to the Vatican so far.

Josep Rull and Jordi Turull are two of Junts' strongmen. Former political prisoners, the first is president of the Parliament, the country's second institution, and the second is the party's general secretary, second only to president Carles Puigdemont in the hierarchy of Junts members. To the Rull-Turull duo, Borrull is now added, in a wordplay in the form of a paronomasia, at least, curious. Specifically, Toni Borrull, Junts' candidate in Matadepera. He could be the future mayor of this Vallesà municipality for the next four years. And all three have played a key role in the reunification of the post-convergence space after losing the previous elections in a town where they had governed since 2007.

The Parliament's board has decided this Wednesday to replace the Secretary General and the chamber's senior lawyer. Thus, Clara Marsan and Anna Casas will replace Albert Capelleras and Miquel Palomares, respectively. Sources from the board have argued the decision by the will to give a "new boost", coinciding with the midpoint of the legislature, which will be completed on June 10, and given the confirmation that the approval of the Generalitat's budgets will give continuity to the legislature. The two chosen names are a proposal from the President of the Parliament, Josep Rull, which has been approved by the board unanimously. Marsan and Casas will be the Secretary General and the senior lawyer from June 1. Thus, the Parliament will have a triumvirate of women at the head of the institution's management, taking into account that Anna Torné recently joined as director of internal government, responsible for personnel management.

The Parliament has stopped experiencing the tense episodes of the Procés era, but the arrival of the far-right, with the emergence of Vox and then Aliança Catalana, also causes moments of unease in the Catalan chamber. This Thursday, one such incident occurred that, far from being an anecdote, has generated accusations and calls for resignation.

The ERC deputy in Congress Francesc-Marc Álvaro presented the book, but it was another republican in Madrid who took the party president's message. "I went to jail for Catalunya, not because Colau is a deputy on an Esquerra list." Oriol Junqueras has cut short the unitary list of the left promoted for weeks by Gabriel Rufián with the collaboration of his former colleague in the lower house, Joan Tardà. In fact, a few days ago Tardà himself suggested in an interview in Público that Colau be number 2 on a list headed by Rufián and that David Fernàndez (CUP) also be in third position.

This week the plenary activity has returned and it has been the occasion to announce the names of the award winners with the Gold Medal of the Parliament. The Federation of Athenaeums of Catalonia and the expert in artificial intelligence (AI) have received an award. She is a key figure in this technology in the Principality and has participated in numerous studies carried out thanks to the technology, in addition to providing advice to multiple governments around the world, such as in Catalonia, Spain, the European Commission and the Commonwealth, as well as the WHO.

This year's official events for Catalonia's National Day are full of changes. They all have one common denominator: greater solemnity and with the country's flag taking center stage. On the eve of September 11th, the kick-off of the celebration, there will be a solemn raising of the flag. the giant flag installed in front of the Parliament, in an event that recovers "the spirit of Maragall," according to sources from the panel. The enormous flagpole, installed by the chamber's panel and already a reality this Tuesday—at a cost of 93,000 euros—will be unveiled for the occasion. It measures a total of 25 meters in height, while the flag itself will measure six meters by nine, a total of 54 square meters. The flagpole is the tallest in all of Catalonia for a flag that will be displayed year-round, according to the sources consulted. However, it is much smaller than the Spanish flag in Madrid's Plaza Colón, which has a 50-meter pole and a fabric surface area of 294 square meters.

In 2015, members of Parliament committed to progressively reforming the structure of their salaries to eliminate the tax-exempt portion of their salaries, travel allowances, or at least to formalize them so that only those who actually travel end up receiving them. However, ten years later, no reform has been completed, and they continue to receive these allowances without paying taxes to the Treasury regardless of what they do—that is, whether they attend Parliament or not, or whether they travel around the country to carry out their work as members. For now, they have limited themselves to making contributions from these allowances to the fixed portion of their salaries—up to five between 2017 and 2023—so that they become taxable, but the bulk of the allowance remains in effect.

One of the first things the JxCat prisoners said they would do when they were free was to go to Waterloo to visit former president Carles Puigdemont. After more than three years in prison, once pardoned, they have done so: this Friday ex Catalan ministers Jordi Turull, Josep Rull, Joaquim Forn and Jordi Sànchez have travelled to Belgium to meet again with Puigdemont. It was the first time they had left the country since 2017.

Former minister Josep Rull is the third political prisoner who has appealed to European Courts against the Spanish Supreme Court's sentence of the Catalan Independence bid. This Friday, his lawyer, Jordi Pina, has officially filed an appeal at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg after the Spanish Constitutional Court rejected his last appeal -with two dissenting votes- and upheld the Supreme Court's sentence.

The Constitutional Court has again refused to suspend Jordi Sànchez, Jordi Turull, Josep Rull and Joaquim Forn's sentence, after they asked for it following the Belgian sentence on former Culture minister Lluís Puig. The four convicted in the trial on the Independence bid requested again from the high court that while their appeal for protection is resolved they should be se free. They argue that a Belgian court declining the extradition of Puig because he would not have a fair trial strengthens their position. The Consitutional Court, however, dismissed the appeal.