Great Jubilee - The Jubilee Beyond The Catholic Church

The Jubilee Beyond The Catholic Church

The proposal to celebrate the year 2000 was received very well among Christians. Early on, the Vatican had a disappointment because the Waldenses, the only large Protestant religion in Italy, refused to participate because of their dispute against the Jubilee indulgence. Nonetheless, many Christians celebrated this year in a special way.

There were also various special efforts to bring light on social issues in this year. Noting that the Biblical Jubilees involved the forgiveness of debts, the rock singer Bono, among others supported Jubilee 2000 to increase awareness of the developing nations struggling under a possibly unpayable foreign debt. With the blessing of the Pope, they sought to bring governments and international banks to cancel such debts during the Jubilee year.

The Italian group, Hands Off Cain (Nessuno tocchi Caino), took advantage of the Jubilee to call for an end to capital punishment around the world. Whenever a country chose to commute a sentence or abolish the death penalty entirely, the group illuminated the Roman Colosseum for various numbers of days. The Pope also called for a moratorium on executions and, if possible, the abolishment of the practice. On July 9, 2000, he visited the Regina Coeli prison in Rome.