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Pope Calls for Prayer Over Water, a “Borderless Right” Turned Into a Commodity
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Economy & Trade

Pope Calls for Prayer Over Water, a “Borderless Right” Turned Into a Commodity

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Pope Leo XIV dedicated his September prayer initiative to protecting water and described access to it as a right without borders.
  • He highlighted the millions of people who lack clean drinking water and urged people to reject waste and pollution.
  • WHO and UNICEF data cited in the prayer initiative say about 2.1 billion people lack safe drinking-water access, while 106 million rely directly on untreated surface water.

Pope Leo XIV is asking people to pray for water, which he describes as a “right without borders” that humanity has turned into a commodity.

right without borders

— Pope Leo XIVThe pope described access to water in his September prayer.

His September prayer, part of the “Pray with the Pope” initiative, focuses on water as a scarce, unsafe or inaccessible resource for millions. The prayer asks forgiveness for treating water as merchandise while forgetting it as a universal gift. It also speaks of people who lack clean water, walk kilometres to find it or become ill because of its shortage.

a commodity, forgetting that it is a universal gift

— Pope Leo XIVThe prayer criticized the treatment of water as merchandise.

The pope’s message calls on believers to become “pilgrims of what is essential”: people who live more modestly, denounce waste and pollution, and defend everyone’s right to drink water without fear or inequality. In a promotional video, he evokes the relief of drinking fresh water after a hot day, hard work or a long walk.

pilgrims of what is essential, capable of living with moderation, denouncing waste and pollution and defending everyone's right to drink without fear or inequality

— Pope Leo XIVThe prayer called for personal and collective action to protect water.

In an English address, Leo XIV said one in four people worldwide still lacks safe drinking water. Data from the World Health Organization and UNICEF cited by the initiative put the number without safe access at about 2.1 billion, while 106 million people depend directly on untreated rivers, lakes or other surface water. Global coverage rose from 68% to 74% between 2015 and 2024, but low-income countries would need to progress seven times faster than their current pace to achieve universal access by 2030.

one in four people in the world still lacks safe drinking water

— Pope Leo XIVThe pope highlighted the scale of the global water-access problem.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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