The Dicastery for the Integral Human Development , in collaboration with the Embassies to the Holy See of France, Italy, Monaco and the United States, organised an international conference on "Governing a common good: access to drinkable drinking water for all", on 8 November 2018 at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, which co-hosted the event.
The meeting intends to reaffirm the absolute and urgent need for a global commitment so that access to safe drinking water is guaranteed to everyone, in any situation. It wants to express the Church's concern for the suffering of those excluded from fruition of this fundamental good for life and the services connected to it. As reiterated by the Holy Father in the Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation in 2018, in fact, "access to safe drinking water is an essential, fundamental and universal human right". It is also one of the topics highlighted in the first chapter of the Encyclical Laudato si ', one of the objectives set by the United Nations for sustainable development to be reached by 2030, and a crucial theme for the Amazon region to which the next Bishops' Synod will be devoted.