In a world economy rocked by the whiplash of American trade tariffs that has spared few countries, the United States bishops have a proposition for President Donald Trump: Forgive some debts. Source: OSV News.
In a joint letter dated April 8, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops and interfaith development group Jubilee USA Network wrote to Mr Trump, encouraging him to build on global debt relief efforts from his first term.
According to the United Nations, the external debt – money owed to foreign creditors – of developing countries has quadrupled over two decades to a record $US11.4 trillion ($18.4 trillion) in 2023, which is equivalent to 99 per cent of their export earnings.
“Debt relief and restructuring make effective economic and security policy, strengthening our country’s global leadership,” said Bishop Elias Zaidan, chair of the USCCB’s Committee on International Justice and Peace, and Eric LeCompte, Jubilee USA Network’s executive director, in the joint letter.
“These policies, which cost us little, contribute significantly to the stability of our trading partners, reduce food and fuel prices here at home, and support American jobs and exports,” they said.
The timing of the joint letter is not coincidental: The erasure of debt is an ancient social justice principle still encouraged during the current Jubilee Year, and Pope Francis has addressed the issue numerous times in anticipation of it.
Last December – prior to the Christmas Eve inauguration of the 2025 Jubilee Year – Pope Francis urged wealthy nations and institutions to reduce or outright cancel the debt of the world’s poorest countries, declaring that many “are in no condition to repay the amount they owe.”
“On average, strategically important developing nations currently spend more than 40 per cent of their revenue on debt payments. Nearly 800 million people worldwide face hunger and almost 700 million live in extreme poverty,” the letter to Mr Trump stated.
“The reduction of foreign assistance from developed to developing countries over the past six years underscores the urgency of our country’s efforts to implement meaningful debt relief policies.”
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US bishops ask Trump in joint letter to pursue global debt relief in the Jubilee Year (Kimberley Heatherington, OSV News)
