갈등과 치유의 기로에 선 유럽, 레오 14세의 외침과 기술적 연대 > K-wave Trends

In his address to the Spanish Parliament, Pope Leo XIV sternly warned that the world is facing a spiritual and cultural crisis, sharply pointing out the fallacy of peace dependent on force. On the day conflict between Israel and Iran resumed, the Pope emphasized that while military buildup might bring temporary silence, it can never guarantee sustainable peace. Specifically, regarding the military use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), he made it clear that delegating the power to decide between life and death to automated systems is an intolerable moral degradation. This was a powerful message that went beyond religious rhetoric, reminding the world once again of the fundamental principle of peace: resolving disputes through international law and diplomatic courage.

The Pope also demonstrated his will for healing by taking direct action regarding the chronic issue of clerical sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. Meeting with six victims of sexual abuse at the Vatican Embassy in Madrid, the Pope listened to their stories firsthand and demanded deep reflection on the secondary victimization and attempts at concealment that the Church had inflicted upon them. In line with the Spanish government’s publication of a large-scale report estimating hundreds of thousands of victims and its efforts to establish a practical compensation system, the Pope strongly ordered the College of Bishops to prepare concrete measures for the protection and healing of victims. However, some victim advocacy groups remain critical, viewing these meetings as mere performative gestures, suggesting that a difficult road lies ahead before true reform within the Church can be achieved.

Meanwhile, in the European defense industry, political conflict overwhelmed technical cooperation, leading to a painful setback. The Future Combat Air System (FCAS), a next-generation fighter jet development project that France, Germany, and Spain had spent nine years cultivating, ultimately collapsed due to disagreements over share distribution and specifications. As Germany and Spain expressed reluctance toward France’s demands for nuclear missile integration and its insistence on leading the project, the largest defense project in European history became fragmented. This event is expected to be recorded as a representative case showing how easily national priority and industrial egoism can undermine shared security values.

In contrast to the conflict in the defense sector, a path for future-oriented cooperation opened up in the agricultural technology sector between South Korea and Spain. The Korea Food Industry Cluster Promotion Agency and the Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) Jeonbuk Regional Division signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Spain’s agri-food cluster and the Tecnova Technology Center for the digital transformation of smart agriculture. Both nations agreed to pursue joint research on agricultural robots for facility and open-field farming, sensor-fusion-based agricultural machinery driving technology, and core AI technology for agriculture. This is highly significant as it represents not just simple technical exchange, but practical solidarity to solve common human challenges such as the climate crisis and food security.

The Pope’s advocacy for the protection of immigrants was another key pillar of this visit to Spain. Planning to visit the Canary Islands to commemorate migrants who died while crossing the dangerous Atlantic route, the Pope repeatedly emphasized that discrimination against immigrants is an anti-humanitarian act that undermines human dignity. He urged nations to provide safe and legal pathways for immigrants and to guarantee real opportunities for integration. This, coupled with the amnesty program for immigrants currently being pushed by the Spanish government, has further heated up political debates within Europe regarding immigration policy, leaving behind the lesson that a nation’s moral greatness ultimately depends on how it embraces the vulnerable.