Pope’s World Day of Peace message: ‘We are all in debt to God’

Pope’s World Day of Peace message: ‘We are all in debt to God’

Vatican news

In his message for the 58th World Day of Peace celebrated on January 1, Pope Francis reflects on the central theme of the upcoming Jubilee of Hope and reiterates his urgent call for debt cancellation, reminding us that we are all “debtors” to God and another.

By Lisa Zengarini

Hope has been a constant theme in all of Pope Francis’ messages for World Peace Day. This is all the more true in his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, which will be celebrated on January 1, 2025, as the Church begins the Jubilee of Hope in an unprecedented context of challenges facing the world. ‘today is faced.

“Forgive us our trespasses”

This year’s message is dedicated to the theme “Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace”, highlighting the deep meaning of the Jubilee tradition which reminds us that we are all “indebted” to God, who in his mercy and infinite love forgives. our sins and calls us to forgive those who have offended us.

Recalling that in Jewish tradition, the Jubilee was a special year of universal remission of sins and debts freeing the oppressed, the Pope notes that in our time too, this special year of grace “is an event that incites us to seek to establishing the liberating justice of God in our world,” marked by “systemic” injustices and challenges that St. John Paul II called “structures of sin.”

Systemic injustices and “interconnected” challenges

The Pope cites the inhumane treatment of migrants, environmental degradation, “the confusion deliberately created by disinformation, the refusal to engage in any form of dialogue and the immense resources spent on the war industry” .

“Each of us must feel, in one way or another, responsible for the devastation to which the earth, our common home, has been subjected, starting with those actions which, although indirectly, fuel conflicts which currently torment our human family,” he writes.

“Each of us must feel, in one way or another, responsible for the devastation to which the earth, our common home, has been subjected, starting with those actions which, although indirectly, fuel conflicts which currently torment our human family. »

According to Pope Francis, these “interconnected” challenges require not “sporadic acts of philanthropy” but “cultural and structural changes” to “break the bonds of injustice and proclaim God’s justice.”

The earth’s resources are a gift from God to all humanity

Referring to St. Basil of Caesarea, the Pope reminds us that everything we claim as ours is in fact a gift from God and that, therefore, the earth’s resources are intended for the benefit of all humanity, “not only a privileged few.” »

By losing sight of our relationship with God, he says, human interactions are tainted by the logic of exploitation and oppression, “where might makes right.”

This reflects the dynamics of elites in the time of Jesus, which prospered through the suffering of the poor and finds resonance in today’s globalized world, which perpetuates injustices, as shown by the debt crisis that locks in the poorest nations of the South in a vicious circle of dependence and inequality.

External debt, a means of control for the richest countries

Indeed, the Pope observes: “External debt has become a means of control by which certain governments and private financial institutions of the richest countries unscrupulously and indiscriminately exploit the human and natural resources of the poorest countries, simply to satisfy the demands of their own markets. »

In addition, “different peoples, already burdened by international debt, also find themselves forced to bear the burden of the “ecological debt” contracted by the most developed countries. »

In the spirit of this jubilee year, Pope Francis therefore reiterates his call to the international community to work towards the cancellation of the external debt, in recognition of the ecological debt existing between the North and the South of this world. . “It is a call for solidarity, but above all for justice,” he emphasizes.

“The necessary cultural and structural change will occur when we finally recognize that we are all sons and daughters of one Father, that we are all indebted to him but also that we need each other, in a spirit of shared responsibility and diverse,” he writes.

“The necessary cultural and structural change will occur when we finally recognize that we are all sons and daughters of the one Father, that we are all indebted to him but also that we need each other, in a spirit of shared and diverse responsibility. »

As a path of hope during the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis offers three proposals, keeping in mind that “we are debtors whose debts have been forgiven.”

Advocacy for debt cancellation

First, it renews the appeal launched by Saint John Paul II on the occasion of the great jubilee of the year 2000 to consider substantial reductions or the outright cancellation of the international debts of countries “which are not in good condition”. to repay what they owe. also in light of the ecological debt that the most prosperous countries owe them.

This, he said, should be done within a “new financial framework”, leading to the creation of a global financial charter “based on solidarity and harmony between peoples”.

Call for the abolition of the death penalty

The Pope then asks for “a firm commitment to respect the dignity of human life from conception to natural death” and calls for the abolition of the death penalty and the promotion of a culture of life that values each individual.

Less money for weapons, more for development

Following in the footsteps of Saint Paul VI and Benedict XVI, Pope Francis reiterates his call to divert “at least a fixed percentage of the money” intended for armaments towards a global fund intended to eradicate hunger and promote sustainable development in the poorest countries, helping them fight hunger. climate change.

“Hope overflows with generosity; it is free from all calculations, makes no hidden demands, does not care about gain, but aims at one thing: to raise up the fallen, to heal the brokenhearted and to free us from all kinds of bondage,” he writes .

“Generosity lifts up the fallen, heals the brokenhearted, and frees us from all kinds of bondage.” »

Disarm hearts

The primary objective of these proposals is the achievement of true and lasting peace in the world, which does not consist simply of the absence of war but of a profound transformation of hearts and societies.

True peace, says the Pope, is granted by God to hearts “disarmed” of selfishness, hostility and anxiety about the future, replacing them with generosity, forgiveness and hope of a better world: “May we seek true peace. this is granted to God by disarmed hearts.

“May we seek the true peace granted by God to unarmed hearts. »

Simple acts of kindness and solidarity, he notes, can pave the way into this new world, fostering a deeper sense of brotherhood and shared humanity.

Concluding his message, Pope Francis offers the following prayer for peace:

Forgive us our trespasses, Lord,

as we forgive those who have offended us.

In this cycle of forgiveness, grant us your peace,

the peace that only you can give

to those who allow themselves to be disarmed in their hearts,

to those who choose in the hope of forgiving the debts of their brothers and sisters,

to those who are not afraid to admit their debt to you,

and to those who do not close their ears to the cry of the poor.

Vatican news

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