Catholic Church and Mining

In partnership with the Catholic Peacebuilding Network at the University of Notre Dame, this project seeks to provide a space for Catholic organisations and ecclesial bodies to come together to exchange experiences of responding to the challenges that arise from extractive industries. How are faith communities and organizations agents of reconciliation in territories affected by mining? What strategies do they develop to protect the rights of local communities and prevent ecosystem degradation? Which theological and organizational resources does the Catholic Church offer to address the social and environmental justice issues which accompany natural resource extraction worldwide? What can different regional responses learn from each other?

In academic year 2024-25, the project focuses on convening a series of continent-based online consultative workshops with grassroots organisations, church leaders and international advocacy groups to share experiences and insights on how Catholic organisations are responding to mining and its intensification in the nations, territories and local communities they accompany. The outcome of these consultations will be a Guidance Document on Catholic Approaches to Mining, to be published in English, Spanish and French in 2025. 

An Annotated Bibliography on ‘The Catholic Social Tradition and Mining’ is available in English here. 

The photo depicts a rubber trees reforestation project on gold mining sites in Madre de Dios, Peru, by the Centro de Innovación Científica Amazonica. The rubber can be sold for medical-grade latex. Photo credit: Caesar Montevecchio