The Holy See has called for urgent action to address the debt crisis crippling small island developing states
Newsroom (17/07/2025,Gaudium Press )Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, called for urgent action to address the debt crisis crippling small island developing states, African countries, and other developing nations during two UN panel discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Speaking in New York, Archbishop Caccia emphasized the international community’s “moral and political responsibility” to support sustainable development, particularly in eradicating poverty, which he described as both a “moral imperative” and an economic necessity. “The persistent and widespread reality of poverty continues to afflict millions, denying them material wellbeing and undermining their God-given dignity,” he said.
Highlighting the dire financial straits of many developing nations, the Archbishop noted that 3.4 billion people live in countries where interest payments on sovereign debt outstrip spending on healthcare and education combined. He called for “immediate debt relief, including cancellation, and debt restructuring,” alongside increased access to grants, to alleviate unsustainable debt burdens and create fiscal space for investments in critical areas such as infrastructure, health, and education.
Focusing on small island developing states, Archbishop Caccia underscored that approximately 40 percent of these nations face debt distress, exacerbated by ecological challenges and environmental disasters that disproportionately impact them. “Debt relief alone is not a panacea,” he acknowledged, but stressed its transformative potential to bolster climate adaptation, healthcare systems, and education in these vulnerable regions.
In closing, the Holy See’s representative invoked the Catholic Church’s ongoing Jubilee year, quoting Pope Leo XIV: “The Jubilee asks of us the restitution and redistribution of unjustly accumulated wealth, as the way to personal and civil reconciliation.” He urged renewed global commitment to tackling the debt crisis to advance the UN’s 2030 SDG agenda.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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