"The fact today water is often considered a commodity added Benedict XVI must not make us forget the religious meanings that believing men, and above all Christianity, have developed from it, giving it great value as a precious intangible asset that always enriches the life of man on this earth". The Pontiff explained that the full recovery of the Biblical meaning of water as a "symbol of purification" "is the guarantee and prerequisite for an appropriate solution to the ethical, political and economic problems that affect the complex management of water by so many national and international players". The Pope ended his message with the wish that the exhibition "may arouse in all visitors appropriate reflections and encourage the authorities concerned to take proper decisions on an asset that is so essential to the life of man on earth". At the Zaragoza Expo 2008 on "Water and Sustainable Development", the Holy See, which has taken part for the first time in an international exhibition organised by Bie (International Exhibition Office), was present with a pavilion and a number of official events and celebrations.
