Pope seeks debt reduction for poorer countries to mark Vatican’s jubilee year

Pope Francis (Gregorio Borgia/AP)

Pope Francis has called on wealthy countries and institutions to substantially reduce, if not outright cancel, debt as a matter of justice on the occasion of the Vatican’s 2025 Jubilee Year.

In a message for world peace, Francis referred to St John Paul II’s admonition in Jubilee Year 2000 that debt “threatens the future of many nations”.