Andorra Leaders Meet Vatican to Discuss Abortion Decriminalization

Andorra's head of government, Xavier Espot, and Institutional Relations Minister Ladislau Baró met on Wednesday with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Secretary of State, to continue institutional dialogue on abortion decriminalization within the principality's legal framework.

The Vatican discussions form part of ongoing contacts between Andorran authorities and the Holy See aimed at finding a compatible solution. Before the meeting, the government informed the episcopal co-prince about the agenda and the status of previous efforts to align positions.

The delegations reviewed several legal options put forward by Andorra's executive. Both sides agreed on the need for further examination of these proposals and reaffirmed their commitment to fluid, constructive dialogue in the coming months. The government's goal is to approve measures that ensure institutional stability alongside effective progress on women's rights.

The parties praised the atmosphere of trust and discretion surrounding the talks, given the legal, institutional, and social complexities involved. Espot used the occasion to invite Pope Leo XIV to visit Andorra. He had briefly greeted the pope on June 10 ahead of a solemn Mass and blessing of the Jesus Christ tower at Barcelona's Sagrada Família.

The latest meeting follows a previous session on October 22 last year in Vatican City, where technical complexities were identified as barriers to agreement.

Separately, Spanish cardinal and former president of Spain's Episcopal Conference, Antonio María Rouco Varela, took part in a private service at Meritxell's sanctuary during a personal visit. Bishop of Urgell Josep-Lluís Serrano Pentinat also attended. Two days earlier, in a Madrid address to Spain's Congress of Deputies, Pope Leo XIV had reaffirmed Catholic teaching on human life, questioning whether a community can be fully just if it overlooks the unborn child, the elderly, the sick, or those suffering in silence, and stressing protection from conception to natural death.