Two anti-bullfighting activists were removed from St Peter’s Square in Rome on Wednesday after briefly disrupting Pope Leo’s popemobile during a public audience at the Vatican, just days before the pontiff is due to travel to Spain.
Footage (see below) released by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) showed two women wearing black T-shirts bearing the slogan ‘bullfighting is a sin’ attempting to climb over a security barrier in the square. Papal security officers quickly intervened, preventing them from reaching the pope and escorting them away.
The video showed Pope Leo’s popemobile, which had been circulating around St Peter’s Square ahead of the weekly general audience, coming to a brief halt while the activists were detained.
The first American pope is scheduled to begin a seven-day visit to Spain on Saturday. The country stages around 1,500 bullfights annually. ALSO READ: Gaudí centenary and migration crisis to shape Pope Leo XIV’s Spain visit in June.
The practice remains deeply divisive. Critics describe bullfighting as cruel and outdated, while supporters regard it as an ancient cultural tradition and art form. ALSO READ: Spain advances legal reform to ban minors from attending or taking part in bullfighting.
In a petition statement, PETA said that in Spain ‘every year thousands of bulls are slaughtered in bullfights held in honour of Catholic saints’.
‘During these spectacles, lances tear into the bull’s body, banderillas are driven into his back and, weakened and bleeding, he is stabbed through the lungs. Paralysed but often still conscious, he is often mutilated before his body is dragged out of the arena,’ said PETA.
The organisation argued that bullfighting ‘stands in stark contrast to Catholic teaching’, pointing to remarks made by the late Pope Francis in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si, in which he wrote that ‘every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity’. ALSO READ (2/2/2021): Opinion: why bullfights should stay cancelled after Covid-19.
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BREAKING: PETA supporters were tackled by police after interrupting Pope Leo XIV’s general audience at the Vatican.
— PETA UK (@PETAUK) June 3, 2026
Their message: Bullfighting is a sin.
Pope Leo must condemn the torture and killing of bulls before his visit to Spain.
📸 Laura Uffa/Aleda Amarillo pic.twitter.com/t2tXKZ7bPv
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