Pope Francis WATER DOOM! Vatican Hosts Conference On Water Values & Four Months Later Rome's Big Noses Run Dry!

JULY 2017

ROME (Reuters) - Baking summer heat has forced Rome to close some of the drinking fountains known as "big noses", or "nasoni", that constantly gush fresh water on thousands of street corners, causing a public outcry. Hit by the soaring temperatures drying out southern Europe, the Italian capital has started turning off up to 30 of the 2,800 distinctive curved metal taps every day, dismaying Romans and prompting concerns homeless people would become dehydrated. Brandishing a plastic bottle in the central Piazza Venezia, city resident Carmelo Teti asked, "How can you take away fresh water from tourists who walk and want to refresh themselves?" "When I go around I fill up this bottle with water because to buy mineral water costs and I cannot afford it," he said. Source

21 MARCH 2017

Vatican to host conference on ‘water values’ 

(Vatican Radio) The value and values of water are at the heart of a conference taking place in Rome on 22 March entitled “Watershed: replenishing the water values for a thirsty world”. The one-day event marks World Water Day 2017 and is organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Club of Rome, in collaboration with Circle of Blue and the World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Environment. Policy makers, academics, and business leaders will join top Vatican officials in a dialogue aimed at recovering the values of water and the centrality of water for human life. Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, along with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, are among those making opening remarks. Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development, will speak on the ‘The Nexus of Water and Humanity’. The event represents a concrete response by the Pontifical Council for Culture to the questions raised by Pope Francis in his Encyclical Laudato Si’ about humanity’s relationship with the environment. The conference will be broadcast live at http://worldwatervalues.org/ Source

22 MARCH 2017

Pope greets participants in Vatican water conference

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has greeted participants in a Vatican conference on the value and values of water promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture. Wednesday, March 22, marks the 25th iteration of World Water Day, instituted by the United Nations in 1992. The conference is entitled “Watershed: replenishing water values for a thirsty world”. During his greetings to English speakers at the General Audience, Pope Francis gave a special welcome and encouraged participants in their work. “I am happy that this meeting is taking place, for it represents yet another stage in the joint commitment of various institutions to raising consciousness about the need to protect water as a treasure belonging to everyone, mindful too of its cultural and religious significance. I especially encourage your efforts in the area of education, through programmes directed to children and young people. Thank you for all that you do and may God bless you!” Speakers at the one-day event include Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture and of the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. Source