Caritas Internationalis has today launched its ‘Turn Debt into Hope’ campaign, which champions debt justice, fairness, and solidarity, in the spirit of Jubilee 2025.
His Holiness Pope Francis said of the Jubilee that “ecological debt and external debt are two sides of the same coin that mortgages the future. The forthcoming Holy Year of 2025 calls us to open our minds and hearts to be able to untie the knots of those bonds that strangle the present, without forgetting that we are only custodians and stewards, not masters.”
As part of the “Turn Debt into Hope” campaign the Caritas Internationalis confederation is inviting Caritas member organisations, regional teams, and local groups, as well as partner faith-based and civil society organisations, to stand with people in the most indebted countries in the world.
Damian Spruce, Associate Director of Advocacy at Caritas Australia, said, “We welcome this rallying call from Caritas Internationalis to mobilise Australians in support vulnerable communities across the world. This is incredibly close to our hearts in Australia as many of our closest neighbours in the Pacific face the dual threat of converging economic and climate crises.”
The theme of a combined climate and debt crisis is something Caritas Australia and Caritas Oceania have recently explored together. In 2022, “Twin Clouds on the Horizon” was launched at COP 27, followed by “Weathering the Storm” at COP29 this year.
In the Weathering the Storm report, Cardinal Soane Mafi, Bishop of Tonga and Niue and President of Caritas Oceania, stated that, “Many developing countries, and countries that are vulnerable to climate change, governments are paying more in interest and other debt servicing obligations than they are on health, education, or climate adaptation. Action must be taken to forgive debt and prevent it in the future.”
The Jubilee year comes at a critical time when the world faces an unprecedented crisis, with:
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Over 100 countries in a debt crisis, with 65% of their debt controlled by private lenders
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60% of low-income countries at or near debt distress
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3.3 billion people living in countries where debt repayments outpace essential spending on health and education
Cardinal Tarcisius Kikuchi, President of Caritas Internationalis, underscored the urgency of the campaign, saying; “Debt is not just an economic burden—it is a moral crisis. The Jubilee tradition calls us to act with compassion, restoring hope to those oppressed by debt. As we enter the Jubilee Year, we must transform debt into opportunities for justice and renewal.”
“We look forward to the New Year, and opportunities to partner with communities and broader civil society to promote debt justice for climate impacted countries” Damian Spruce concluded.
