Taking time to become as informed as possible about concerns related to sustainability, especially those that affect our lifestyle, is a wise practice; many actions that initially appear to have a positive effect on the planet may cause harm and/or have harmful social implications.
For example, installing solar panels on your roof is great for the planet because solar is one of the cleanest sources of energy available. But we also know that many companies source the panel materials from countries or regions of the world that are considered conflict zones where unfair labor practices are common, and/or where the local communities are negatively impacted by the extraction of raw materials.
As a second example, electric vehicles (EVs) may seem like a great way to reduce our carbon footprint, but the extent to which that is true depends on where you live and how much of your electricity is sourced from fossil fuels. Many of the metals used to create EV batteries are sourced from regions where child labor is rampant, where there is deforestation due to mining, or where groundwater quality and quantity are depleted to a level that cannot sustain human or animal life.
Purchasing toothbrushes or utensils made from bamboo may sound like a more environmental-friendly option when compared to plastic, but they may be causing significant harm to critical habitats if the bamboo is not certified to have been grown and harvested in a sustainable manner (certified by the FSC or Forest Stewardship Council).
There are always trade-offs, but some are wiser than others; Information and awareness are important. As you consider sustainability in your life, ask the following questions:
What are the practices that shape my own formation around love and care of Earth? What do we need to form ourselves into people who have sincere concern for the environment, who are willing to take informed actions to conserve Earth’s environment, and who have the passion to spread a message in a way that is not confrontational and not righteous, but whose attitude and practices lean more toward invitations to address problems as equal members of a community. Not necessarily easy, risk and sacrifice are always possibilities.
Consider implementing these sustainable practices:
Purchase a bamboo toothbrush.
Purchase a native plant (maybe wait for the spring for this one).
Try a shampoo bar.
Select “no” each time you are asked whether you would like a receipt at the gas pump.
Identify the trees and plants growing in your yard using an app such as “Picture This.”
Remove the vines from one of your trees. (This really helped me realize what a negative impact invasive vines have on tree growth.)
Use laundry and/or dishwasher tablets.
Refrain from using straws with your drinks when dining out.
Purchase “pasture raised” or “free range” organic eggs that come in a cardboard carton.
Brain-storm with friends for other ideas and investigate their pros and cons.
With a friend or as a family/group, choose an idea to enact and be mutually supportive.
As the holidays approach, you may already be planning your family celebrations. Traditions look different from home to home, but one unifying factor seems to be a shared meal. Gathering around the table with your loved ones and breaking bread fosters an atmosphere of love and community.
This year, as we celebrate togetherness, we can also embrace the idea of sustainability in our holiday meals. A great place to start is with the source of your ingredients. You may consider shopping from local businesses or farmers’ markets over large-chain grocery stores. By doing this, not only are you supporting small local businesses, but you are also reducing the carbon footprint associated with transporting food long distances. If your meal typically includes meat, you may also consider purchasing from a local farm that practices humane and sustainable farming.
Another way to have a more sustainable holiday dinner is to reduce your food waste. Be creative about using leftovers and food scraps. In my own home, we use leftover turkey to make a turkey-noodle soup. By using up all of your leftovers, you are reducing waste and saving yourself money too.
These mindful choices can help us celebrate the holidays in a way that honors Christ, our loved ones and the planet, making our holiday celebrations even more meaningful. Happy holidays!
By Jason Giovannettone, Climate and Sustainability Director
One common sustainability concern that I hear (and often think about personally) is whether there are options for purchasing sustainable candy (in terms of both ingredients and packaging) or other packaged snacks to hand out to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Much of the packaging of candy and other snacks is not recyclable, which adds to plastic waste. Passing out unpackaged candy will likely result in it being thrown away immediately by caring parents, adding to food waste.
Why are most candy and snack wrappers and bags unrecyclable? Such packaging is often made of a mix of individually recyclable materials such as plastic, tin, aluminum, and others. The problem is that when you mix these together, they are extremely time-consuming and expensive to separate, and, as such, considered non-recyclable. Therefore, when tempted to recycle your empty chip bag with other recyclable bags, it should go in the trash; otherwise, it may contaminate the other bags and cause everything to end up in the landfill.
There are a few more sustainable options available when purchasing treats for Halloween. Look for candies packaged in cardboard boxes or wrapped in aluminum foil such as Junior Mints, Milk Duds and Nerds. Many types of chocolate are individually wrapped in foil. When ordering any type of candy online, try to verify whether it is shipped in a box or some type of plastic packaging. There are many options for foil-wrapped candy, especially Halloween chocolates, available online through the Natural Candy Store website. Some of the chocolates sold through the website (e.g., chocolates made by Thompson) are also listed as being Fair Trade Certified, which means that they were made in a way that supports the livelihoods of the producers, their communities and the surrounding environment.
If you much prefer treats that are packaged in difficult-to-recycle mixed packaging, some of the packaging can be recycled through Terracycle; you just need to print a free shipping label, collect the items in a box and mail them in. A full list of companies with packaging that can be recycled can be found here.
Green Tip
During the next few weeks, try substituting one candy or snack that you typically purchase with one that is either unpackaged or comes in packaging other than plastic. For an extra challenge, look for snacks that are Fair Trade Certified and/or come in cardboard or paper packaging that is FSC-certified (i.e., certified by the Forest Stewardship Council that the trees or other plants used to make the packaging were sustainably grown and harvested).
View last year’s grand prize winning video. (*Note: the contest themes have changed for 2025.)
The Mercy Justice Team needs you, a Mercy student, to create a short, social media style PSA (public service announcement) video – think Reels or TikTok – that reflects the Sisters of Mercy’s Critical Concerns. Put those creative ideas and video skills to work and you could win $500!
How do women impact the world for good?
How can individuals reduce their consumption to better care for the Earth?
What is a policy or campaign that could help people reduce their consumption?
Who are the heroines of the Mercy Critical Concerns?
To receive information, updates and reminders about this year’s contest, complete this form and we’ll be in touch. Click here to learn rules for entry and how to upload your video.
View the grand prize winning videos from 2023. (*Note: the contest themes have changed for 2025.)
Purpose
For this year’s contest we are seeking short, PSA style videos (30 to 90 seconds) that are suitable for sharing on social media platforms such as TikTok or Reels. Video entries must focus on one of these topics:
The Power of Women
Videos should reflect the charism of Mercy and highlight the gifts and contributions that women, either individually or collectively, bring to society.
Videos could promote the contributions of women, tell the story, past or present, of a woman or women engaged in Mercy or justice, or dream about the future for women in society.
Reducing Consumption
Videos should reflect the Mercy Critical Concerns, especially the Critical Concern for Earth, but do not need to identify the Critical Concerns specifically.
Videos should encourage actions toward reducing consumption either on the personal or societal level.
Videos could be inspirational or motivational, provide a ‘how-to’ process for reducing consumption or provide information about the consequences of conspicuous consumption.
Contest Webinar
Watch our 17 minute webinar to learn more about this year’s contest.
Who Can Enter
Any student or group of students, high school age or older, enrolled in Mercy high schools, colleges/universities, or involved in a Mercy-affiliated ministry.
Use this tip-sheet to help you as you begin the process of creating your video.
1. Title. Each video must have a title. The title must be indicated on the submission form. The title does not need to be included in the video itself.
2. Credits. Credits must include the name of those involved in the creation of the video. The credits must also include citations for any images, audio, or text used in the video that is not original. The credits do not need to be included in the video itself, but must be included in the submission form.
The Sisters of Mercy may delete title and credit screens before posting videos on social media.
Entrants are strongly encouraged to use original footage and graphics as much as possible.
Important Note on Rules: In order to honor copyright protections, rules regarding use of images and music were updated for the 2022 contest and remain in effect for 2025. See the complete rules for details.
Deadline
All entries must be received by April 1, 2025.
Prizes
A panel of judges will use these criteria to select the winning video. Individual winners will receive financial awards. The Grand Prize Winner receives $500.
Winning entries may be featured on the Sisters of Mercy Institute web site and social media channels. Winners and their winning institution will be formally announced.
Interested?
If you think you might be interested in entering this contest, fill out this form to receive contest information and updates.
Incarnation is the profound revelation of the sacredness of everything. Mercy is incarnational, a visceral response to the seeing, feeling or hearing of suffering, need or pain. Mercy love is relational, responding to those with broken hearts. This call has found a reply among those drawn to Mercy for 193 years now. We not only celebrate that this Mercy Day, but we also tune our hearts and consciousnesses to what that means given the realities of this time.
By Sister Joan Margret Schwager
Things I have done to care for the Earth:
I have created a compost bin for scraps and use the composted materials in my garden.
I grew a garden each year with vegetables that lessen my dependence on getting things from the store.
I have two water barrels; one to catch rainwater so that I have “natural” water for indoor plants and garden and the other gets filled with water from the dehumidifier and air conditioning.
I bake my own bread. I also make my own jam and jelly.
I cook from “scratch” whenever possible so I’m not buying “packaged” items.
I buy in bulk: beans, lentils etc. I also make my own black bean and lentil burgers.
I freeze produce from the garden for the winter.
I like to make use of rummage sales and garage sales instead of buying things that are new.
I use ceiling fans to lessen reliance on air conditioning and heating.
I also sew blankets from scraps, even old T-shirts.
Lastly, I remind our schools to not use Styrofoam.
I hope this list gives you ideas for how you can also care for the Earth.
Prior to the session, participants should read Deep Transformation from the Self-Study Guide, paying particular attention to the definition of transformation and to the cases of transformative action. Access the suggested opening prayer, or select another prayer.
Outline for Session 6
Welcome and Prayer
After a welcome and any initial business, lead the opening prayer. The suggested prayer has space for personal reflection. Invite participants to share their reflections with the group.
Discussion
Remind participants of where we are in the process. We have listened deeply to the impacts of extractivism on people, communities and Earth. We have examined extractivism through various theological lenses, through analysis of systems that help the extractive development model to thrive, and through intersections with other contemporary issues. We are now looking at how this process has transformed us and is leading us into action.
Share this excerpt from the Self-Study Guide to ground your group’s conversation:
Transformation is not focused on a “one-time event of clarity and action” but a tug to always dig deeper.
Invite participants into a few moments of silent reflection to consider these questions:
What learning or insight in the process so far most stays with you?
How is that calling you to shift your perceptions?
How does it feel to move toward deep transformation and action?
Invite participants to briefly share their insights.
Next, invite participants into a few minutes of silent reflection on the case studies. Pose these questions for their consideration:
Which example and category of action spoke to you most? Why?
How does it influence your thoughts on what an appropriate individual, communal and corporate response would be?
Invite participants to share, and then invite the group to consider any commonalities among the individual responses. Where does this conversation seem to be leading the group?
Moving Into Action
Now that you have completed this journey of Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting and Deep Transformation, the next steps are up to individual participants and the group. Individually or collectively, they can tap into their deeper understanding and sense of where they feel called and look for opportunities to take action in solidarity with people, communities and Earth.
Learning about, reflecting on and discussing extractivism was important. Deciding to take action, the next step on this journey, is equally important. Failure to take action, to make a change, leaves the process incomplete.
This guide does not prescribe specific actions for participants to take. Individually or as a group, participants must discern their own choices for action. We do provide the following resources and suggestions.
Invite participants to look at the frequently updated Action Page, which contains information on current issues that are global in scope , as well as calls to action at the national level in the United States. They might find these resources helpful as they discern their next steps.
Since extractivism has very local impacts, we suggest participants focus their efforts first on what is happening in their own community or nearby communities. Encourage them to seek out organizations acting in solidarity with communities and natural spaces threatened by extractive industries and subscribe to their mailing lists. Getting to know these organizations will help participants determine how their skills, time and knowledge can best be utilized.
If the group wants to take action together, set another meeting time to identify concrete action and start planning.
We would love to know how you choose to take action and to hear about the fruits of your actions. You may email us at justice@sistersofmercy.org.
Deep Transformation: Moving into a life in harmony with people, communities and Earth
In our reflections, we have listened to, read about and seen video accounts of the life experiences of people and an Earth that have been negatively affected by extractivism.
We have analyzed and interpreted what we saw and heard. We applied various theological lenses and different perspectives to help us make meaning of those horrendous accounts. We have explored some of the difficulties wrought by the lens of the traditional Western theologies that have so long supported domination, subjugation, oppression and devastation through economic, political, cultural, religious and social means.
Our exploration has animated us to respond to and center our response in the cries of those made poor and the cries of Earth. The devastation of extractivism is unquestionable, yet the issue is complex. We know we may be complicit in the extractive development model by consumption of the products made with extractive industry byproducts as well as through our investment in extractive companies.
Now we are called to respond in a way that continues to center the voices of the people, communities and Earth most impacted by extractivism that have transformed our understanding.
What do you see and understand differently now?
How do you ensure that you continue to move forward centered in the voices of people most impacted by extractives instead of in the stories of corporations, consumerism and those who have traditionally held power?
How do you engage with others who have participated in this process?
Can you imagine how we might use our individual, communal and corporate voices to awaken our world to what we have learned?
How am I called to respond to and with those who have been most impacted? That is the big question!
How the Theological Lenses Move Us to Transformation
Pope Francis’ Laudato Si’ lens challenges us: “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.” He calls for “new attitudes, new convictions — new ways of being together in this world.” We need to be against what is death-dealing, disastrous, destructive. We need to be protective and care for all creation.
#225 An integral ecology includes taking time to recover a serene harmony with creation, reflecting on our lifestyle and our ideals, and contemplating the Creator who lives among us and surrounds us, whose presence “must not be contrived but found, uncovered.”
#229 We must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and the world, and that being good and decent are worth it.
Ivone Gebara (Ecofeminism Lens) shares Pope Francis’ belief that humans are called to change:
“The invitation to love and to be mercy does not come from a reality that is external to us; rather, it is an urge that is present in our very humanity. Within our very being, there throbs in us an incredible attraction toward other beings, toward creation. We must allow our life experiences to be our first teacher.”
Daniel Castillo (Ecoliberation Lens) teaches that Christians are to respond to our planetary emergencies in a way that is grounded both in the preferential option for those made poor and Earth. Our response must reflect our belief in who God is and what God desires.
Engaging in Transformation
As you move forward in the third dimension of our theological reflection of extractivism, you may be tempted to act big, be bold and make a significant change. Practice keeping those decisions and those actions in perspective:
Who is leading your decision-making?
What do you need to prioritize in your decision-making regarding extractives?
This is not the END of the process but part of the circle. How can you continue to learn and be open to continued transformation?
What does it mean to acknowledge our individual and collective power and ensure that our actions, while courageous and compassionate, are not driven by that power but in solidarity with Black, Indigenous and people of color communities and Earth?
Transformation is not focused on a “one-time event of clarity and action” but a tug to always dig deeper. It is just as important to advocate for transformation at the systemic level as it is to commit to transformation at the personal level.
Case Studies of Transformative Action
We have collected some Case Studies, to show where communities have responded when their decisions and actions are centered in the experiences of the people, communities and Earth most impacted by extractives. These are not intended to serve as an exhaustive list, but the categories presented offer the structure to explore the paths that may be taken, depending on the situation. They are all different examples, but as you read, pay attention to the similarities and the common themes.
Read these stories with the same curiosity and engagement that you have used for all the stories and witness accounts throughout this process. Where else in the videos and articles in this process did you learn of transformative responses? What do they have in common?
After reflecting on these examples, spend some time in prayer and writing in your journal as you contemplate the following questions:
What other examples from your own experience and work fit with these examples?
What do you find yourself drawn to in these illustrative examples within each category? Does that surprise you? Would you have been drawn to the same example at the beginning of this process?
Final Reflection
It is impossible to move forward without taking time to review your notes and journal entries recorded throughout the process. Give yourself prayerful space and time to recall the reflection you have done and how you have learned and grown. The exercises described below may be helpful to you.
Reflection Time: As you have moved through this theological reflection process, what has stirred in you? Were you pulled to act in some way? If so, what level of action (personal or systemic) did you find yourself moving readily toward, and why did you move toward that level? What connections did you make on the systemic level?
Creative Expression of your journey: Return now to the voices you heard, the voices of those struggling with the effects of extractivism. Recall the voices of the Indigenous communities and of communities of color most impacted by extractivism. Recall the voices that rose from Earth, the rivers, the trees, and the creatures also impacted by extractivism. We invite you to:
Write a letter to Earth or to people or communities or to some living creature or plant most impacted by extractives What would you say? Where do you stand in relation to the voice you have chosen? What does this voice say to you about the impact of extractivism?
Create an artistic expression: written (poem, free verse), oral or graphic (painting, sculpture) that illustrates how you have come to understand the integral relationship between people, communities and Earth in a new or enhanced way through this process.
Moving Into Action
We have guided you on this journey of Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting and Deep Transformation. The next steps are up to you. We invite you to tap into your deeper understanding and sense of where you feel called and look for opportunities to take action in solidarity with people, communities and Earth.
Our frequently updated Action Page contains information on current issues that are global in scope, as well as calls to action at the national level in the United States. You might find theresources there helpful.
Since extractivism has very local impacts, we suggest that you focus your efforts on what is happening in your own community or nearby communities. Seek out organizations acting in solidarity with communities and natural spaces threatened by extractive industries. Get on their mailing lists and discern where your skills, time and knowledge can best be utilized.
We would love to know how you choose to take action, and to hear about the fruits of your actions. You may email us at justice@sistersofmercy.org.
Additional Resources to Go Deeper
Mercy Investment Services’ 2022 Accountability Report, which describes its commitment to reducing its holdings of shares in extractive industries and to investing in climate solutions. which describes its commitment to reducing its holdings of shares in extractive industries and to investing in climate solutions.
Robin Kimmerer’s presentation on Reciprocity (52 minutes). The author of Braiding Sweetgrass asks and begins to answer the questions: What does Earth ask of us? What is the relationship of story, science, justice and language?
Preparation for Session 5
Prior to the session, participants should read Deep Reflecting Part 3 from the Self-Study Guide. The following section, Contemplative Reflection, will be reviewed as a group during the session, so there is no need to read it beforehand..
Invite each participant to explore one of the issues that intersects with the impacts of extractivism: Earth (the environment), immigration, nonviolence, racism and women. Participants should be prepared to share their learnings with the group.
Access the interfaith prayer that concludes Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home.
Prepare to show the images of extractivism, which you will reflect on as a group and are available here (PowerPoint / pdf). Ideally, if your meeting is in person, you can share the images in a slide show. Other options include inviting participants to slowly scroll through the images on their own devices or printing the images and passing them around.
Outline for Session 5
Welcome and Prayer
After a welcome and any initial business, lead the group in opening prayer. Invite participants to share anything that came to them during this time of prayer.
Discussion
Remind people of where we are in the process: the third part of Deep Reflecting, where we will explore the intersections of the impacts of extractivism and other current issues in our world. We will use the issues that the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas have identified as their “Critical Concerns:” Earth, immigration, nonviolence, racism and women.
Invite participants to silently reflect and review their journals on their exploration of the intersection of the impacts of extractivism and these other issues.
Last session, each participant committed to focus on one of these issues. Name each issue in turn and invite the participant(s) who explored that issue to share their learnings.
Use these questions to stimulate sharing and discussion:
What new information did you learn from this document? Were there examples shared that you were not aware of?
How does this exploration of intersections help you frame your individual and communal, current and future, engagement with extractivism?
Explore together as many intersecting issues as time and interest allows, making sure to save time for the final section.
You will end this session reflecting on and discussing images related to the impacts of extractivism. Choose the number of images that time allows. After a short period of silence with each photo, invite brief sharing from anyone who wants to respond to the following questions:
What do I see in this photo? How does it make me feel?
What do I see differently now than I would have six months ago?
What questions does this image cause me to ask of myself? Or ask of my community or my organization? Where would I go to find answers or to learn more?
Preparation for Session 6
Prior to Session 6, participants should read Deep Transformation from the Self-Study Guide, paying particular attention to the definition of transformation and to the cases of transformative action. We will explore the Case Studies section as a group.
The following examples demonstrate the different ways people have addressed extractivism in their communities. Please give them prayerful reflection and consideration and identify common themes, gaps of possible responses, and those which resonate with you.
Villagers call the Condoraque River “burning waters” because the toxic waste coming from the mine upstream made the river untouchable. The once life-giving river in rural Puno, Peru, was devoid of life to the point that the Aymara Indigenous people of the village wondered how they would survive next to such a contaminated water source.
But after nearly seven years of working with the Human Rights and the Environment (DHUMA), a Maryknoll-supported nonprofit organization in Peru, the mine has finally launched a plan to restore the Condoraque to health.
Ubaldo Layme Gil, past president of Condoraque village, says residents persisted to have their voices heard. As first reported by Maryknoll magazine in 2010, about 50 Aymara families saw their water contaminated by tons of toxic tailings from a tungsten mine that opened near their community in the 1970s. The Indigenous people of Condoraque were not consulted before mining operations began, and when the original mining company left in the 1990s, it did not restore the damages it caused.
A second mining company later began operations in the area on the condition that it repair the environmental damage caused by the first mine. But the new company began mining without rehabilitating the area.
Realizing the new mining company was failing to fulfill its responsibilities to clear up the contamination, Condoraque community leaders invited DHUMA representatives to see what the toxic mine waste was doing to the people, their livestock and their property.
After other authorities ignored their plight, Simon Orihuela, a former community president, asked Maryknoll Sister Patricia Ryan, DHUMA’s president, and her team to “come and see” what the mine’s toxic waste was doing to the village and how the contaminated water was making their livestock sick and causing their alpacas to abort their calves.
“Once you go and see, you are totally convinced of the gravity of the situation,” says Sister Ryan, who as a Maryknoll missioner in Peru puts Catholic social teachings into action by advocating for social justice and care for the environment. “Since then, we have been working together with the community in monitoring the water and working on a penal case (to hold the mine responsible for the cleanup of the environmental contamination).”
Thanks to these efforts, mine officials have accepted their responsibility and launched a five-year plan to rehabilitate the environment of Condoraque. An integral part of this plan is the remediation of environmental liabilities, including dealing with more than 1. 2 million metric tons of toxic tailings and continuous acid drainage from the mineshaft, and the severe contamination of a natural lagoon between the mine and the river.
Although it still has an orange tint, the Condoraque River is slightly cleaner now because of channels dug to capture rainwater at the top of the mountains and transport it to the river in pipes to circumvent the toxic tailings below. Orihuela and Layme are still concerned that the water quality is not as healthy as it should be.
“It is going to take at least five years for the water to be restored to usable purposes,” Sister Ryan estimates and then adds, “There is still a lot of contamination.”
However, the beginning of remediation marks a victory for the village.
“We are very pleased by what we are seeing because the main objective of the people of Condoraque is that the environment be restored. as it had been before,” says Sister Patricia Ryan. “That their water is going to be drinkable … and that there would be birds and fish again and no more disease.”
2. ACCOMPANIMENT AND SOLIDARITY — PANAMA
Written by Extractives Theological Reflection Working Group
Sister Edia “Tita” Lopez has been accompanying the Ngäbe communities of Chiriquí Province, Panama since 2010. She worked in solidarity with the Ngäbe as they struggled unsuccessfully to resist the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam, and she continues to be present with them since they were evicted from their land. She expresses that her solidarity is rooted in the Gospel of Matthew 25: “As often as you do it for one of the least of these, you do it for me”; Pope Francis’ call to social friendship in Fratelli Tutti; and the Sisters of Mercy’s 2017 Chapter Recommitment, “Called to New Consciousness.”
Tita began and continues her solidarity with the people because they are the most impoverished, excluded and forgotten people in her country. She visited every 15 days, and now visits whenever they call on her to hear their stories and offer support.
She asks herself: How can I be in solidarity with them and do something to alleviate their pain and suffering? How can we change the reality of discrimination and racism that our Ngäbe brothers and sisters live with in the country? How can we act in solidarity for a just world?
Tita learned firsthand the impacts of the massive hydro project on the land and the communities of the Ngäbe. One of the Ngäbe communities, evicted from its land, continues to live as a resistance camp along a major highway. They face tremendous difficulties.
The Ngäbe communities had depended on the Tabasura river when it flowed generously through their lands, but the river is no longer freely flowing, and in certain seasons it dries up completely. Agriculture and fishing have declined. The GENISA company introduced tilapia, a non-native species of fish, and that has affected the river’s ecosystem. The Ngäbe suffer perpetual stomach problems and other ailments due to deteriorated water quality. Women of the Ngäbe communities must walk for hours to access clean water in order to cook, wash their clothes and do other household chores. Children and young people can no longer play in the river. The quality of life in the communities has been greatly diminished, and the environmental, social, and economic damage has increased exponentially. The communities suffer severe economic shortages, and their customs, traditions, livelihoods and whole way of life has been impacted.
Tita and others who have seen the devastating effects of the hydroelectric plant have joined with the Ngäbe communities in speaking with the authorities and trying to raise awareness of the plight of the Tabasara River. She documents the people’s experiences and contrasts these reports with those of the authorities to determine how their human rights are being violated.
3. ACCOMPANIMENT AND SOLIDARITY — THE PHILIPPINES
Missionary Sisters of St. Columban in the Philippines built on three decades of relationships with the Subanen people [a group Indigenous to the Zamboanga peninsula area, mainly living in the mountainous areas of Zamboanga del Sur and Misamis Occidental, Mindanao Island, Philippines] to support a successful campaign against mining in the community.
The sisters came to appreciate the Indigenous people’s traditional values centered in interconnectedness with Mother Nature. However, they lamented the encroachment of consumerism and practices such as fertilizers that damaged the land.
Sister Anne Carbon explains that the sisters’ long-term presence and understanding of traditional culture gained them the trust needed to counter pressure from local government and the Rio Tinto corporation seeking approval to mine in the area.
Over 15 years, while the government and the corporation tried to sway the local people with money and promises of benefits from the mines, the sisters educated them about their rights, supported petitions and letter-writing efforts, and even visited Rio Tinto’s offices in London. The key to the eventual success in convincing governmental officials to reject the mining proposal was carefully reviewing the corporation’s applications and identifying where similar promises to other communities were never fulfilled. The sisters and the people visited those communities and saw the diseases afflicting those living near mines and the pollution of water sources.
Sister Anne says that connecting with others seeking dignity for Indigenous peoples and protecting the environment is also critical. Sisters and priests working with Indigenous peoples in the Philippines, for instance, meet monthly to support one another in their ministries. And representatives from Indigenous groups from throughout the country meet at least once a year.
4. CREATIVE PROTESTS
Written by Marianne Comfort, Mercy Justice Team
In the summer of 2017, the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Corporation used eminent domain to seize land from the Adorers of the Blood of Christ in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to extend its Atlantic Sunrise natural gas pipeline.
The sisters felt strongly that this violated the land ethic they had adopted in 2005. They had committed to honoring the sacredness of all creation, kinship with all living beings, reverencing Earth as a sanctuary and treasuring land as a gift of beauty and sustenance. They also stated that they “seek collaborators to help implement land-use policies and practices that are in harmony with our bioregions and ecosystem.”
The Adorers joined the grassroots coalition Lancaster Against Pipelines and agreed to install a chapel on their property to draw people to prayer and reflection about just and holy uses of land. The sisters believed that the chapel gave a tangible witness to the sacredness of Earth. At the same time, they challenged the pipeline’s construction as a violation of their deeply held religious beliefs around stewardship of the environment.
The sisters lost a series of lawsuits.The pipeline was completed in 2018 and now carryies natural gas from the Marcellus Shale of northeastern Pennsylvania to the Mid-Atlantic and southeastern regions of the U.S. But their witness inspired many others.
5. ADVOCACY THROUGH SHAREHOLDER PRESSURE
By Pat Zerega, former Senior Shareholder Advocacy Director of Mercy Investment Services
After seeing mountaintop removal in West Virginia and the explosion of fracking wells in southwestern Pennsylvania while living in those areas, I thought I was prepared to experience mining in Central America. But my first visit to a gold mine in Peru in 2012 was eye-opening. The enormity of the project –– stripping miles of land and going deep into the Earth, making the giant trucks look like tinker toys –– took my breath away. During meetings with community groups, my heart broke as I heard from residents who lost relatives in the struggle and whose communities and livelihoods were forever changed. That first visit ignited my passion to address the human and environmental impacts of mining.
In 2014, after hearing from Sisters in Honduras, the Institute Justice Office contacted Mercy Investment Services to determine how shareholder engagement could effectively complement other ongoing advocacy efforts seeking to address the social and environmental impacts of Aura Minerals, a Canadian mining company operating a gold mine in Honduras. Because Mercy Investment Services did not own any shares, we intentionally purchased five hundred dollars in company stock strictly to influence their decisions through engagement. I connected with the Jesuit Committee on Investment Responsibility, which had been engaging Aura to develop a human rights policy, and they welcomed Mercy Investment Services’ participation. At an in-person meeting with the company, Mercy Investment Services and the Jesuit team shared what an exemplary human rights policy contains, emphasizing the inclusion of Free, Prior, Informed Consent (FPIC) and identifying and addressing the company’s salient human rights risks. In 2016, shareholders and Aura management discussed the company’s plan to move the Azacualpa cemetery, and shareholders implored the company to address the community’s concern.
Meeting with the company on behalf of the sisters and impacted communities is a privilege and a huge responsibility. We present the lived stories of affected people, having a unique entree at top levels of the corporation. I met with Aura’s past and current Chief Executive Officers, who listened intently to shareholders’ call for a new approach to human rights. As a first step, we requested that Aura create a company-wide policy to adopt and train all employees in FPIC.
After years of discussions and many leadership changes, the company agreed to this approach. In 2021, Aura’s board of directors approved a new Human Rights policy, which is available on the Aura website in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. It covers many of the original points requested, including reference to United Nations norms, FPIC, a call for a human rights analysis and implementation through its business partners. Shareholders shared this policy with local community contacts to engage the company on their concerns, including those around the cemetery.
Mercy Investment Services will continue to stay engaged with Aura to ensure that it implements the policy to address community concerns and with local groups to continue to bring their voices to the company. My work in shareholder engagement to combat human rights and environmental impacts at Aura and other extractive companies complements the Sisters of Mercy’s discussions and community actions, investment choices, legal actions, and, most importantly, personal consumption decisions as we collectively seek justice, equity and peace for impacted communities.
6. PERSISTENT MASS MOBILIZATION
Written by Marianne Comfort, Mercy Justice Team
Since 2008, the Sioux and other Indigenous peoples in Nebraska, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota have resisted the placement of the Keystone XL Pipeline through traditional homelands and treaty territories. They feared potential impacts on their fishing and hunting rights, water systems and cultural sites.
The pipeline, to be built by the TransCanada (TC Energy) corporation, was to carry oil from heavy tar sands in Alberta, Canada, down to the U.S. Gulf Coast. Native-led mass mobilization and court proceedings fueled a strong international response. They raised public awareness of the dangers of a fossil fuel economy and the call to enable kinship and the flourishing of the community of life.
Rallies, marches, and large waves of civil disobedience in Washington, D.C., drew environmentalists, students, people of faith and, in one particularly compelling demonstration, solidarity between ranchers and Indigenous communities from Nebraska. There was also strong opposition at public hearings in states along the proposed route of the transnational pipeline. Four years after Mercy sisters and coworkers joined the first large protest at the White House in 2011, President Obama announced that he was rejecting the pipeline proposal. The Trump Administration tried to move the pipeline forward again, but ongoing lawsuits in Nebraska delayed construction. President Biden canceled the permit on his first day in office. The pipeline sponsor, TC Energy, announced in June 2021 that it was giving up on the project.
7. CORPORATE VOICE AND SOLIDARITY
Written by Extractives Theological Reflection Working Group
Leading up to the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland, in 2021, the religious conference for women and men religious in Brazil reached out to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in the U.S. to explain their deep concern for the Amazon rainforest and its peoples.
Sister Carol Zinn, LCWR’s executive director, promptly wrote a letter to President Biden and the White House and State Department staff. It reads, in part: “We stand in solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of Brazil knowing there is no future for the Brazilian Amazon or planet Earth without protecting the rights to land, health, and culture of those who have cared for this precious ecosystem for millennia.” The letter asked that the Biden administration support Indigenous leaders’ call for protecting 80 percent of the Amazon rainforest by 2025 and called for the protection of the human rights of Indigenous leaders, who were criminalized for defending their land and way of life.
8. LISTENING SESSIONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS
Written by Marianne Comfort, Mercy Justice Team
Church leaders invited peoples of the Amazon rainforest to give input in advance of the Amazon Synod, a high-level Church meeting held at the Vatican in October 2019. The Synod was called to identify new pastoral approaches and ways of supporting communities threatened by extractivism, deforestation, climate change and human rights abuses.
Mercy Sister Denise Lyttle of Guyana attended one of many listening sessions hosted by dioceses, parishes and organizations throughout the nine-country territory.
“There, I learned that our Amazon needs to be cared for by all, not just by those who live in the Amazon,” Sister Denise wrote in a reflection soon after the experience. “As someone said, ‘the pain and groans of our people are the groans of our Mother Earth’ who is calling us to be more conscious and more responsible in caring for the ‘lung’ of our world, on which depends our life and that of future generations.”
Mercy sisters, associates, ministry colleagues and friends also participated in two discussions with representatives from REPAM, a Catholic Church network that promotes the rights and dignity of people living in the Amazon. These conversations, through the lens of Laudato Si’, touched on many issues and concerns, including land titles for Indigenous people for lands that they have occupied for generations, water pollution from both garbage in the city and gold mining in the interior regions, corruption, the need for a spirituality that meets the people, the impact of deforestation, and the benefits and challenges of finding oil in Guyana.
This and other input from throughout the Amazon was compiled into a preliminary report to serve as a basis for the meetings at the Vatican.
In an unusual move, delegations to the Synod included Indigenous leaders (men and women) amid the expected bishops and cardinals. Pope Francis’ affirmation of the Synod’s final document included quotes from poets of the Amazon and a deep sense of the interconnectedness of creation found in Indigenous spirituality.
As one outcome of the Synod, in June 2020, Catholic leaders created the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon to help implement the recommendations. The conference’s executive committee is composed of the heads of church bodies in Latin America and three Indigenous leaders.
9. IGLESIAS Y MINERIA – CHURCHES AND MINING DIVESTMENT CAMPAIGN
Written by Extractives Theological Reflection Working Group
In August 2019, Mercy Sister Anamaria Siufi of Argentina participated in the fourth general assembly of Iglesias y Mineria (Churches and Mining). This network of Christian communities, pastoral teams, religious congregations, theological reflection groups, bishops, pastors, and laity seeks to respond to the violations of rights caused by mining activities in Latin America. They also aim to strengthen popular movements and sectors, democratic values, gender equality, respect for multiculturalism, interculturalism and interreligious dialogue and ecumenism.
At the general assembly, the deaths of 272 people in a collapse of a dam used by the Vale mining corporation in Brumadinho, Brazil, weighed heavily on participants’ minds. Ana shared in a reflection afterward:. “The harrowing testimony of that diocese’s bishop along with other heartbroken people from that area moved us, and we shared their tears, which became a prayer and Eucharist,” she wrote.
One of the priorities that came out of that assembly was a campaign to promote divestment from mining companies in the Global North.
Fr. Dario Bossi of Iglesias y Mineria presented this campaign at a workshop co-hosted by the Mercy Justice Team at Ecumenical Advocacy Days in April 2021.
The campaign is designed to show the realities of extractivism in Latin America, dispute the positive image that corporations try to portray of their contributions to local communities, and build alliances. Organizers want organizations to understand that they may be investing in corporations damaging the environment and communities. And they want to propose alternatives for more socially and environmentally responsible investments and forms of development that are sustainable and focus on the autonomy of local communities. This includes supporting local or regional economies and financial systems, such as cooperatives.
