Ahead of this fourth World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation, whose message will be released tomorrow, September 1, at midday, we know at its heart is the key word: water.
This was expressed by Secretary of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, Msgr Bruno Marie Duffé, who was presenting this year’s World Day, first instituted by Pope Francis in 2015.
The Catholic Church celebrates this event along with the Orthodox Church every year on September 1st.
Scott Harrison, CEO of Charity Water, an organization working to ensure that all worldwide have access to clean water, connected to the meeting point via a recorded video he filmed in New York.
Statistics show, he said, 663 million do not have access to water, noting that means one in every eleven people is without it. It was noted too, the traumatic effect it has on women and girls around the world, many of whom in Africa have to drop out of school because they spend so many hours walking to where they can access clean water.
Charity Water, he said, has already committed 320 million dollars to fight this, and are at work in 26 countries throughout the world. “Water is one of the most pressing issues,” Harrison said.
“Water,” he pointed out, “is responsible for 52 percent of diseases in the world.” However, he said, “it is a completely solvable problem. We know how to solve the problem.”
Msgr Bruno Marie Duffé stressed the significance of the Pope wishing to pray for water as being an important moment. “We need this prayer he said.”
“It is important for the future of people, for the human family. The prayer speaks about the urgency of caring, of action, to showing love for the earth.” It was expressed that now many fish are dying as they are eating the plastic found in the water. For the first time in the North Pole, they found pieces of plastic, which is bad for fish, because they eat it and then die.
“This prayer gives strength to the action that we are to do and develop,” he noted, especially “to help all children of Jesus, those who suffer persecution and everyone, for the whole human family and for all generations.”
“It is just and a human right to have access to water,” the Vatican official noted. “This calls us to solidarity and fraternity, showing I love and care about the life of my human brother.”
