Home
 
 Remission of the Foreign Debt for the Poor Countries Scott 1191-1195 (2001) On September 25, 2001, Vatican City issued a set of five stamps under the banner "Remission of the foreign debt for the poor countries". The issue consists of stamps displaying panels depicting five of the "works of corporal mercy": The message being presented in this issue is an extension of that put forth by Pope Paul VI in his encyclical of 1967, "Populorum Progressio". In that document, the overriding theme can be summed up in the passage "the economy of the world should serve mankind and not just the few". Pope Paul stated that a goal of the Church should be to to help the poor "escape the ravages of hunger, poverty, endemic disease and ignorance". With this stamp issue, the Vatican is focusing attention on those left behind as advances in technology and science benefit some but not all countries. Poor countries burdened by excessive debt (debt owed to "rich and developed countries") are unable to escape the burden of poverty and advance to a more prosperous way of life. As stated in the UFN release: "the stamp(s)...fulfills its functions as a messenger of peace and as an upholder of consciousness regarding the rule of the Catholic Church in the humanitarian and social field".Popes that have followed Paul VI have continued the drumbeat of appealing to the rich nations of the world to forgive the debt owed by underdeveloped nations to allow them to grow, rather than being beaten down by their debt obligations. As recently as 2024, Pope Francis, in his bull proclaiming the Jubilee of Hope in 2025, reached out again by saying: "Another heartfelt appeal that I would make in light of the coming Jubilee is directed to the more affluent nations. I ask that they acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them."There are two interesting side-notes regarding these stamps. As shown in the listing above, these stamps from 2001 were denominated in both lire and euros. This was the only year in which Vatican City stamps were issued with a dual denomination. Another note relates to the artist of the panels shown on the stamps. When these stamps were issued, the panels were attributed to an Italian artist named Carlo di Camerino. However, in 2002 works formerly attributed to Camerino were re-attributed to Olivuccio di Ciccarello when research revealed that an artist named Carlo di Camerino had never really existed. REFERENCES: |
