From October 1 to 3, the Amazon Water Summit will be held in Iquitos, Peru, providing a space for reflection, coordination, and commitment to the defense of water as a common good and a gift from God, vital for the life of peoples and for our Common Home.
In this context, Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, sent a message of encouragement to the participants. In his words, he expressed his joy at knowing of people and institutions that “commit their lives and intelligence to the care of water,” recalling that water is God’s creation that we must safeguard and pass on to new generations in dignified conditions.
The Cardinal emphasized that water knows no borders and, rather than dividing, unites the peoples of the Amazon, which requires alliances that transcend divisions between countries. He also invited reflection on the spiritual and cultural value of water: for Christians, the source of baptism; for indigenous peoples, the blood of the majestic Lupuna. In both cases, he recalled, its meaning leads us to transcendence and to God.
Echoing the words of Pope Francis, he pointed out that water is a fundamental right, central to the exercise of other rights such as health and a healthy environment. However, he warned that in many parts of the world, individuals and communities are still deprived of this right, either through lack of access or through misappropriation and contamination caused by private interests.
“The Amazon gives us a concrete example of how power asymmetries sink the smallest, as happens with small boats affected by the waves of large ships,” he warned, calling for vigilance and defense of the most vulnerable.
Finally, Cardinal Czerny encouraged all Summit participants to live their faith as an impetus to be stewards of creation, wishing them success in their work and blessings for those who dedicate their lives to the conservation of land and water.
The Amazon Water Summit seeks to be a milestone in building consensus, alliances, and commitments that will protect water as a sacred gift, a human right, and the heritage of humanity.