New release: Pastoral guidelines on the impacts of mining

15.07.2025. The Ignatian advocacy network Justice in Mining is delighted to announce the upcoming launch of the document Pastoral Guidelines for the Catholic Church in Response to the Impacts of Mining, which marks a milestone in the defence of life and dignity in territories affected by mining.

This publication is the result of a process of discernment inspired by the meeting ‘The Church and Communities Affected by Mining: Fraternal Encounter of Bishops of Latin America,’ held in Panama City in October 2024. The meeting was promoted by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) and Churches and Mining, with the support of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. It brought together nearly 20 bishops from Latin America and the Caribbean committed to accompanying communities affected by mining, and the result of their work is now published in this brief document.

The pastoral guidelines are the result of listening attentively to those who suffer the impacts of mining in territories such as La Oroya, Aguán, Brumadinho, Mariana and the Amazon itself. There, the cry of the earth and of the poor resounds as one, and the Church is called to listen and accompany in a prophetic manner the people, community organisations and indigenous peoples who inhabit these territories.

The document addresses crucial issues. It delves into the ethical and theological discernment of mining, contextualising the reception of Laudato Si’ and other recent documents of the Church’s social teaching in the Latin American context and highlighting the importance of an integral ecology that does not separate environmental justice from social justice. It identifies paths for pastoral accompaniment, strengthening community resilience and supporting the right of communities to say no. It also calls for a strengthening of the local Churches’ own commitment to ecological conversion. Finally, it warns of the dangers implicit in the Church’s adoption of a ‘mediator’ role vis-à-vis States and companies, which, in certain circumstances, can undermine its preferential option for the poor and the care of our common home.

Register for the launch webinar!

The online launch will take place on 17 July at 5 p.m. in Colombia and 7 p.m. in Brazil, with the participation of:

• Mons. Vicente Ferreira – Brazil
• Heriberta Fernández – lay activist for the defence of the rights of Afro-descendant peoples and territories against mining
• Alessandra Silvi– Dicastery for Integral Human Development
• Mons. Geovanni Paz – Ecuador
• Hunter Farrell – Presbyterian Church
• Moderator: CELAM

You can register at this link

You can download the document in three languages

ENG – PASTORAL GUIDELINES OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCHES

ESP – ORIENTACIONES PASTORALES DE LA IGLESIAS

ESP – VERSION POPULAR ORIENTACIONES PASTORALES

POR – ORIENTAÇÕES PASTORAIS DAS IGREJAS CATÓLICAS FRENTE À MINERAÇÃO