Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno ,a Jesuit and president of the Episcopal Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA), delivers his remarks at the G7 Jubilee People’s Forum in Calgary. Photo: Development and Peace
What kind of world do we want to live in — and how can we build it?
Canadian Jesuits International (CJI) is at the “G7 Jubilee People’s Forum,” being held at Ambrose University in Calgary, June 12 to 15. The event is taking place ahead of the high-level G7 Leaders’ Summit, scheduled June 15-17, outside Calgary.
This grassroots forum aims to empower “pilgrims and activists” to share their vision of a “Jubilee world — where the enslaved and indentured are freed, debts are cancelled, and the land is returned and allowed to rest.” It asks urgent questions about justice, equity, and the moral responsibilities of powerful nations such as Canada.
CJI Outreach Coordinator Juan Camilo Poveda and Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno
CJI’s Outreach Coordinator, Juan Camilo Poveda, is participating in various activities, including interfaith worship, a meet-and-greet for young adults, and workshops exploring ecological debt and Canada’s fair share, Indigenous and interfaith understandings of Jubilee, public organizing through a faith-shaped lens, and the spirituality of activism. Participants will also visit the outdoor medicine wheel on Stoney Nakoda land. The forum also includes a training for Jubilee 2025 – Turn Debt into Hope, a global campaign rooted in the success of Jubilee 2000, which led to the cancellation of $100 billion in debt for 36 low-income countries.
Cardinal Pedro Barreto Jimeno, a Jesuit and president of the Episcopal Conference of the Amazon (CEAMA) is a guest of honour at the event. On Thursday, he discussed the concept of “ecological debt,” introduced by Pope Francis in Laudato Si, which asserts that corporations and wealthy nations owe a debt to poor nations and future generations for the environmental damage caused by their actions.
On Sunday, the gathering will conclude with a march through downtown Calgary, urging the G7 leaders to prioritize protecting the planet and the needs of the poor.
The forum was organized, among others, by KAIROS Canada, Development and Peace-Caritas Canada, and the Calgary Interfaith Council.
