Carlos Osoro Sierra

Cardinal Osoro holds firm positions on life issues: in 2021 he called euthanasia laws 'absurd', stressed palliative care and said the defense of life from conception to natural death is not up for debate, while asking that pro-life work not be driven by ideological groups. In 2017 he accompanied Cardinal Sistach at the Madrid presentation of a book on applying Amoris laetitia. No public statement by him on Fiducia supplicans could be found.

No public statement by Cardinal Osoro on the traditional Latin Mass, Summorum Pontificum or Traditionis custodes could be found. His emphasis has been pastoral (vocations, prisons, youth vigils, cloistered communities) rather than liturgical debate, so his liturgical position is best described as moderate or not well known.

Cardinal Osoro has repeatedly called for the welcome of migrants and refugees: in August 2021 he urged Spain to take 'respectful decisions' on migration, balancing security with compassion and human dignity, and in an October 2021 television interview he said everyone has the right to move through the world and that welcoming is a Christian duty. His episcopal ministry in Madrid was marked by attention to the poor, migrants and prisoners.

Created a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2016, Cardinal Osoro pledged 'absolute fidelity to the Pope, even to giving my life', and said Francis 'is very clear in doctrine'. He took part in the 2015 Synod on the family, was named to the Synod's Ordinary Council and to several Vatican congregations. He is seen as a loyal supporter of Francis's pastoral line, though not a leading architect of his reforms.

Interreligious dialogue was a hallmark of Cardinal Osoro's time in Madrid. In May 2022 he received a Torah scroll edition at Almudena Cathedral, calling for religions to 'build a space of encounter' and live as brothers. In February 2023, alongside the secretary of the Islamic Commission of Spain, he argued for dialogue rather than closing mosques, saying problems are solved by talking, not by excluding people.

Cardinal Osoro has a pastoral, conciliatory and accessible style. He has appeared on mainstream television, such as La Sexta's El Objetivo in 2021, and gives frequent press interviews. Known for walking through his dioceses to meet people, he has rejected 'liberal' or 'conservative' labels, describing himself as 'a man of the Church'.