Vatican publishes document on right to water access

Photo: People collect clean drinking water from a tanker sent by government authorities as part of measures to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus in San Jose, Costa Rica, March 14, 2020. The Vatican said defending the right to clean water is part of the Catholic Church’s promotion of the common good. (CNS/Reuters/Juan Carlos Ulate)

Vatican City — Access to clean water is an essential human right that must be defended and protected, the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said in a new document.

Defending the right to clean water is part of the Catholic Church’s promotion of the common good, "not some particular national agenda," the dicastery said, calling for "a management of water so as to ensure universal and sustainable access to it for the future of life, the planet and the human community."

The 46-page document, titled "Aqua Fons Vitae: Orientations on Water, Symbol of the Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the Earth," was released by the Vatican March 30.

The preface, signed by Cardinal Peter Turkson, dicastery prefect, and Msgr. Bruno Marie Duffe, secretary of the dicastery, stated that the current coronavirus pandemic has shed a light on "the interconnectedness […]

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Vatican publishes document on right to water access
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Vatican publishes document on right to water access
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The Vatican said defending the right to clean water is part of the Catholic Church's promotion of the common good, not some particular national agenda.
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Earthbeat - National Catholic Reporter
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