Large-scale mining and extractive operations are failing to deliver economic benefits while causing environmental damage and human suffering throughout Latin America, according to a coalition of church organizations and environmental groups. The Churches and Mining Network, which includes Catholic bishops, priests and laypeople and leaders of Christian churches and environmentalists, said in a statement that governments, church leaders and civil society organizations need to find alternatives to so-called megamining operations. “We are aware that defending Creation, in a predatory system whose highest purpose is profit and money, is an action that involves danger and the risk of death. But we are encouraged by the Gospel of Jesus, the encyclical ‘Laudato Si’,’ and by the strength of the many communities affected by mining and other extractive industries,” the network said in the statement released on Sept. 4, following a meeting in Colombia.
Why mining operations are failing
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My Catholic identity and my wife’s Protestant identity continue to endure, and our faith has developed together in greater harmony, knowing that our love for each other was ultimately grounded in our love for God.
the wily accuser
tempted him in just the way to confuse a savior:
All this I will give you.
Daydreams and memory are saving some
Down there from shame
As a Black person who sometimes ministers in predominantly white parishes, I can appreciate how easy it is to feel out of place. It makes all the difference to hear words of welcome.