Jubilee Justice Part II

In this series on "Jubilee Justice" written by Sr. Ann Oestreich, we invite you to learn more about the crushing burden of debt on the world's poorest countries. We also encourage you, your family, friends, and students to join with others who are trying to do something about the debt crisis. A set of helpful resources is suggested. This list will remain there throughout the series. If you know of other appropriate resources on this topic, please tell us so that we can add them to the list.

III. What are Structural Adjustment Programs?
Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) are economic policy "reforms" that profoundly alter the nature of a country's economy and the role of its government. Designed by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), SAPs are implemented by debtor countries in order to qualify for debt relief and new loans, as well as to attract foreign investment. SAPs are performance requirements that have become crucial components of loans made to struggling countries. Virtually any country that wants low interest loans or debt rescheduling from the World Bank or IMF must implement an SAP.

Structural Adjustment Programs and related economic reforms generally have produced the following policy measures in debtor countries:

• devaluing the national currency;
• raising interest rates and decreasing the availability of credit;
• reducing government spending and increasing taxes (especially sales tax) in order to balance the budget;
• lowering tariffs and dismantling (i.e. liberalizing) trade and investment regulations;
• privatizing public enterprises, which are sold to domestic and foreign investors;
• reducing real wages;
• shifting agricultural and industrial production from food staples and basic goods for domestic use to commodities for export.

SAPs are negotiated only with the finance ministry officials from borrowing countries. There is no formal process to solicit input from the ordinary people who must live under SAPs. And while SAPs have sometimes succeeded in improving government balance sheets, they too often fail to achieve and promote a sustainable economy. Instead, they frequently lead to increased income inequality and poverty, social disruption, and environmental degradation. And SAPs harm people living in poverty the most. Increased unemployment and decreased government services are most devastating to the poor.

There is little disagreement that many developing countries need some form of economic reform. But the form that SAPs have taken is deeply flawed when viewed from the perspective of people living in poverty. South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu expressed a common frustration with SAPs when he told a meeting of the All Africa Conference of Churches in the fall of 1997 that "these structural adjustment programs are immoral, for they care nothing about the suffering of people..."
Jubilee 2000 USA

IV. What does the Catholic Church say about International Debt and the Need for Debt Relief?
Religious teaching on debt reaches back to the Old Testament and the ancient tradition of the jubilee. This is a rich tradition that has much to teach us today, particularly in light of the Holy Father's call to celebrate the year 2000 as a Jubilee Year. In ancient times, the jubilee was an ideal, held up periodically to remind the Israelites of the kind of society and social relationships God expected them to build. The tradition of jubilee is most fully explained in the Book of Leviticus (25:1-55). There we learn that jubilee was a time to let the land rest and allow whatever is naturally produced to be shared by all, landowner and slave alike. It was a time to set slaves free and return to its original owner any land that had been sold. The jubilee was also a time to cancel debts. "At the end of every seven-year period you shall have a relaxation of debts" (Deuteronomy 15:1-2).

Pope John Paul II describes the jubilee year this way:

"The jubilee year was meant to restore equality among all of the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to families which had lost their property and even their personal freedom. On the other hand, the jubilee year was a reminder to the rich that a time would come when their Israelite slaves would once again become their equals and would be able to reclaim their rights. At the times prescribed by law, a jubilee year had to be proclaimed to assist those in need." (As the Third Millennium Draws Near, 13)

As Christians, we interpret this tradition in light of Christ's ministry and message to us. When he announced his public ministry, he quoted the passage from Isaiah (61) that refers to the jubilee tradition. He said he had come "to bring glad tidings to the poor...to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free." Then he added, "Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:18).

The tradition of jubilee, then, is deeply related to the Christian mission. As John Paul II has said:

"All jubilees refer to the messianic mission of Christ... It is he who proclaims the good news to the poor. It is he who brings liberty to those deprived of it, who frees the oppressed and gives back sight to the blind (cf. 11:4-5; Luke 7:22). The jubilee, 'a year of the Lord's favor,' characterizes all the activity of Jesus... (TMA, 11).

Debt
Christians are called to apply the tradition of jubilee and continue Christ's ministry to the poor and oppressed in our own day and time. An important part of the jubilee tradition was the forgiveness of debts, giving those who had become overwhelmed by unpayable debts a chance to start over (Deuteronomy 15). The Holy Father and the bishops of the United States have applied this tradition to the present day by identifying relief of debt among poor nations as an important element of our jubilee celebration during the year 2000.

"Thus it is written in the book of Leviticus (25:8-12)," Pope John Paul II has written,

"Christians will have to raise their voice on behalf of all the poor in the world, proposing the jubilee as an appropriate time to give thought, among other things, to reducing substantially, if not canceling outright, the international debt which seriously threatens the future of many nations." (TMA, 51).

The U.S. bishops have added their voices to that of the Holy Father and the leaders of many mainline churches in this country and abroad in calling for debt relief. In their statement, Relieving Third World Debt, they wrote:

"The tragic fact is that in trying to pay their debts, the neediest countries are sacrificing their future and the lives of millions of their people to contribute capital to the richest countries through debt service and debt repayment."

"In Economic Justice For All, we restated the classic principles of justice: Commutative justice calls for fundamental fairness in all agreements and exchanges between individuals or private social groups. Distributive justice requires that the allocation of income, wealth, and power in society be evaluated in light of its effects on persons whose basic material needs are unmet. Social justice implies that persons have an obligation to be active and productive participants in the life of society and that society has a duty to enable them to participate in this way (# 69-71)."

"In our view, the Third World debt crisis violates all three of these forms of justice." (U.S. Catholic Bishops, Relieving Third World Debt, # 5 & 59)
United States Catholic Conference

The United States Catholic Conference (USCC) has assembled a packet of materials entitled the "Catholic Campaign on Debt." These materials are intended for use by dioceses, parishes, schools, and other groups. To obtain the USCC packet, contact the United States Catholic Conference, 3211 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20017-1194. Phone: (202) 541-3185.

Sr. Ann Oestreich, IHM, serves as Congregational Justice Coordinator for the Holy Cross Sisters of Notre Dame, Indiana.

RESOURCES FOR JUBILEE 2000 AND DEBT RELIEF:

Banking on Life and Debt, a 30 minute video
Maryknoll World Productions
P.O. Box 308
Maryknoll, NY 10545-0308
1-800-227-8523

Proclaim Jubilee, a 9-minute video
Bread for the World
1100 Wayne Avenue Ð Suite 1000
Silver Spring, MD 20910

Hard Cash, a 17-minute video
Jubilee 2000/USA
P.O. Box 29550
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 783-3566

Pillaged Lives: Third World Debt and Global Institutions, an excellent educational tool on CD for use on computer
Social Justice Committee of Montreal
1957 deMaisonneuve O. Suite 320
Montreal, 2C H3HIJ9
(519) 933-6797

Education Packet on Debt Relief
The Jubilee 2000/USA Campaign
P.O. Box 29550
Washington, DC 20017
(202) 783-3566

Good Materials for a Focus on Debt Relief
Catholic Campaign on the Debt
Department of Social Development and World Peace
3211 Fourth Street NE
Washington, DC 20017-1194
(202) 541-3381

For more information, you can visit the web site Jubilee 2000 at http://www.j2000usa.org