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Why Clean Water Is a Moral Obligation For Christians

Why Clean Water Is a Moral Obligation For Christians

Last updated on: September 17, 2026 at 12:18 pm by Henry Karlson

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Why Clean Water Is a Moral Obligation For Christians 2026-09-17T12:18:47-05:00 Henry Karlson

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DFID – UK Department for International Development: Providing Clean Water / Wikimedia Commons

At the beginning of September, Pope Leo XIV, starting off the Season of Creation, prayed, giving thanks to God for the water which we have received. In that prayer, he also asked God to forgive us for neglecting to take care of the water as well as the way we have turned it into a consumer object to be bought and sold instead of being shared with everyone in need:

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amén.

Lord of Life, You have given us the gift of water, source of fruitfulness, freshness, and hope. It quenches thirst, nourishes the earth, and heals wounds.

We thank You, because it is also a symbol of your grace and love that renews us through Baptism.

Today we ask You to teach us to safeguard it with gratitude, justice, and responsibility. Forgive us for turning it into a commodity, forgetting that it is a universal gift, a right without borders, meant for all your children. We see with pain so many brothers and sisters who lack clean water, who walk for miles to find it, who become ill due to its scarcity.

May your Spirit make us pilgrims of the essential, able to live with simplicity, denouncing waste and pollution, defending the right of every brother and sister to drink without fear and without inequality.

May our care for water be a sign of love for the Creator and a commitment to the lives of the poor, educating new generations to value and protect the Earth’s resources. Amen.[1]

This should not be controversial, especially among Christians. Jesus, said that those who gave to those who are hungry or thirsty, satisfying their needs, did so for him. That means, whenever we see someone who is hungry or thirsty, we should not just think “what would Jesus do,” but “how would I treat Jesus in this situation?” because, how we deal with them is how we treat Jesus.

And yet, what Pope Leo XIV said turned out to be controversial. Many attacked him on twitter, among which were various vocal Catholics with large followings, for daring to suggest clean water should not be tuned into a commodity to be denied those in need. I was saddened, appalled, but yet, not surprised at this. I am used to the way many Christians treat others contrary to what Jesus said. I am used to the way many Christians and Catholics try to deny what the pope says when it goes against their political ideology. It would be one thing, however, for them to reject the teaching and admit they are going against a basic Christian (or Catholic) principle. But they don’t want to do that. They don’t want to be honest. They try to act surprised, as if what they are hearing is new, and that it goes against the norms they are used to. Thus, when Pope Leo XIV talks about the way we should provide access to clean water, they act like it is something which he made up, ignoring the fact that it is common concern shared by all recent popes. For example, St. John Paul II said:

As a gift from God, water is a vital element essential to survival; thus, everyone has a right to it. Attention must be paid to the problems that derive from its scarcity, which is evident not only in Brazil but also in many parts of the world. Water is not an unlimited resource. Its rational use in solidarity demands the collaboration of all people of good will with the Government Institutions so as to ensure the effective protection of the environment, understood as a gift from God (cf. Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in America, n. 25). This is a question, therefore, that must be set in context in order to establish moral criteria based precisely on the value of life and the respect for the rights and dignity of all human beings. [2]

Pope Benedict XVI, known for his promotion of environmental concerns, similarly indicated:

Water, a common good of the human family, constitutes an essential element for life; the management of this precious resource must enable all to have access to it, especially those who live in conditions of poverty, and must guarantee the liveability of the planet for both the present and future generations.

Access to water is in fact one of the inalienable rights of every human being, because it is a prerequisite for the realization of the majority of the other human rights, such as the rights to life, to food and to health.

For this reason, water “cannot be treated as just another commodity among many, and it must be used rationally and in solidarity with others…. The right to water… finds its basis in human dignity and not in any kind of merely quantitative assessment that considers water as a merely economic good. Without water, life is threatened. Therefore, the right to safe drinking water is a universal and inalienable right” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, n. 485). [3]

Pope Francis was simply following in their footsteps when he wrote:

Fresh drinking water is an issue of primary importance, since it is indispensable for human life and for supporting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Sources of fresh water are necessary for health care, agriculture and industry. Water supplies used to be relatively constant, but now in many places demand exceeds the sustainable supply, with dramatic consequences in the short and long term. Large cities dependent on significant supplies of water have experienced periods of shortage, and at critical moments these have not always been administered with sufficient oversight and impartiality. Water poverty especially affects Africa where large sectors of the population have no access to safe drinking water or experience droughts which impede agricultural production. Some countries have areas rich in water while others endure drastic scarcity. [4]

While there have always been times and places where people had to be worried about access to water, such as in times of extreme drought, we find the situation changing drastically in the modern age because of the way our impact on the environment has changed. Just as our technology allows us to use our resources better, producing better and more crops, for example, so we find ourselves able to exploit the resources of the Earth that much more, leaving greater devastation in our wake. This is especially a growing problem in relation to the use of water; for years, I have been hearing of the growing water crisis, one which I fear, we have ignored and will ignore until it is too late.

Those upset with the pope’s words have often gone back to a point they make every time a pope speaks on issues of social justice: they say the pope should be concerned with the salvation of our souls, not our use of the world’s resources. They don’t understand what the salvation entails. It is not entail some Gnostic rejection of the world, and with it, our bodies and what we do with them. It is about the salvation of our whole person, including our bodies. It is about making sure we have sound character, that we become holy like God is holy. The pope is expected to follow and promote the teachings of Christ. Everything Jesus said and did connected, in some fashion or another, with our salvation. In his discourse on the last judgment, Jesus makes it clear, how we treat others, especially those in need, will have an impact on our salvation. Taking care of others, making sure their material needs are met, are not secondary concerns. While Pope Leo XIV is speaking out of care and concern for those in need, he is also doing so out of care and concern for us; he is reminding us what God expects from us. While we are saved by grace, Jesus made it clear we must cooperate with grace, and allow it to change us into his disciples, caring for all the needs of the people (as he did when he healed the sick, or when he fed the 5000). The pope is also following after the prophets, like Isaiah, who told us of the rewards which will be given to those who fulfill their duty to help those who are oppressed, those who are in need:

He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly, who despises the gain of oppressions, who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed and shuts his eyes from looking upon evil, he will dwell on the heights; his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks; his bread will be given him, his water will be sure (Isa. 35:15-16 RSV).

Why is there a resistance to this message? I think it is because many Christians don’t want to be told to do anything, that is, they think they should be able to believe in Jesus, be saved, and then be free to live their lives as they see fit. They don’t want to be told salvation comes with obligations. What they want is cheap grace. They don’t want to admit their duty to others, even though Scripture made it clear again and again that if they are to be Jesus’ followers, they should imitate the Good Samaritan and help those in need. Scripture consistently indicates our salvation is dependent upon it. Instead of listening to Scripture, and the Christian tradition, they to follow modern political ideologies, using them to judge and interpret everything else, including what Jesus taught. They can’t understand the preferential option for the poor because their political alignment has them concerned with the status quo, or worse, the promotion of the rich and powerful over the poor. This is why many Christians in the United Sates have ended up criticizing and attacking Pope Leo XIV’s exhortation to work for and promote clean water for everyone; they believe the United States when it says there is no right to clean water, exemplified, apropos, by a US federal court, just days after the pope’s prayer:

A federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to clean drinking water in a Sept. 4 decision rejecting Jackson, Mississippi, residents’ lawsuit over the city’s lead-contaminated water system.

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling dismissing residents’ 2022 lawsuit. The plaintiffs, Priscilla Sterling, Raine Becker, Shawn Miller and John Bennett, alleged that the city knowingly allowed residents to drink unsafe water. [5]

I expect many will take this simply as a given. The Constitution says nothing in and of itself about clean water, so, obviously, there is no Constitutional right to it. They look to the letter of the law, not the spirit. If they remembered the spirit of the law, they would remember the Constitution takes for granted many rights not stated in it. The Constitution did not come ex nihilo. Its authority rests on various principles, among which are those given by the Declaration of Independence. We are told there are inalienable human rights which governments must protect, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights underscore the Constitution, and so should be seen as a part of it, even if they are not explicitly stated in it, for without them, the United States, which preceded the Constitution, has no foundation for its existence (making the Constitution itself meaningless). I believe this is what has been lost by those who want to deny basic human rights, rights which should include the right to clean water, acting us if the government should not be involved in promoting or defending them. If the letter of the Constitution is to be used to deny the spirit in which it was established, it should be voided. That is what the Declaration of Independence tells us. When basic human rights are alienated by our government, our government no longer has any legitimate authority. But, since the Constitution was written to help preserve and protect what was set up in the Declaration of Independence, preserving inalienable human rights should be deemed Constitutional (despite the way the courts have sometimes acted).

One doesn’t have to be a Christian to see the need to protect our environment, to make sure people have their basic needs affirmed, such as food (and water), shelter, and clothing. It doesn’t take Jesus to tell us we need to love our neighbor, and make sure those in need are not left without those needs being met. It doesn’t take the Constitution to delegate basic human rights, for it is founded upon and presupposes them. So why is it Christians are the ones most fighting against the promotion of basic human rights, and our obligation to look after and take care of each other? Why is it that so many Christians want to deny our responsibility to the Earth, our common home? I feel, at the heart of it, is the way so many Christians have taken in the Gospel as justification for their own selfishness, that is, they do not think they have to repent or change their ways. They think it is about beliefs, nothing else, and that God is there affirming them and saving them in and with their selfishness once they come to the right doctrinal conclusions. This, of course, is the teaching of cheap grace, not the Gospel, for Jesus made it clear, we are to repent, pick up our cross, and follow him if we want to be saved.

[1] Transcript taken from the video of his prayer released by the Vatican on youtube.

[2] St. John Paul II, “Message for Brazil’s Lenten ‘Campaign of Fraternity 2004” (1-19-2004).

[3] Pope Benedict XVI, “Message Of Pope Benedict XVI to the Director General of FAO On the Occasion of the Celebration of World Water Day 2007” (3-22-2007).

[4] Pope Francis, Laudato si’. Vatican translation. ¶28.

[5] Karissa Waddick, “No Constitutional Right To Clean Water, Federal Court Finds” in USA Today (9-7-2026).

* This Is Another Post From My Personal (Informal) Reflections And Speculations Series

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