In New Year’s Angelus, pope ties debt forgiveness to peace

Pope Francis speaking to the crowd gathered on St. Peter’s Square, Jan. 1, 2025. / Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Jan 1, 2025 / 07:30 am (CNA).

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.”

Powerful plea for peace amid global conflicts

Reflecting on global conflicts, Francis expressed gratitude for those working toward dialogue and negotiations in war zones. He specifically mentioned Ukraine, Gaza, Israel, Myanmar, and Kivu, a region in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo that has suffered from prolonged violence and instability.

“Brothers, sisters, war destroys, it always destroys! War is always a defeat, always,” the pope emphasized.

Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel reading from Luke 2:16-21, which recounts the shepherds’ arrival at the manger in Bethlehem. He drew attention to both what the shepherds saw — the child Jesus, whose name in Hebrew means “God saves” — and what remained unseen: Mary’s heart that “treasured and meditated on all these things.”

“God chose to be born for us,” Francis said. “The Lord came into the world to give us his very life.” He connected this divine choice to what he called “the hope of redemption and salvation” that beats in Mary’s maternal heart for all creation.

Earlier in the day, the pontiff pleaded for peace and the protection of human life at St. Peter’s Basilica, calling for “a firm commitment to promote respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death” in his New Year’s Day homily.