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VATICAN-POPE-ENVIRONMENT
Pope urges clean up of plastic waste from oceans
VATICAN CITY, Sept 1, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Pope Francis on Saturday issued a
call to clear up oceans threatened by plastic waste and underscored the need
to provide drinking water to all as a basic right.
“We cannot allow our seas and oceans to be littered by endless fields of
floating plastic,” the pontiff said in a message on the fourth World Day of
Prayer for the Care of Creation.
“Sadly, all too many efforts fail due to the lack of effective regulation
and means of control, particularly with regard to the protection of marine
areas beyond national confines.”
The pope also said that access “to safe drinkable water is a basic and
universal human right” and deplored that for many it was “difficult if not
impossible.
“Our world owes a great social debt towards the poor who lack access to
drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with
their inalienable dignity,” he said.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1805 hrs