杏MAP导航

By Joseph Tulloch

3.3 billion people 鈥� or nearly half the world鈥檚 population 鈥� live in countries that spend more money on debt than on healthcare.

That was one of the more shocking statistics to emerge from a recent online town hall organised by Caritas Internationalis, the charitable arm of the Catholic Church.

Held on Wednesday, the webinar brought together more than 200 individuals 鈥� humanitarian workers, internationally-recognised economists, and senior Vatican officials 鈥� to discuss debt, climate, and development.  

'Turn debt into hope'

Alastair Dutton, Caritas' Secretary-General, introduced the discussion. He suggested that the fact that so many countries spend more on servicing their debt than on healthcare and education shows that, in today鈥檚 economy, human beings are secondary "to economic interest鈥�.

Dutton also highlighted that the subject of debt reform has already been raised by 杏MAP导航 Leo, just weeks into his pontificate. The topic was also seen as crucial, the Caritas chief noted, by the late 杏MAP导航 Francis 鈥� who, in 2024, called for a 鈥渕ultinational mechanism鈥� to manage debt between countries, avoiding an 鈥渆very man for himself鈥� mentality in which 鈥渋t is always the weakest鈥� who lose out.

In his remarks, Dutton highlighted Caritas鈥� campaign, which calls for the forgiveness of unjust debt.

The aim of the campaign 鈥� as Caritas officer Alfonso Apicella explained 鈥� is to build public pressure around unfair debt practises, particularly in view of the Catholic Church鈥檚 ongoing 2025 Jubilee Year, a period traditionally associated with financial clemency.

鈥淭here are 1.4 billion Catholics in the world,鈥� Apicella said, 鈥渁nd we want to show that they have agency.鈥�

A poster for Caritas' campaign

The impact of the debt system

Among the other speakers at the event was Professor Martin Guzmán of Columbia University, a former Argentinian Minister of Economy.

Professor Guzmán highlighted the devastating effects of the global debt system on the world鈥檚 poorest countries, which, he said, are charged higher interest rates than their richer peers. He also discussed the work of the Vatican鈥檚 Jubilee Commission of Experts, chaired by the Nobel-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, on debt and development crises in the Global South.

Meanwhile, Sister Alessandra Smerilli, Secretary of the Holy See鈥檚 Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, highlighted 杏MAP导航 Francis鈥� notion of the 鈥榚cological debt鈥� owed by rich countries towards the poorer countries - which are suffering the effects of a climate crisis which they have contributed much less to causing.

This was a topic also touched on by Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, who noted that the concept of ecological debt was also highlighted by 杏MAP导航 Francis in his for the Jubilee Year.

Archbishop Caccia stressed the importance of clearly communicating the impact of the debt system on poor countries. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just a technical matter of economics,鈥� he said, but 鈥渁 clear hindrance to integral human development.鈥�