Pope Francis and a fairer economy

With the death of Pope Francis , the world has lost an extraordinary leader. But his legacy will live on, not only in the hearts of those he inspired, but in the concrete efforts he launched to build a more just, humane, and sustainable global economy.

Born Jorge Bergoglio in Argentina, Pope Francis experienced firsthand the cruelty of economic injustice. He came of age in one of the world's most unstable economies—a country where repeated economic and foreign debt crises have cast long shadows over generations of children and families. He witnessed what happens when economic systems serve vested interests rather than people: vast inequality , fragmented communities, and widespread social ills such as crime, addiction, and insecurity.

As Pope, Francis brought these ideas to the world stage. His voice became one of the most powerful moral forces in the world, not only reminding us of our shared humanity but also challenging the institutional structures that deny dignity to billions of people. As members of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, we had the privilege and pleasure of frequent dialogue with him.

His concern was urgent and based on lived reality. “Transforming reality requires action on the ground, not just working in the laboratory,” he often said privately.

Francis saw an economic system that too often prioritized profit over people, and selfishness over cooperation. He knew that while markets can be a powerful tool, if not governed by appropriate rules and regulations, they will produce injustices on a planetary scale, including the gravest of all: the destruction of our environment, which he called “our common home” in his encyclical Laudato Si’. Without a moral compass and a sense of solidarity, markets, rather than being a source of wealth creation, could be a powerful force for wealth extraction, leading to ever-increasing concentrations of income and wealth.

Francis did not hesitate to speak out. He criticized global rules that privilege monopolies, especially in the area of ​​intellectual property, where protections designed to reward invention often obstruct access to life-saving technologies. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he personally urged U.S. President Joe Biden to support an intellectual property rights waiver under the World Trade Organization's TRIPS agreement so that people everywhere could access vaccines. His message was clear: human lives must take precedence over corporate profits.

Likewise, Francis was deeply concerned that many developing countries were trapped in a cycle of sovereign debt that limited their ability to invest in health, education, and infrastructure. He rightly believed that this was not just a debt crisis, but also a development crisis, and that, more profoundly, it was a symptom of an economic system that had lost its moral bearings. And he understood that all parts of the system were responsible: the governments of debtor and creditor countries, private lenders, and the international financial architecture that allowed governments and creditors to delay necessary restructurings, and even incentivized them to do so.

That's why Francis asked us last year to create a Jubilee Commission that would bring together leading thinkers to propose ways the world can address the deepening debt and development crisis. He was aware that the Jubilee of 2000, important as it had been for those living in indebted countries, had made only limited progress in creating more fiscal space for those grappling with development challenges. Twenty-five years later, with an even greater number of countries in debt, Francis wanted to do something for them immediately. But his ambition was greater. He asked how a repetition of past failures could be avoided. His call echoed the ancient biblical tradition of the Jubilee: a time to forgive debts and restore balance—not as charity, but as justice.

Until his final days, Francis closely followed the work of the Jubilee Commission. He was particularly concerned that multilateral institutions—designed to safeguard global stability and promote shared development—were acting as agents of inertia, lacking the solidarity necessary to maintain peace, prosperity, and justice.

The Jubilee Commission will present its report to the Vatican this summer. Its recommendations will reflect the urgent need to reform the incentives that have plunged so many countries into crisis. Debtor governments must act swiftly, without delay, with vision and responsibility toward their citizens. Creditor countries must also act swiftly and, again, with foresight and a sense of moral responsibility and solidarity. Multilateral institutions must stop using public resources to protect bad lending decisions and unsustainable debt. And creditors must accept their share of responsibility. The high interest rates they charge carry risks, and when those risks materialize, they must not be passed on to the world's taxpayers.

With moral clarity and courage, Francis challenged us to imagine new financial rules that no longer serve the few, but benefit the many. He reminded us that the economy is centered on people, dignity, and our collective future. We hope that the Commission's work honors Francis's legacy and contributes to the creation of more just societies. There can be no better tribute to his legacy than to establish a framework for international finance with that goal in mind.