The Holy Year of Mercy will be an opportunity to encourage Christians to meet people’s “real needs” with concrete assistance, to experience a “true pilgrimage” .The Italian church has strategized plans to help poor families pay overdue utility bills for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Catholic Bishops have launched an initiative to help people who face having their utilities being cut off because they cannot afford to pay their electric bills as part of the Jubilee tradition of forgiving debts.
“We are starting a project for the Jubilee that sees mercy as debt relief,” said Fr Paolo Gentili, director of the Italian bishops’ conference’s office for the pastoral care of the family.
Fr Gentili launched the initiative on the Italian channel TV2000, explaining that his office was concerned about the growing number of Italian families who find it hard to make ends meet due to the economic crisis over the last few years.
He said daily expenses were a struggle, with families making every effort to pay the necessary bills to live but still facing problems.
Fr Gentili said the Church has “always given, but is now called to give something even more concrete, to forgive debts, to give oxygen to the families”.
The Holy Year of Mercy is scheduled for Dec. 8, 2015, to Nov. 20, 2016.
