The World Bank has initiated discussions with the
Vatican on forgiveness of foreign debt of the world’s poorest countries as part
of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year next year.
In declaring 2025 a Jubilee Year with the theme
“Pilgrims of Hope”, Pope Francis urged wealthy nations to cancel the debt of
those countries unable to repay.
And it seems the World Bank has listened.
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Pro-Prefect of the
Dicastery for Evangelisation, said in Rome yesterday he had received
communication from the World Bank that it wants to collaborate with the Jubilee
Year and discuss forgiveness of debt to poor countries.
He said while this is in the early stages, it is a
very welcome and positive move.
Pope Francis has said cancelling debt should be not
out of generosity but “of justice”.
A recent United Nations report revealed 19
developing countries are spending more on debt interest than on education and
45 are spending more on debt interest than on health.
The Jubilee year is a biblical concept introduced
in Leviticus 25. Occurring every 50 years, it was a time of liberation and
restoration, during which debts were forgiven, slaves were freed, and lands
returned to original owners.
This practice ensured that economic inequalities
were corrected and that families could start anew without the burden of debt.
Ahead of the last Jubilee Year in 2000, Pope John
Paul II called for global debt relief that ultimately led to the cancellation
of more than $100 million owed by 35 of the world’s poorest countries.
Broadly in the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy
Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are
invited to come back onto a relationship with God, one another and all of
creation.
A Jubilee Year is now celebrated every 25 years.
This has been the case since 1470, when Pope Paul II changed it from every 50
years.
A Pope can also proclaim an Extraordinary Jubilee,
like the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which Pope Francis inaugurated in 2015.
The 2025 Jubilee begins on Christmas Eve 2024 with
the opening of the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica, and concludes on 6 January
2026.
In preparation for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis
declared this year a Year of Prayer.
Many people will go on pilgrimage during the Jubilee
Year – to Rome where there are celebrations each month, holy sites or in their
Diocese.