Pope Leo XIV has used a landmark address to the Spanish parliament to warn the world is undergoing “a deep spiritual and cultural crisis” and to urge the international community to tackle the causes and consequences of what he termed “the tragic drama of migration”.

In a wide-ranging speech delivered to lawmakers in Madrid, the pontiff also touched on conflict, artificial intelligence, the climate emergency, and the issues of abortion and euthanasia.

“The world is undergoing a deep spiritual and cultural crisis, which manifests itself in multiple forms of violence, polarisation and mutual mistrust,” he said. “Given this context, peace is not just a political aspiration but a true moral need.”

The pope told the politicians on Monday that the search for peace would require “diplomatic courage, ethical responsibility” and a determination to solve problems using international law rather than resorting to “the temporary silence” achieved by weapons.

“That is why it is concerning that in various parts of the world – including Europe – rearmament is once again being presented as an almost inevitable response to the fragility of the international landscape,” the pontiff added. “True security, on the other hand, stems from justice, patient dialogue, respect for international law, and a policy capable of prioritising the lives of people over the interests that profit from war.”

Much of his speech, the first such address by a pope to the Spanish parliament, was devoted to migration. Leo intends to highlight the issue on his week-long visit to Spain, which will include meetings in the Canaries with people who have taken the perilous Atlantic route from Africa to Europe.

The pontiff, the first US pope, has already clashed with the Trump administration over its war in Iran and over treatment of migrants. His presence in Spain comes at a time when the country’s socialist-led government is bucking European trends by regularising the status of more than 500,000 undocumented migrants and asylum seekers.

Santiago Abascal, the leader of Spain’s far-right Vox party, which last year floated the idea of deporting up to 8 million people of foreign origin including the children of immigrants, has decried the regularisation scheme as part of a government plan to accelerate an immigrant “invasion”. Vox is currently seeking to enact a “national priority” policy that favours Spaniards over foreign-born people when it comes to housing and benefits in the regions where it governs in coalition with the conservative People’s party.

Leo told Spanish MPs and senators that countries had a moral duty to accept and protect migrants, saying: “The tragic drama of migration … challenges the conscience of nations and the ethical foundation of the international order. Numerous men, women, and children are forced, often by dramatic circumstances, to leave their communities and abandon loved ones, their histories, and their connections.”

He called for the creation of “safe and legal pathways” and for “real possibilities of integration”. But he also urged the international community to tackle the root causes of migration by working to ensure “that no one has to leave their home because of a lack of peace, security or decent living conditions, because of economic inequalities, or because of the effects of the climate crisis”.

The pontiff, whose address met with a seven-minute ovation, also pointedly reminded his audience of the church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life.

“All human life must be recognised and protected from conception to natural death, in every circumstance of its existence,” said Leo. “When this certainty is obscured, the most vulnerable become the first victims, and the law loses its deepest meaning: to serve and protect every person. Therefore, the moral greatness of a nation is shown, above all, in its capacity to accompany, protect, and love those lives that are most fragile.”

Abortion was decriminalised in Spain in 1985 and legislation was relaxed in 2010 to give women the right to a termination up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. A euthanasia law was introduced in 2021.

The pope is due to attend a meeting later on Monday with survivors of sexual abuse by members of the Roman Catholic clergy. Speaking to Spanish bishops ahead of the meeting, he described the abuse as “a scourge” and said the church needed to respond “with listening, with truth, with justice and with reparation”.

However, some groups representing victims of sexual abuse have complained of being excluded from meetings with Leo.

“We don’t want a photo with the pope – we want rights and reparations for all the victims,” a coalition of the groups said in a joint statement. “Excluding survivors and groups who have been working for years for truth, justice and reparation only serves to deepen the feeling of abandonment and weariness through a negligence that has lasted for too long.”