Pope Francis: 'We forgive the debt to the Global South. Stop death penalty"

"Taking my cue from this jubilee year, I call on the international community to take action to forgive the external debt, recognising the existence of an ecological debt between the North and the South. It is an appeal for solidarity, but above all for justice". So says Pope Francis in his Message for the World Day of Peace 2025.

"I do not tire of repeating that foreign debt has become an instrument of control, through which some governments and private financial institutions of the richest countries have no qualms about indiscriminately exploiting the human and natural resources of the poorest countries, in order to satisfy the needs of their own markets," the Pontiff argues in the Message. "Added to this is the fact that several populations, already burdened by international debt, find themselves forced to bear the burden of the ecological debt of the more developed countries as well," he stresses. "Ecological debt and foreign debt are two sides of the same coin, of this logic of exploitation, which culminates in the debt crisis," he adds. The Pope says he is taking up "the appeal made by St. John Paul II on the occasion of the Jubilee of the year 2000, to think about a substantial reduction, if not outright forgiveness, of the international debt, which weighs on the destiny of many nations".

But Francis did not stop there: 'I ask for a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death, so that each person can love their life and look to the future with hope, desiring development and happiness for themselves and their children. Without hope in life, in fact, it is difficult for the desire to generate other lives to arise in the hearts of the youngest," he said. "I would once again like to call for a concrete gesture that can foster the culture of life. I refer to the elimination of the death penalty in all nations. This measure, in fact, besides compromising the inviolability of life, annihilates all human hope of forgiveness and renewal".

The topic is always topical. US President Joe Biden announces that he will commute the sentences of about 1,500 people and pardon 39 people convicted of non-violent crimes. This was reported by CNN citing its own sources, adding that Biden will also promise that further measures will be announced in the coming weeks.