Re: Approved

[Roberto Verzola <rverzola@phil.gn.apc.org>]

 >> Arguably totally artificial and of no real importance. What makes the 
 >> change from 1995 to 2005 of signifigance? Calenders are arbitarily 
 >> defined and based measures of passing time. Untill 1582 there was no 
 >> real measure of years that coincided with the seasons so how can we 
 >> be sure that Christ's birth was 1999 years ago? 
 >---------
 >
 >To declare 2000 a jubilee year does not declare that Christ was born
 >1999 years ago.  To me, it is simply saying: let us celebrate the year
 >2000 with jubilation.  But what for?  Because celebrations are good

As I understand it, a jubilee year is a let's-all-start-a-new-life
year: all debts are forgiven; all prisoners are released; land is
redistributed equitably; and so on. One of the calls, I believe, is
the condonation of the huge and increasing Third World debt.

If the Y2K disruptions lead to universal soul-searching and a major
transformation of society, how nice to know that the Church has in
fact anticipated all of this by declaring Y2K a jubilee year...

Roberto