Will Moneylenders Listen to the Holy Father on Debt?

If you're from East Africa, you might have observed that "horse" (farasi) and "journey" (safari) share the same letters but are ordered differently. Hence, kindly refrain from being too hard on that foolish person you encountered in some illustration who undertook a lengthy trip with a horse strapped to his back—they overlooked the distinct sequence of those identical characters. Regardless of whether Mr. Foolish completes this expedition or not, he'll end up in a more unfavorable position compared to when he started, having squandered both his time and effort.

You won't encounter such strange scenarios being talked about at a church meeting. However, thankfully, the weirder truths in today's global financial sphere are receiving attention during this (2025 Catholic)Holy Year discussions.

One issue that concerns the church leaders greatly is the debt crisis. This crisis could have been avoided had global financial affairs been handled with more empathy.

A predicament that William Shakespeare anticipated four hundred years ago and encapsulated poignantly in his tragicomedy "The Merchant of Venice." However, our struggling East African Community nations (excluding perhaps the already weakened Somalia, which had its debts forgiven regardless) might not share the same fortune as Shakespeare’s protagonist, who narrowly escaped having their pound of flesh removed at the last moment to quell the insatiable greed of an unforgiving creditor.

Will Africa’s financial stability fund address the debt crisis? Inadequate educational systems, which confuse basic concepts like "safari" and "farasi" due to historical colonial influences and compounded by local officialdom's corrupt practices, lead these impoverished nations to contribute funds to lenders. These same lenders later provide a portion of this money back with conditions attached, stripping these countries of their autonomy—a predicament more harrowing than demise itself.

During this Holy Year, the church’s stance against debt gained momentum thanks to the recently deceased revolutionary, Pope Francis. On January 1st, following the traditional New Year’s Angelus prayer, he stated: "God is the first to forgive debts, just like we constantly request in our 'Lord's Prayer'; the Jubilee urges us to turn this forgiveness into practical actions ensuring that individuals, families, or entire populations aren’t overwhelmed by debt burdens." He also encouraged leaders from nations with Christian roots to demonstrate leadership by eliminating or substantially decreasing the financial obligations of less developed countries. Pope Francis consistently advocated for erasing these debts based on what he termed as greater ecological debt—owed primarily by wealthy northern hemisphere countries to poorer southern ones due to their excessive consumption of global natural resources.

The late Pope previously made the decision for every parish around the globe—no one knows exactly how many thousands—to send in their perspectives via memos as part of the previous year’s Synod on Synodality. This was an assembly involving leading experts and officials who discussed revising church policies (to put it simply for those not deeply familiar with these matters).

In an East African nation, some of the most urgent concerns raised by worshippers were not related to topics such as clerical celibacy, prayers for deceased polygamists, female ordination, or adjustments to sacrament distribution policies. Instead, they focused on the substantial fees imposed by educational institutions and healthcare facilities established by their churches. As highlighted in discussions around Pope Francis' impact—particularly concerning Africa and marginalized communities globally—it became clear how significant financial matters are to believers, with the Church fully aware of this importance. Recently, the global Catholic charity Caritas International organized extensive talks addressing the debt crisis, featuring participation from Vatican representatives along with leading international economists. One disheartening statistic revealed during these conversations indicated that almost half of humanity resides in nations where expenditures towards repaying debts surpass investments in healthcare services.

When Pope Francis spoke about avoiding the crushing burden of debt, his comments were well-founded. Now, his successor, Pope Leo XIV, is drawing from the parable of the Good Samaritan to emphasize that showing compassion is an essential aspect of our shared human experience, rather than merely a religious obligation.

However, might the global financiers pay heed to the Holy Father’s words? More probably, they could counter with complex economic terminology as Joseph Stalin once posed to Winston Churchill: "How many armored divisions does the Pope command?" Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. Syndigate.info ).