Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Fabio Beretta
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - Pope Francis lists three possible measures to overcome foreign debt, this "instrument of control" over poor countries, and thus reopen a "path of hope" towards peace, in his message published today for the 58th World Day of Peace, which the Church celebrates every year on January 1st, in which the Pope calls for a "cultural and structural" change.
It is not enough to carry out "a few isolated acts of philanthropy" to bring about "permanent change", stresses the Pope in the message, which is divided into four parts, formulated in 15 points and also translated into Russian, in order to listen seriously to "the cry of humanity" torn apart by violence. The upcoming Holy Year also encourages us to do this.
The Pope quoted Saint Basil of Caesarea, who said in one of his homilies: "But tell me, what things belong to you? Where did you find them to make them part of your life? … Did you not come forth naked from the womb of your mother? Will you not return naked to the ground? Where did your property come from? If you say that it comes to you naturally by luck, you would deny God by not recognizing the Creator and being grateful to the Giver" (Homilia de avaritia, 7: PG 31, 275), and he points out how "in the interconnected global village, the international system, unless it is inspired by a spirit of solidarity and interdependence, gives rise to injustices, aggravated by corruption, which leave the poorer countries trapped. A mentality that exploits the indebted can serve as a shorthand description of the present “debt crisis” that weighs upon a number of countries, above all in the global South".
According to the Bishop of Rome, "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.
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." Both foreign debt and ecological debt are two sides of the same coin, namely the mindset of exploitation that has culminated in the debt crisis."
Hence the appeal, already made in the Bull "Spes non confundit", to the international community to take measures to cancel foreign debt, recognizing the existence of ecological debt between North and South. It is a call for solidarity, but above all for justice.
The Pope proposes "three measures" that can restore dignity to the lives of entire populations and lead them back to the path of hope, so that the debt crisis can be overcome and everyone can once again see themselves as forgiven debtors". Firstly, the Pope takes up the appeal made by Pope John Paul II during the Holy Year 2000 "to think of reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations". However, the Pope says, "so that this is not an isolated act of charity that simply reboots the vicious cycle of financing and indebtedness, a new financial framework must be devised, leading to the creation of a global financial Charter based on solidarity and harmony between peoples".
In addition, the Pope calls for "a firm commitment to respect for the dignity of human life from conception to natural death", because "without hope for the future, it becomes hard for the young to look forward to bringing new lives into the world". This is why Pope Francis is calling for a "concrete gesture" and is referring to the "elimination of the death penalty in all nations", which, as already stated in the bull "Spes non confundit", "eliminates every human hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation".
Pope Francis dares to make another appeal, following Saint Paul VI and Benedict XVI: "Let us use at least a fixed percentage of the money earmarked for armaments to establish a global Fund to eradicate hunger and facilitate in the poorer countries educational activities aimed at promoting sustainable development and combating climate change".
"We need to work at eliminating every pretext that encourages young people to regard their future as hopeless or dominated by the thirst to avenge the blood of their dear ones. The future is a gift meant to enable us to go beyond past failures and to pave new paths of peace,” said the Bishop of Rome, who recalled in the last part of the message that true peace is that which “God grants to hearts disarmed”, that is, “hearts not set on calculating what is mine and what is yours; hearts that turn selfishness into readiness to reach out to others; hearts that see themselves as indebted to God and thus prepared to forgive the debts that oppress others”. (Agenzia Fides, 12/12/2024)
