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In his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, Pope Francis speaks powerfully about the Jubilee Year: Pilgrims of Hope
On Christmas Eve, the opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St Peter marked the start of the 2025 Jubilee Year Pilgrims of Hope.
Now, as we begin a new calendar year, on 1 January we celebrate the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, and World Day of Peace.
In his message for the 58th World Day of Peace, Pope Francis reflects on the hope and justice at the heart of the Jubilee Year.
The year's message is titled Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace and the Holy Father begins by recalling that, in the Jewish tradition, the Jubilee was a special year in which God's justice was restored in every aspect of life. He writes:
“In our day too, the Jubilee is an event that inspires us to seek to establish the liberating justice of God in our world.”
Systemic interconnected challenges
In considering the challenges we face, the Pope highlights the inhuman treatment of migrants, environmental decay, the confusion created by disinformation, the refusal to dialogue, and the immense resources spent on war.
These challenges require not “sporadic acts of philanthropy" but change on a personal, cultural, and structural level “in order to confront the present state of injustice and inequality.”
All of us are debtors
The message reminds us that we are all debtors to God. Drawing on the words of St Basil of Caesarea, the Holy Father stresses that everything we claim as our own is, in fact, a gift from God. The earth's resources belong to all humanity, “not just a privileged few.”
To set us on a renewed journey of hope during the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis offers three concrete proposals.
1. Debt cancellation
Pope Francis renews the appeal launched by Pope Saint John Paul II on the occasion during the Jubilee Year 2000 to consider “reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations”. (#11)
He highlights the "ecological debt" owed by richer countries, arguing the call for debt cancellation is "an appeal for solidarity, but above all for justice." (#8)
2. Commitment to respect the dignity of human life
The Pope calls for a commitment to the dignity of human life at all stages, advocating for the abolition of the death penalty and the promotion of a culture of life that values each person.
3. A new global fund
The Holy Father urges diverting funds from armaments to a global fund which could end hunger, foster sustainable development and combat climate change.
Prayer
The letter finishes with this prayer:
Forgive us our trespasses, Lord,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
In this cycle of forgiveness, grant us your peace,
the peace that you alone can give
to those who let themselves be disarmed in heart,
to those who choose in hope to forgive the debts of their brothers and sisters,
to those who are unafraid to confess their debt to you,
and to those who do not close their ears to the cry of the poor.
Sign our Jubilee debt petition
Low-income countries are in the midst of the worst debt crisis in history. Pope Francis has called for action on this in the Jubilee Year 2025.
