After the eight signs of hope for our time, Pope Francis puts two ‘appeals for hope’ before us. We read the first one last weekend and this is the second one:
“Another heartfelt appeal that I would make in light of the coming Jubilee is directed to the more affluent nations. I ask that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice. It is made all the more serious today by a new form of injustice which we increasingly recognize, namely, that “a true ‘ecological debt’ exists, particularly between the global North and South, connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time”. As sacred Scripture teaches, the earth is the Lord’s and all of us dwell in it as “aliens and tenants” (Lev 25:23). If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry.”
Pope Francis is calling all of us to pray for this cause especially during this Holy Year. In this passage he recognises the historical and present activities that have an effect negatively on millions of people around the world. He calls on the ‘more affluent nations’ to ‘acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them.’ So many of the affluent countries colonised countries and used the resources of those colonies for their own use without recognition at any point of the rights of a people to the resources of their own nation. In the present age, he recognises the ‘commercial imbalances’ that lead to adverse environmental effects and the ‘disproportionate use of natural resources’ by some countries. There is enough food produced in our world to feed the entire world population – but there is too much produced and a lot wasted in the richer parts of our world and no care is given to feed those who struggle for food and, indeed, water as well in the poorer parts of our world.
Let us continue to keep Pope Francis in our prayers in a special way at this time.