VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The annual celebration of World Day of Peace in the Holy Year 2025 will be inspired by “the concepts of hope and forgiveness” — including the cancellation of foreign debt — “that are at the heart of the Jubilee year,” the Vatican said.

Pope Francis has chosen “Forgive us our sins, grant us your peace” as the theme for the celebration on January 1, 2025, according to a statement from the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on August 8.

The Holy Year, which the Pope will open on December 24, is “a time of conversion that calls us not to condemn but instead to create reconciliation and peace,” the dicastery said.

“Considering the reality of the conflicts and social sins from which humanity suffers today, in the light of the hope for the forgiveness of sins and remission of debts inherent in the Jubilee tradition, together with the reflections of the Church Fathers in this regard, concrete principles emerge that can lead to urgently needed spiritual, social, economic, environmental and cultural change,” it continues.

“Only through genuine conversion at all levels – personal, local and international – can true peace flourish,” the announcement says. Conversion is not only necessary “to end conflicts, but also to create a new reality in which wounds are healed and the dignity of every human being is recognized.”

The Pope’s message for World Day of Peace is usually published in early December and delivered by Vatican ambassadors to heads of state around the world.

In his bull “Spes non Confundit” (“Hope does not disappoint”), proclaiming the Holy Year 2025, Pope Francis appealed to the world’s richest nations to “recognize the gravity of so many of their past choices and to decide to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them.”

“If we truly want to pave the way to peace in our world, let us eliminate the root causes of injustice, pay off unjust and unpayable debts and feed the hungry,” the Pope wrote.

In the Hebrew Scriptures, God commanded his people to observe a year of jubilee to restore their relationship with God, other people, and the land, including by forgiving the debts of the poor.

Copyright © 2024 Catholic News Service/US Conference of Catholic Bishops

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