"The ethical common good approach precludes any attempt to privatize water," which would be, he said, "to the detriment of people" and their need for water to stay alive.
In his opinion, water is not just a social and ecological problem, but also an economic one.
"And now, as Pope Francis says, we have to understand that the economic crisis and the victims, which are the poor, is also very much linked to the ecological crisis. We can no longer speak of two separate crises," he said.
"That is where we can better understand how water has become a mercantile object, subject to market forces, to the detriment of people and to the detriment of the environment."
The seminar consisted of different panels as well as discussion time. The panels covered the issue from the perspectives of science, education, ecology, sustainable development, and policy, as well as the ethical and theological views of water.
A resource often taken for granted, Fr. Hughes pointed out that in many religious traditions, but especially the Jewish and Christian traditions, water as a symbol is synonymous with life itself.
From a theological perspective, "when we're talking about water, we're talking about life," he said.
This is why the ethical responsibility humanity has toward water comes "from the heart of the Christian message."
"We have been entrusted by the God of life," he explained, "to care for water, which means to care for life, to care for people, to care for all of creation, not just for human beings, but human beings as part of creation."
"The Church has a moral responsibility to care for water and to ensure that people have water," he said, and "this particularly has to do with the Church's responsibility to the poor."
Pope Francis addressed participants in the seminar Feb. 24, reaffirming that water is indeed a basic human right.
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"Our right to water is also a duty to water," he said. "Our right to water gives rise to an inseparable duty. We are obliged to proclaim this essential human right and to defend it – as we have done – but we also need to work concretely to bring about political and juridical commitments in this regard."
"The questions that you are discussing are not marginal, but basic and pressing," he told participants. "Basic, because where there is water there is life, making it possible for societies to arise and advance. Pressing, because our common home needs to be protected."
"God the Creator does not abandon us in our efforts to provide access to clean drinking water to each and to all," he continued.
"With the 'little' we have, we will be helping to make our common home a more livable and fraternal place, where none are rejected or excluded, but all enjoy the goods needed to live and to grow in dignity."
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.