Rome, 23 June 2022
The book “Il senso della sete. L’acqua tra geopolitica, diritti, arte e spiritualità” by Fausta Speranza, journalist of the Vatican media, won the third edition of the Ambassadors to the Holy See Literary Award 2022. The book is published by Infinito Edizioni with a letter of Pope Francis, prefaces by Vandana Shiva and Pasquale Ferrara, introductions by Francesco Profumo and Leonardo Becchetti, postface by Stefano Ceccanti and a poem by Plinio Perilli.
The Jury of this third edition – whose President is the Ambassador Alexandra Valkenburg, Head of European Union Delegation to the Holy See, and Vice President is the Ambassador of Italy to the Holy See Francesco Di Nitto – proclaimed the winner after reviewing 36 books published in 2021.
In a historical moment marked by climate change and the many related disasters, the increase in social inequalities and the resurgence of conflicts, Fausta Speranza’s book analyzes the deep link between water and the right to health as one of the most urgent social and geopolitical issues at the global level.
Recalling in the text the Encyclical Laudato Sì of Pope Francis as an example of the centrality that the ecological theme has in the Church’s social doctrine, the author gives ample emphasis to the spiritual, cultural and artistic dimension with which over the centuries humanity has looked to water as a source of life par excellence, so as to be considered today a fundamental right. It is an integral approach that goes beyond the solutions – however promising – offered by technology and that calls for an overall rethinking of the relations between human beings and the environment, as desired by the Holy Father himself.
The award ceremony will be held at the Borromeo Palace, seat of the Embassy of Italy to the Holy See, on a date which will be announced at a later time.
******
This Literary Award, born in 2019 from the initiative of a large group of Ambassadors to the Holy See also to pay homage to the language of Dante and the country that hosts their embassies, is open to authors who publish books in Italian for the general public on topics related to Christian culture and values, relations between Christian Churches and States, the history of Christian Churches and interreligious dialogue.
The President and Vice President of the Jury thank the Italian Booksellers Association (Associazione Librai Italiani o ALI), the Italian Publishers Association (Associazione Italiana Editori or AIE), the Association of Independent Publishers (Associazione degli Editori Indipendenti or ADEI) and the Union of Italian Catholic Publishers and Booksellers (Unione Editori e Librai Cattolici Italiani or UELCI) for their fruitful cooperation, in addition to the publishing houses who kindly provided copies of the books that participated in the literary prize. Lastly, a special thanks to the Advisory Committee – made up of a delegate from the Pontifical Council for Culture, a delegate from the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences, a representative of the European Academy of Religion and other personalities with recognized authority in promoting Christian culture – for the precious assistance provided to the Jury in the evaluation and selection phases of the candidate books.
