Pope calls for debt relief, abolition of death penalty (2)

(ANSA) - VATICAN CITY, DEC 12 - Pope Francis called for debt relief for the poor countries of the South of the globe and the universal abolition of the death penalty in his message for World Peace Day 2025, which takes place on January 1.
    "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," the Argentine pontiff said in the message, which the Vatican released on Thursday. "This penalty not only compromises the inviolability of life but eliminates every human hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation".
    The pope reiterated his belief 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.
    "Foreign debt and ecological debt are two sides of the same coin, namely the mindset of exploitation that has culminated in the debt crisis," he continued.
    "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".
    (ANSA).