Members of Indigenous communities camp on the property of Chinese-owned Las Bambas copper mine in Peru April 26, 2022. The Peruvian government April 27 declared a state of emergency near the copper mine, where production has been halted for a week due to Indigenous communities camped inside. (CNS/Reuters/Angela Ponce)
LIMA, PERU — Amid conflicts between mining companies and communities in Latin America, Catholics must stand with people whose lives and livelihoods are threatened by pollution and human rights violations, church workers said.
Communities affected by mining — and church people working with them — draw strength from spiritualties that center on protecting what Pope Francis calls “our common home,” according to members of the Churches and Mining Network, who met here April 24–28.
The gathering brought together 40 people from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala and Peru, as well as France, Germany and Switzerland.
When Latin American countries locked down during the coronavirus pandemic, mines in many countries continued to operate, often exacerbating conflicts with local communities, network members said at a public presentation April 27.
And both the war in Ukraine and the demand for minerals for new energy technologies, like solar and wind, are likely to increase pressure for mining in the future, leading to greater tensions with communities, said Fr. Dario Bossi, provincial of the Comboni Missionaries in Brazil and a coordinator of the network.
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