Bernardo Barranco V.: The Pope’s Jubilee of Hope 2025

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The Jubilee The Jubilee of 2025 is one of the most important events in the life of the Church. In the Catholic tradition, this exercise takes place every 25 years. It is an opportunity for spiritual renewal. From the Christian narrative, it means repenting of mistakes, acts of injustice and abuse committed against one another. The Jubilee is an old tradition in Jewish memory that offers the community a new start in life.

Pope Francis called for a new jubilee in May. As every 25 years in the Catholic Church, he officially called for the jubilee called of Hope 2025. He did so through the papal bull Minds are not confused (Hope does not disappoint). The document, in addition to being a strong critique of social content, is a protocol guide for the great religious event.

It indicates, for example, that the main symbolic rite marks the beginning of the holy year It is the opening of the holy dooron December 24, 2024 at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

In the current context of extreme divisions within the Catholic Church and of a Pope challenged by the religious far right, the Jubilee of Hope calls for reconciliation and unity. In the bull of convocation, Francis bases it theologically thus: “Hope is indeed born of love and is based on the love that flows from the Heart of Jesus pierced on the cross: ‘For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more now that we are reconciled, we will be saved by his life’ (Rom 5:10).” I promise to comment in detail on this important bull that raises substantial issues in the social pilgrimage of the Argentine Pope, which, by the way, reveals a gesture towards Mexico. He said that in our country they are preparing for the 500th anniversary of the first apparition of the Virgin. That, through Juan Diego, he sent a message to the Pope, revolutionary message of hope which he still repeats today to all pilgrims and the faithful.

Let us remember that the Jubilee of 2000 had a long preparation. The already diminished John Paul II published his apostolic letter Third millennium to comea highly critical document of contemporary modernity, has an apocalyptic tone typical of the turn of the century and the millennium that was in use at the time. What is relevant to Karol Wojtyla are the demands for forgiveness for the sins committed by the Church against Jews, heretics, women, gypsies, the Inquisition, the Holocaust and the native cultures in America for the excesses in evangelization.

Jubilees attempt to go back to the origins of biblical times when God had asked his chosen people to rediscover the equality of all. The jubilee is, therefore, the opportunity for social conversion of the communities of believers. Therefore, the jubilee means the joy that takes over the entire Christian, in body and soul, in flesh and spirit.

The first Christian jubilee was resumed in 1300. It was a great success in terms of fervor and mass pilgrimage. The French historian George Dubby recounts in his book The year one thousand , the apocalyptic anarchy that medieval societies fell into from 950 to 1250. The context was one of panic, the Roman universe had not yet completely collapsed, Islamic influence was growing with belligerent and military force, especially in the Mediterranean. Christianity was divided into two great traditions, the Roman and the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine. The terrors and archetypes of the end of the millennium were congruent with a world divided by empires and the scourge of plagues that killed entire populations.

The Jubilee of 1300 calls for the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation and conversion of a medieval culture in disgrace and puts an end to an era of terror, redefining a new era.

In the jubilee 2025, Francis recalls that The goods of the Earth are not destined for a privileged few, but for everyone; invoking peace: “Is it too much to dream that weapons will fall silent and stop causing destruction and death? Let us allow the Jubilee to remind us that those who ‘work for peace’ can be ‘called children of God’ (Mt 5:9). The demand for peace challenges us all and calls for the implementation of concrete projects. Let there be no lack of diplomatic commitment to courageously and creatively construct spaces for negotiation aimed at lasting peace.”

The Pope does not discriminate, but in his bull he gives special priority to migrants, exiles, refugees, those who live in a context of persecution, called to see a light through peoples, locked up by force.

He knows that the time of his pontificate is shortening. In 12 years he has tried to make changes and many of them have failed in the bureaucratic Church not only in Rome, but in most of the local churches. Together with the Synod on synodality, Francis is closing his pontificate. In this jubilee he is putting into practice part of his pastoral testament. In the face of his fierce enemies on the religious extreme right, Francis calls for indulgence, but does not lower his guard on his social content. Is the Pope preparing his retirement by affirming his option for social justice?