In this Jubilee year, Pope Francis has called on us to “forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them.” (Spes Non Confundit, 16)
Inspired by this call to justice, we are joining Caritas Internationalis, KAIROS Canada and others around the world in the global Turn Debt into Hope campaign.
Together, we urge decision-makers to prioritise people and planet over mere profit and call to cancel the unjust debts of the Global South.
If you missed our launch webinar, which took place on October 4, 2025, with our guests from Zambia and Peru, feel free to watch the recording.
To learn more about the campaign, attend one of our workshops. Find your nearest one on our events page.
Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health or education. We must act to end debt crises by cancelling and restructuring unjust and unsustainable debt and by addressing the root causes of debt.
Together, let’s ensure the future generations are not trapped in unjust debt.
Global financial systems always demand massive debt repayments from countries in the Global South, often on harsh, impoverishing terms. Yet, they do not even acknowledge, let alone repay, a debt owed to those countries. This is the ecological debt that Pope Francis addressed in his encyclical Laudato Si’.
Western societies incur this debt while enriching themselves through economic models that rely on plundering resources from the Global South and on overconsumption. Greenhouse gases generated in the process drive the climate change whose brunt is borne by the lowest-emitting countries in the Global South.
Recognizing this ecological debt is an essential step to achieving debt and climate justice and a sustainable future.
Around the world, many people are affected by the burden of external and ecological debts.
Here are two examples from our partners. Learn more in our Action Sheet:
Peru may not be in an economic debt crisis, but it is an ecological debt crisis. To build its economy, and to avoid having to take on external debt, the country has turned to extractive industries. This has serious consequences on the health of entire communities and the environment.
Our partners, the Comisión Episcopal de Acción Social (CEAS, Episcopal Commission for Social Action) and the Institut Bartolomé de Las Casas (IBC) work with several peasant and Indigenous communities affected by the mining and oil industries. Learn more by watching this short video:
In Ethiopia, a complex humanitarian crisis has left 28.6 million people needing aid. Having to pay billions every year in interest on the country’s substantial debts hampers the state’s capacity to address the people’s worsening situation.
Our partner, the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul, provided food, dignity kits and psychosocial support to 568 women and children. Ade, mother of five-year-old Melati, said gratefully, “Their assistance saved our lives!”
Spread the word about the campaign in your community with our poster, action sheet, short talk, parish bulletin announcements, videos, promotional banners and other resources!
This year, under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” Pope Francis invites Catholics to renew their hope and adopt a vision that can “restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone.”
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