Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of Jubilee USA was recently quoted, speaking on the Jubilee Commission Report launch, which took place at the Vatican on June 20th. Read an excerpt below or the full article here. 

Finance experts launch report at Vatican on foreign debt relief

By: Cindy Wooden

"The Holy Year 2025 can have a lasting impact on the world's poorest countries if governments and international institutions embrace a key element of the biblical concept of jubilee by forgiving, restructuring or pausing foreign debt repayments, said a report commissioned by Pope Francis

At the late pope's request, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University in New York brought together 30 global experts in debt, development and the global financial system to address the current debt crisis, prevent future crises and promote sustainable development.

The "Jubilee Commission," which began meeting in February, released "A Blueprint for Tackling the Debt and Development Crises and Securing a Sustainable People-Centered Global Economy" June 20 at the Vatican.

"Today, 3.3 billion people live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on health, and 2.1 billion live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education," the report said. "Interest payments on public debt are therefore crowding out critical investments in health, education, infrastructure and climate resilience."

The indebted governments—"fearful of the political and economic costs of initiating debt restructurings—prioritize timely debt payments over essential development spending," the report said. "This is not a path to sustainable development. Rather, it is a roadblock to development and leads to increasing inequality and discontent."

Eric LeCompte, executive director of Jubilee USA Network, an interfaith group promoting debt relief and development, was not a member of the commission, but supported its work and was at the Vatican for the launch of the report.

Changing the way loans to developing nations are made, structured and restructured when a crisis occurs is essential because economic crises "are the main causes for war, for human rights violations, for migrations, for many of the environmental challenges that we are having," he told Catholic News Service June 19.

Many people will say, "A debt that is owed is a debt that should be paid," LeCompte said, "but I think it's more complicated than that.""