This jubilee year must herald a new era of debt relief for the world

As the year draws to a close and people of many faiths around the world prepare for a season of reflection, renewal, and generosity, the Catholic Church marks another jubilee — a time marked by forgiveness, restoration, and social justice celebrated every 25 years. Historically, during the jubilee year, slaves were liberated, land acquired was returned to its original owners, and debts were forgiven. In essence, the jubilee served as a “reset button” that the Catholic Church advocated to give people a fresh start.

This reset button can be a powerful economic and moral tool. The most recent jubilee, in 2000, led to the largest debt forgiveness in modern history. Advocated by Pope John Paul II, 36 countries collectively received $76 billion in debt relief through the Highly Indebted Poor Countries, or HIPC, initiative. HIPC was not a cure-all, but it created sufficient fiscal space to increase public investment and social spending on health and education.  

Unfortunately, while the papacy successfully triggered a significant reduction in debt levels across the global south, our institutions of global economic governance did not put the frameworks in place to make sure debt burdens didn’t reach the same weight again. As we close this jubilee year, we need to carry forward the message of hope and the call for debt relief for the most vulnerable countries.