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".
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