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Francis invites us to be more responsible in the protection and use of this element which is so fundamental for the preservation of our planet
By La Croix International staff | Vatican City
Pope Francis, reflecting on World Water Day, has called for clean drinking water and sanitation for all and for special action to make that possible in places that do not have access to clean water and sanitation.
He also highlighted how too many of our brothers and sisters do not have access to clean drinking water and sanitation adding that the annual observance of World Water Day 22 March "invites us to reflect on the value of this wonderful and irreplaceable gift of God."
"For us believers 'sister' water is not a commodity: it is a universal symbol and a source of life and health," Pope Francis said during his Sunday Angelus March 21.
"It is necessary to ensure drinking water and sanitation to all," he said.
The pope went on to thank and encourage those, who through their different professional capacities and responsibilities, "work for this very important purpose."
World Water Day, which falls on 22 March, celebrates water to make people aware of the importance of freshwater.
The idea for a World Water Day was put forward March 22, 1992, at the Rio de Janeiro United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. It was first held the following year and has continued ever since.
The World Water Day initiative is part of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) set by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in the year 2015.
These are 17 global goals that the UNGA plans to achieve by 2030 to create a sustainable future for humanity across economic, social and environmental spheres and promote world peace.
A core focus of World Water Day is SDG 6 -- water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The theme of World Water Day 2021 is valuing water:
"The value of water is about much more than its price – water has enormous and complex value for our households, food, culture, health, education, economics and the integrity of our natural environment. If we overlook any of these values, we risk mismanaging this finite, irreplaceable resource. SDG 6 is to ensure water and sanitation for all. Without a comprehensive understanding of water's true, multidimensional value, we will be unable to safeguard this critical resource for the benefit of everyone."
Be more responsible in the protection and use of water
Pope Francis in his message Marking World Water Day also called for an urgent change of lifestyle so as not to waste or pollute water, and ensure that this basic human right is made accessible to all.
This was said in a video-message by Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin on behalf of the pope to participants at a webinar organized by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 22 March.
In that message, the pope invites us to be more responsible in the protection and use of this element which is so fundamental for the preservation of our planet.
"Without water, there would have been no life, no urban centers, no agriculture, forestry or livestock," and yet this resource has not been cared for with the care and attention it deserves.
"Wasting it, disregarding it or contaminating it has been a mistake that continues to be repeated even today," he said.
The pope lamented how, despite our progress and technological advances, "access to safe, drinkable water is not within everyone's reach."
He reminded us that "access to safe drinkable water is a basic and universal human right, […] a condition for the exercise of other human rights." (Laudato si', n. 30). It is a good to which all human beings, without exception, have the right to have adequate access, so that they can lead a dignified life. Thus, "Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity."
The current coronavirus health crisis, he said, "Has widened existing social and economic inequalities, highlighting the damage caused by the absence or inefficiency of water services among those most in need."
Pope Francis invited us all to think of those who today lack such a substantial good as water, as well as of the generations that will succeed us and called on everyone to work to put an end to the pollution of the seas and rivers, of subway streams and springs.
Quoting St John Paul II's encyclical Centesimus Annus, he said this can take place through an educational effort that promotes a change in our lifestyles, the search for goodness, truth, beauty and communion with others for the sake of the common good: "Let these be the approaches that determine the choices of consumption, savings and investments."
This year's theme "Valuing water," the pope said, also asks us to change our own language: "Instead of speaking of its "consumption", we should refer to its sensible "use", according to our real needs and respecting those of others.
"Valuing water" can also mean recognizing that food security and water quality are intimately linked, Pope Francis said, pointing out that water plays an essential role in all aspects of food systems.
"In order to guarantee fair access to water, it is of vital urgency to act without delay, to put an end once and for all to its waste, commodification and pollution," the pope said, calling for better collaboration between States, the public and private sectors to provide binding legal coverage and systematic and effective support "to ensure that drinking water reaches all parts of the planet in quantity and quality."
Francis ended his message calling for urgent action:
"Let us make haste, therefore, to give drink to the thirsty. Let us correct our lifestyles so that we do not waste or pollute. Let us become protagonists of that goodness that led St. Francis of Assisi to describe water as a sister "who is very humble, and precious and chaste"! (Canticle of Creatures: FF 263).
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has in a press release described the latest developments of its "WASH" project (access to drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) in health care facilities run by the Catholic Church.
The WASH project was launched last year in coordination with religious congregations, bishops, Caritas Internationalis and Global Water 2020.
These efforts have taken on added urgency given that clean water access is essential to halting the spread of COVID-19.
The press release reiterates how the Catholic Church has been a committed pioneer of healthcare around the world and pays tribute to the Brothers Hospitallers of Saint John of God, known as Fatebenefratelli -- with 400 social and health care centers in 52 countries.
It also thanks the many bishops conferences, dioceses, congregations and several local Caritas or Catholic charities that have responded to the Dicastery's call.
The statement quotes Aloysius John, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis, who says "these initiatives will help prevent the spread of new diseases and ensure decent care for patients in health care facilities".
News on WASH and related efforts in conjunction for World Water Day on 22 March this year can be found on the Dicastery for Integral Human Development's website.
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