With the start of September and on the occasion of the Season of Creation, Pope Leo XIV has issued a heartfelt message focused on the stewardship and the spiritual and social value of water. Through the usual video for the monthly prayer intention promoted by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network, the Pontiff drew global attention to one of the most urgent ecological and human challenges of our time: the fundamental right to drinking water for every human being.
In his address, Leo XIV firmly reaffirmed that water is “a universal gift and a right without borders”, denouncing the contemporary tendency to turn a resource essential to life into a mere economic commodity. The Pope also expressed deep sorrow for the millions of people who still suffer today because of water scarcity, forced to walk for miles to fetch it or to consume unsafe water, exposing themselves to serious health risks.
Leo XIV’s appeal brings together the ethical dimension and that of ecological conversion: indeed, he called on the international community, governments and individual citizens to courageously speak out against waste and pollution, promoting a lifestyle rooted in sobriety and simplicity. Water, the Bishop of Rome recalled, is not only a chemical element necessary for survival or agriculture, but also a powerful symbol of grace and rebirth, present in the liturgy and in the sensibility of all cultures.
Ensuring equitable and safe access to water means safeguarding the intrinsic dignity of every human person and preserving peace among peoples. The message closes with an educational exhortation to the younger generations, that they may grow up aware that caring for the planet’s water resources is a duty of social justice, an act of love towards the poorest, and a concrete sign of care for our common home.
A crystal-clear message from the Pope, one that touches each and every one of us.
Emanuele Pini
Pope Leo XIV’s strong appeal: “Water is a universal good, not a commodity”
