On December 12, Pope Francis released his message in anticipation of the 58th World Day of Peace in which he calls on the nations of the world to abolish the death penalty, cancel the debts of developing nations, and transfer funds for arms production toward efforts to fight hunger and climate change.

The liturgical year 2024-2025 is a Year of Jubilee for the Catholic Church. In light of this Jubilee, Pope Francis reminds us to reform our lives. “The celebration of the Jubilee,” he writes, “spurs us to make a number of changes in order to confront the present state of injustice and inequality by reminding ourselves that the goods of the earth are meant not for a privileged few, but for everyone.” By losing sight of God and our dependence on Him, we quickly turn to corruption, thinking that might makes right and that the “logic of exploitation and oppression” makes sense.  We forget that all that we have has truly been given to us by a gracious God who loves all, especially the poor. Those who own and enjoy the benefits of the world’s resources have a responsibility toward those who are poor and oppressed by a financial system that makes it difficult for those indebted to others to rise up out of their debt and make real progress toward financial independence. Francis writes, “Like the elites at the time of Jesus, who profited from the suffering of the poor, so today, in our 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.”

Francis continues: “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. 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” (Emphasis added).

We are all children of the one Father. How will the Father of us all judge those who exploit the resources of His creation in order to make themselves wealthy while others are kept poor and entrapped in debt because of the strategies used to make more wealth for the already wealthy? Do they fear that they’ll lose that extra billion if they release those chained to debt? Why not release their debt so they can make real financial progress, making it possible for all to benefit from increased production, more jobs, greater development, and a wider use of resources?

Francis calls on us to imitate the mercy of God, who does not count our sins, but is rich in mercy. Yet, He hears the cry of the poor. Why not look to the mercy of God and act in mercy toward others, especially those who are wracked by international debt, those in prison facing death, and those suffering hunger and the consequences of climate change? Jesus taught us the “Our Father,” which includes the request that He “forgive us our trespasses,” but only “as we forgive those who trespass against us.” God will forgive us as we forgive others. But forgiveness requires hope, and gives hope to those forgiven. Pope Francis says, “In order to forgive others their trespasses and to offer them hope, we need for our own lives to be filled with that same hope, the fruit of our experience of God’s mercy. Hope overflows in generosity; it is free of calculation, makes no hidden demands, is unconcerned with gain, but aims at one thing alone: to raise up those who have fallen, to heal hearts that are broken and to set us free from every kind of bondage.”

Pope Francis, then, offers three proposals for the Jubilee Year:

First, he repeats the call of Pope St. John Paul II at the Jubilee Year of 2000, for wealthy nations to consider “reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations”. This will require, as well, the development of a new “financial framework” based on “solidarity and harmony” so that nations are not quickly reduced to overwhelming debt again.

Second, “I would like once more to propose a concrete gesture that can help foster the culture of life, namely the elimination of the death penalty in all nations.”

Third, “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.”

These are not pie in the sky proposals. They can be achieved if the will of the international community desires it. That the will of the international community does not desire it is an offense against God and humanity.

This year marks the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, held in 325. The Council affirmed the fullness of Christ’s divinity and formulated, along with the First Council of Constantinople in 381, the creed that the Catholic Church still recites at every Sunday Mass. How fitting it would be if the nations of the world directed the international community on the path of mercy this year. In imitation of God’s mercy, may our own hearts be transformed to hearts of mercy.

Francis ends his message with a prayer:

Forgive us our trespasses, Lord, as we forgive those who trespass against us. In this cycle of forgiveness, grant us your peace, the peace that you alone can give to those who let themselves be disarmed in heart, to those who choose in hope to forgive the debts of their brothers and sisters, to those who are unafraid to confess their debt to you, and to those who do not close their ears to the cry of the poor.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.