Pope Francis calls for debt forgiveness in Jubilee Year
In his message for the World Day of Peace, Pope Francis lamented the "devastation" seen worldwide and "the conflicts that presently plague our human family."
Pope Francis said that certain challenges were causing "havoc" in the world, including "the inhuman treatment meted out to migrants, environmental decay, the confusion willfully created by disinformation, the refusal to engage in any form of dialogue and the immense resources spent on the industry of war."
"All these, taken together, represent a threat to the existence of humanity as a whole," he said.
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"At the beginning of this year, then, we desire to heed the plea of suffering humankind in order to feel called, together and as individuals, to break the bonds of injustice and to proclaim God's justice.
"Sporadic acts of philanthropy are not enough. Cultural and structural changes are necessary, so that enduring change may come about."
He said he wanted 2025 to "be a year in which peace flourishes."
"A true and lasting peace that goes beyond quibbling over the details of agreements and human compromises," he said.
The pope also called for international debt forgiveness during the Catholic Church's Jubilee year, which is being marked throughout 2025.
"I have repeatedly stated that foreign debt has become a means of control whereby certain governments and private financial institutions of the richer countries unscrupulously and indiscriminately exploit the human and natural resources of poorer countries, simply to satisfy the demands of their own markets," he said.
"In addition, different peoples, already burdened by international debt, find themselves also forced to bear the burden of the 'ecological debt' incurred by the more developed countries.
"Foreign debt and ecological debt are two sides of the same coin, namely the mindset of exploitation that has culminated in the debt crisis.
"In the spirit of this Jubilee Year, I urge the international community to work towards forgiving foreign debt in recognition of the ecological debt existing between the North and the South of this world. This is an appeal for solidarity, but above all for justice."
He continued, "The cultural and structural change needed to surmount this crisis will come about when we finally recognize that we are all sons and daughters of the one Father, that we are all in His debt but also that we need one another, in a spirit of shared and diversified responsibility. We will be able to 'rediscover once for all that we need one another' and are indebted one to another."
The Catholic Church holds a Jubilee once every 25 years as a time for Catholics to focus on renewing their faith and spiritual life.
The 2025 Jubilee of Hope was officially inaugurated by Francis when he opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica on Christmas Eve.
In his final homily for 2024, Francis said that all people were welcome to Rome during the Jubilee year as he invited not only Catholics but "other Christians; believers in every religion, and seekers of truth, freedom, justice, and peace — all pilgrims of hope and fraternity."
"The hope of the world lies in fraternity," he said.
The Jubilee year will conclude on Jan. 6, 2026, when the same Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica is closed.
Inaugurating the year, Francis prayed, "May the light of Christian hope illumine every man and woman, as a message of God's love addressed to all."
This article was originally published at Christian Today
