The (CPN) released a new report, , and hosted an international panel on Oct. 21 to launch the report in collaboration with the聽. The secretariat for CPN is housed in the , part of the at the University of Notre Dame.
鈥淐atholic Approaches to Mining is the result of a year-long consultation process with Catholic groups and individuals working in mining-affected areas,鈥� said , assistant director of CPN. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a collection of their insights, offering guidance for how others in the global Catholic community can more effectively engage issues of mining to promote peace, integral human development and environmental protection.鈥�
The nearly 50-page report identifies problems associated with mining 鈥� social, economic and environmental among them 鈥� and analyzes these issues through Catholic social teaching to provide a path forward for mining-affected communities.
Mining is difficult and dangerous work and workers are often exploited, which impacts family relations and structure. Mining can have serious impacts on the health of local communities, especially for children and for women鈥檚 reproductive health. Its activities often generate unjust economic relations and can deepen poverty dynamics, with mining companies at times taking the place of the state as providers of public services. Collectively, these outcomes jeopardize the social fabric of local communities.
From an environmental standpoint, there are myriad negative ecological impacts associated with mining activities: deforestation, desertification, increased climate vulnerability, biodiversity loss, pollution and contamination. These contribute to permanent changes in the landscape, which introduce a new set of risks and vulnerabilities for mine-affected communities already confronting more extreme weather events induced by climate change. In turn, this can lead to loss of livelihoods and increased migration.
Furthermore, these social, economic and environmental factors often worsen violent conflict by pitting members of communities against one another, causing danger for civic leaders and defenders of human rights and the environment, or exacerbating existing conflict dynamics.
鈥淚n many parts of the world, the Catholic Church serves as a peacebuilder at the forefront of accompanying communities faced with systemic crises,鈥� Montevecchio said. 鈥淏ecause of the power inequalities related to mining, it is imperative for Church actors to defend the rights of local communities, and with them determine local and global responses that promote integral human development, protect ecosystems and mitigate conflict.鈥�
To that end, the report offers modes of engagement to help Church actors and their collaborators make informed decisions about mining and the most prudent path forward. All engagement stems from pastoral closeness, or what Catholic organizations call accompaniment. Among these accompaniment measures are documentation and communications, such as data collection, case studies and communication campaigns; training and capacity building in legal literacy, mediation and advocacy skills, scientific understanding, land management and alternative livelihoods; advocacy through legal prosecution, legislative reform and disinvestment campaigns; and nonviolent civil resistance.
Montevecchio moderated the panel discussion, which featured a slate of participants representing organizations that collaborated on the report: Cardinal Michael Czerny, SJ, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; Elena Sofia Fanciulli, Caritas Internationalis; Jing Rey Henderson, Caritas Internationalis; Liliana Zamudio Vaquiro, Caritas Colombia; Rev. Rigobert Minani, SJ, Centre d鈥橢tudes pour l鈥橝ction Sociale (DRC); and S茅verine Deneulin, Laudato Si鈥� Research Institute.
The consultation process leading up to Catholic Approaches to Mining involved a series of online workshops over the past year with 35 individuals from 18 countries. It culminated in an international conference, 鈥�,鈥� in Bogot谩, Colombia, in June that brought together another 60 people from around the globe who shared their experiences, challenges and successes facing problems from mining and gave additional input for the newly released report.
The Catholic Peacebuilding Network is made up of two dozen bishops鈥� conferences, universities, research centers and peace and development agencies that work to enhance the Catholic Church鈥檚 capacity for peacebuilding by deepening solidarity, sharing best practices and conducting research. Its accompaniment of conflict-affected communities led CPN to begin its聽 in 2014.
After publishing聽 in 2022, CPN sought to develop a practical publication aimed at an audience of Church leaders and practitioners. That effort was accelerated after CPN joined a 2024 meeting of the聽 focused on conflict and mining. At that meeting, the African bishops voiced a desire for a manual that could serve as a starting point for Church organizations to learn more about mining and how to effectively defend communities from the mining-related conflict and harm that they were seeing in their dioceses.
鈥淐atholic Approaches to Mining is an attempt to meet that need, not only for the bishops in Africa but for others in the worldwide Catholic community facing similar challenges,鈥� said Montevecchio said.
鈥淭he framework we鈥檝e created supports the concern of Pope Francis, who emphasized mining-related ecological and social issues in Laudato Si鈥� and elsewhere. It also sheds light on the teaching and experience of the Church in the Global South, where bishops and others have been on the front lines of confronting pollution, deforestation, land dispossession, violence and human rights violations in connection with mining.鈥�
The report is a collaboration of CPN; the at ; the Holy See Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development; ; and the Kroc Institute.
Originally published by at on Oct. 21.
Contact: Tracy DeStazio, associate director of media relations, 574-631-9958 or tdestazi@nd.edu