CNA Newsroom, 01 January, 2025 / 2:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Pope Francis marked the Angelus prayer on the first day of 2025 by calling on Christian nations to set an example through debt relief for the world’s poorest countries and renewing his passionate plea for peace in global conflict zones.
Speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace to what the Vatican reported as approximately 30,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the pontiff connected the Church’s World Day of Peace with the upcoming jubilee year, emphasizing debt forgiveness as a concrete path to peace.
“The first to forgive debts is God, as we always ask him when praying the ‘Our Father,’” Francis said. “And the jubilee calls for translating this forgiveness to the social level, so that no person, no family, no people may be crushed by debt.”
The pope encouraged “the leaders of countries with Christian traditions to set a good example by canceling or reducing as much as possible the debts of the poorest countries.”
