Managing debt
Debt and Jubilee
The Church has a history of Jubilee going back to 1300. Jubilee is a time for the resetting of our relationship with God. The emphasis is on the restoration of justice and the cancellation of debt.
Personal debt
We often speak about being indebted to someone who has done us a great service. We are grateful and appreciative of what they have done for us. We may try to repay that debt in some way or other, by doing something for that person. This binds us together.
Sometimes we may feel that a person ‘owes’ us a debt, maybe of gratitude for something we have done for them. Maybe if that ‘debt’ is not repaid we can have a sense of injustice or resentment. Do we forgive their lack of appreciation? Or do we note in down in our log book of grudges.
Ecological debt
Various Catholic Charities are underpinning the Jubilee Year by highlighting the ecological debt which is owed by industrial nations to the poorer nations. Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudate Si (Praise Be) addresses the major ecological issues which ‘our common home’ is facing and the injustice enmeshed within this crisis. Among the sections is one addressing the need for Ecological Conversion underpinned by developing ecological spirituality.
Financial debt
The economics of globalisation has ensnared the poorer countries into huge debts. These debts are exacerbated by the fact that many lenders of the money to the Global South are private lenders such as hedge funds, private banks and traders. These debts prevent those countries on being able to take direct ecological action to avert disasters.
Jesuit missions are running a campaign to pressure the government to take action to redress some of the financial injustice. For more information click here.
Caritas is running an international Jubilee 2025 Turn Debt into Hope. The Hope is to obtain 10 million signatures for the petition. Click here to sign.
Cafod also has an online petition; it calls for cancellation of unjust debts; for a Debt Justice Law to make private lenders take part in debt relief; and UN to provide a new debt framework. Click here for Cafod Jubilee Debt Justice online petition. It hopes to get 10,000 signatures – currently it has 5,000: an easy but important Lent action!
As well as international debt evidence of poverty in the UK is evident everywhere, in the growth of food banks and breakfasts being provided in schools often by charities. There has been a steep increase in household debt. As of May 2023 nearly 6 million low-income families held £14.2 billion in unsecured debt -an average of £2,476 per household (Jubilee Booklet).
Meanwhile the gap between top earners and the average earner continues to grow exponentially creating ever widening inequality of incomes.
Christians Against Poverty are a national organisation which has helped over 20,000 people become debt free. The local branch is: Christians Against Poverty: Silk Life Centre, George Street, Macclesfield, SK11 6HS.