Social Justice Tag: Earth

Preparation for Session 3

Participants will be expected to read Deep Reflecting Part 1 in the Self-Study Guide found here.

For Mercy Groups: If your group is made up of participants affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy, they should read, reflect and journal on the Mercy theological lens material. They should also watch the video “Social Analysis and the Mercy Lens,” with Sister Terri Bednarz and engage with at least one other lens.

If your group is not affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy, they should read, reflect and journal on at least one of the theological lenses. You are also invited to offer them another reading or video that connects to your group’s charism, scriptures or teachings.

Choose one of the two options for opening prayer. There is a short prayer in the text of the Self-Study Guide for Session 3. There is also a longer prayer resource available here.

If you wish to extend the session, choose one of the additional resources listed at the end of the guide for this session to explore as a group.

Outline for Session 3

Welcome and Prayer

After a welcome and any initial business, lead the group in the opening prayer you have selected. Invite participants to share anything that came to them during this time of prayer.

Discussion

Discuss the reading material for Session 3. Give special attention to this excerpt from the reading, which will help to set the tone for this session:

We are compelled to reflect deeply on what we have heard from those people and communities who have been most impacted by the violent intrusions of extractivism. We have heard the call to decenter ourselves. Now we turn to engage with the theological perspectives rising from the lands in which extractivism is inflicting incredible wounds. Theological lenses help us to see differently. They aim to decenter us so we might listen more deeply to voices that may be unfamiliar to our way of seeing and understanding.

Invite participants to quietly reflect for a couple of minutes on one of the lenses they read about on their own. If your group decided to focus on one of the lenses together, whether it is the Mercy lens, a reading or video chosen to resonate with your group, we suggest you start with that one.

Then pose the following questions and invite each participant to share: 

• Which element or description from this theological lens stays with you?
• In what way does this lens call us to respond to extractivism?
• Is there a concept or insight that challenges you?

After everyone has shared and you finish any group discussion, invite participants into another couple of minutes of silent reflection on what they have just heard from each other and on a second theological lens they chose from the self-study.

Then offer these questions for this round of sharing:

• Which element or description from this theological lens stays with you?
• What, if any, is the biggest difference between framing things with this lens and the lens with which you have been most comfortable?
• In what way does this lens call you to respond to extractivism?
• Is there a concept or insight that challenges you?
• How does this lens call you to consider a systemic response to extractivism beyond your individual response?
• What exploitative and oppressive systems were identified as you reflected on the lens?

Ask participants to summarize what they have heard in this session and what seems to be emerging at this point in your participation in this process.

Preparation for Session 4

Ask participants to read, reflect and journal on the Deep Reflecting Part 2 Self-Study found here. This includes two video interviews with Mercy Associate Nelly del Cid of Honduras and the identification of systems that have made the extractive development model thrive.

The Self-Study Guide also names systems that have helped the extractive development model thrive. They are economic, political, environmental, media/public information and social. Each system, or perspective, is followed by a series of questions to foster deep reflection and analysis.

Rather than expect each participant to explore all these perspectives, ask each participant to select one system they would like to engage with on their own and then share with the group next time. They can explore that perspective generally, through an example of extractivism from this process or from an example of extractivism in or near the community where they live or once lived.

Make sure that all the perspectives are covered by the group; it is fine if there is more than one participant assigned to a perspective.

Additional resources to go deeper:

Mercy Associate Virginia Fifield reflects on extractivism through a Native lens.
Mercy Sister Mary Pendergast shares her experience of extractivism in Alberta, Canada, in a 13-minute video..

Pope Francis’ address to representatives of the mining industry and those harmed by extractivism.
More suggestions of videos and readings   

Continue to Session 4

Preparation for Session 4

Prior to the session, participants should read Deep Reflecting Part 2 from the Self-Study Guide, found here. This includes two video interviews with Mercy Associate Nelly del Cid of Honduras and the identification of systems that have made the extractive development model thrive.

Rather than expect each participant to explore all these perspectives, ask each participant to select one system they would like to engage with on their own and then share with the group next time. They can explore that perspective generally, through an example of extractivism from this process or from an example of extractivism in or near the community where they live or once lived.

Make sure all the perspectives are covered by the group; it is fine if there is more than one participant assigned to a perspective. 

Prepare to show the video of Pope Francis from the self-study as an opening prayer. Or select another prayer that will ground your group in the reality of extractivism.

If you wish to extend the session, choose one of the additional resources listed at the end of the guide for this session.

Outline for Session 4

Welcome and Prayer

After a welcome and any initial business, the group in the opening prayer you have selected. Invite participants to share anything that came to them during this time of prayer.

Discussion

Remind people of where you are in the process: the second part of Deep Reflecting, in which we will use social analysis to understand how systems help the extractive development model to thrive. Read aloud this section from the preparatory materials and then lead the group into this discussion:

As we engage in social analysis, we will learn about the various impacts of the extractive development model (social, communal, political, economic, etc.). At this stage of the process, after we deeply listened to the harms of extractivism, we continue to be cautious about any tendency to problem-solve or to make decisions about what should or could be done. The focus here requires us to ask, Why? rather than, What can we do?

Invite participants to reflect silently or review their journaling on the videos they watched of Mercy Associate Nelly del Cid of Honduras.

Then pose these questions for discussion:

• What did you learn from these interviews? 
• Knowing the theological lenses we have explored and discussed, did you watch this differently?
• What questions did these videos raise for you about where power and decision-making occur?
• Where would you turn to learn more about the situations described?

In their self-study, participants reviewed systems – economic, political, environmental, media/public information, social – that have helped the extractive development model thrive.

Last session, each participant committed to focusing on one of these systems. Name each system in turn and invite the participant(s) who explored that system to share their learnings. Then review that system’s questions, available in the Self-Study Guide. Explore together as many systems as time and interest allows.

Preparation for Session 5

Prior to Session 5, participants should read Deep Reflecting Part 3 from the Self-Study Guide until the section titled Contemplative Reflection, which will be reviewed as a group during the session.

Invite each participant to commit to exploring one of the issues that intersect with the impacts of extractivism. Those issues are Earth (the environment), immigration, nonviolence, racism and women. Participants should be prepared to share their learnings with the rest of the group.

Additional resources to go deeper:

Sister Terri Bednarz reflects on extractivism in her backyard  
The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth  
Mercy Justice Team member Jean Stokan talks about conquest, neocolonialism and women activists in the struggle against extractivism in Honduras in this 12-minute video.

Continue to Session 5

Prayer

Watch this video of Pope Francis and reflect on his words.

Social Analysis of the Extractivism Development Model

As we engage in a social analysis of the extractive development model, we will learn about the various impacts of the extractive development model (social, communal, political, economic, etc.).

At this stage of the process, after we have deeply listened to the harms of extractivism, we continue to be cautious about any tendency to problem-solve or to make decisions about what should or could be done. The focus here requires us to ask, Why? rather than, What can we do?

Our analysis comes from a place of harmony and right relationship with the community of life. We remind ourselves that, as shared through the theological lenses, we, as humans, are within the dynamics of the planet. We are in a reciprocal, non-dominant relationship with the community of Earth. We can no longer take the view of subjugating Earth; rather, we are called to be responsible stewards.

When we engage in social analysis, we work to answer the question, What is really going on in this situation? We continue to ask and answer  questions to understand and analyze the situation. Authors Joe Holland and Peter Henriot define social analysis as “the effort to obtain a more complete picture of a social situation by exploring its historical and structural relationships.”

For an example of this type of analysis, view a two-part interview with Mercy Associate Nelly del Cid about the situation in Honduras. You may view part 1 here and part 2 here.   After watching the videos, you can reflect or journal on the following questions:

• What did you learn from these interviews? 
• Knowing the theological lenses we have explored and discussed, di you watch these interviews differently? 
• What questions did these videos raise for you about where power resides and decision-making occurs? 
• Where would you turn to learn more about the situations described centered in the experience of people, communities and Earth?

We do not need to be experts in extractivism or extractive industries, but we must be confident and informed to ask the right questions to uncover the systems that have made the extractive development model thrive. Recommended questions for reflection and journaling are framed below, and the answers to these questions should be developed in the experiences heard through our deep listening and seen through the various theological lenses that have been shared. You might also consider these questions in relation to extractivism in or near a community where you live or once lived.

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Perspectives for Analysis

When we engage in social analysis, we review a situation through the following perspectives. You may find this Glossary of Terms helpful as you move through the systems and questions.

ECONOMIC

Production, distribution and consumption, and patterns of ownership and decision-making about land, capital, technology, resources and labor

• Who owns?
• Who controls?
• Who benefits?
• At whose expense does the economy benefit?
• Do Black, Indigenous peoples, and Communities of Color benefit and have equitable access to economic resources?
• What role does a global economy play in economic decision-making?
• Where do we see a recentering that focuses on human relationships and all of creation rather than on profits?
• How are the labor and needs of Black, Indigenous peoples and Communities of Color centered in the predominant economic model at play?

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POLITICAL

Structure and health of a country’s political system

• Who has the power?
• Who is making decisions? For whom?
• Who has access to governmental decision making?
• Who is prioritized in political decision making and policy setting?
• Who is accountable?
• What role does corruption play?
• How do outside political structures influence decisions?
• What role does judicial power play?
• How are the judicial system, police and military being used against human rights and land defenders? (Are human rights and land defenders criminalized for their protection efforts?)
• Are popular and social movements’ demands heard?
• How is the current issue, policy or program shifting power dynamics to better integrate voices and priorities of communities of color?
• Are there legal barriers to racial equity at play?

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ENVIRONMENTAL

Health of land, water, air and living species

• How do decisions impact the land, vital ecosystems and species in the short term?
• How have decisions contributed to the climate emergency?
• Who has access to clean resources?
• Who determines access to water?
• What priority does the health of the environment have in decision-making?
• How are just relationships among all beings being prioritized?
• How are Indigenous peoples’ social, cultural and ancestral rights to land honored?
• Are corporate polluters and extractives industries held accountable for destruction and payment for remediation?
• Do Indigenous peoples have control over ancestral territories?
• What is the environmental impact for communities of color?

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MEDIA/PUBLIC INFORMATION

The flow of information to people

• Who controls the messaging within the community and to the wider public?
• Who owns the media or other information channels?
• Who benefits from media messaging?
• How is messaging manipulated?

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SOCIAL

How people relate to one another: ethnicity, race, class, age, gender

• Who is damaged?  What do they lose?
• Who is visible and valued to the decision makers?  Who is not? 
• What is the basis for inclusion?
• What is the basis for exclusion?
• What systems have reinforced the decisions of inclusion and exclusion?
• How do decisions reinforce white supremacy and colonialism?
• How are we meaningfully including or excluding people (communities of color) who are affected? What policies, processes and social relationships contribute to the exclusion of communities most affected by inequities?
• Are Black, Indigenous and leaders of color integral to social system and planning?

Additional resources to go deeper

Sister Terri Bednarz reflects on extractivism in her backyard 
The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth 
Mercy Justice Team member Jean Stokan talks about conquest, neocolonialism and women activists in the struggle against extractivism in Honduras in this 12-minute video 

Continue to Session 5

Prayer

Slowly read the interfaith prayer that concludes Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home. Reflect on how this prayer connects with your learnings about extractivism.

Exploring Interconnections

Identifying connections between the impacts of extractivism and other current issues helps us go even deeper in our reflection and analysis. The Sisters of Mercy of the Americas have named five “Critical Concerns” that guide our work: Earth, immigration, nonviolence, racism and women. We invite everyone participating in this process to explore the interconnections of these issues and the harms of extractivism. If you would like to learn more about the Mercy Critical Concerns, click here.

Mercy Associate Nelly del Cid names many of these intersections in this nine-minute video. This six-minute interview with Mercy Justice Team member Jean Stokan explores these interconnections more explicitly.  After each video, spend time in quiet reflection and consider the following questions:

• What did you learn from examples shared?
• Given your knowledge  of the theological lenses we have explored and discussed, how did you view these videos differently?
• Where did you see the intersection with Mercy’s Critical Concerns in the videos?
• What questions did these videos raise about where power and decision-making occur?
• Where would you turn to learn more about situations centered in the experience of people, communities and Earth?

Spend time reading and reflecting on  this document, which provides explanations and examples of where the impact of extractivism connects with other issues. After reading this information, spend some time in reflection on the following questions:

• 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?

Contemplative Reflection

Now we invite you into contemplative reflection around images (PowerPoint / pdf) at the intersection of the Mercy Critical Concerns and extractivism. After a short period of silence with each photo, reflect on and journal your responses 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? Ask of Mercy? Where would I go to find answers or to learn more?

Additional Resources to Go Deeper:

Pax Christi International promotes nonviolent responses to extractivism conflicts
Report examines “fossil fuel racism”

Women lead resistance to extractivism

Continue to Session 6

Call to Prayer

Let us recall the presence of the Spirit of the Living God. The God who breathed across the waters and created all that we have ever known and loved.

May we hold in our awareness these “unprecedented times” and the effect extractivism and the climate crisis have on the poorest among us.

How is it that Earth, herself the undisputed jewel of the universe, became so diminished in the span of a few generations?

What do we do now that we know? 

An additional prayer resource is available here.

Engaging Theology

We are compelled to reflect deeply on what we have heard from those people and communities most impacted by the violent intrusions of extractivism. We have heard the call to decenter ourselves. Now we turn to engage with the theological perspectives rising from the lands in which extractivism is inflicting incredible wounds. These theologies push back against the oppressive anthropocentric and androcentric theologies that have come from the Global North. Theological lenses serve to help us to see differently. They aim to decenter us so that we might listen more deeply to voices that may be unfamiliar to us as we are engaged in our own way of seeing and understanding. And so, we invite you to explore using the Sisters of Mercy lens, an eco-feminist lens, an ecological liberation lens, and the lens of Pope Francis’ integral ecology. These theological lenses will guide us in responding to the cries of those who have been made poor and to the cries of Earth.

• Sisters of Mercy lens
• Gebara’s Eco-feminist lens
• Castillo’s Ecological Liberation lens
• Pope Francis’ Integral Ecology lens

We offer some reflection questions after each of the descriptions of these lenses. Following these descriptions, we offer some further questions for reflection and additional resources.

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Mercy Lens – A View Toward Harmony and Right Relationship in Our Suffering World

Background: The Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas embraces the tradition of Catherine McAuley. We have been shaped by her vision and by her Gospel commitment to walk with those who are suffering in poverty. Following in her footsteps, we vow to be of service to persons who are made poor, persons who are sick and persons who are uneducated. We have continued to deepen our Mercy tradition in these contemporary times. In the course of our last three Institute Chapters (governance gatherings), we intensified our desire to live in solidarity with our suffering world and with all of God’s creation. We continually seek to transform ourselves toward greater integrity of word and deed.

“The God of Mercy, Wisdom and Mystery is calling us, as Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, an international and intercultural community, to deepen our relationship with God and one another, and to intensify our work in communion with others who seek a more just and inclusive world.”

Chapter 2017 Recommitment: Called to New Consciousness

Through an expressed commitment to our Critical Concerns, we give special attention to five interrelated areas of need in our suffering world – Earth, Immigration, Nonviolence, Racism and Women. We understand our commitment to these critical concerns must be considered within a broader context and in relation to each other.

Call to a New Consciousness

During the 2017 Institute Chapter, we deepened our commitment to listen to the cries of people, Earth, and communities most deeply impacted by extractive industries and to respond with “integrity and clear intention” to their demand for justice and the flourishing of life for all.

As Mercy, we are called to consider more profoundly our responsibilities to Mother Earth. We seek to live in harmony and interrelatedness with Earth, and to support the right of the Earth and her inter-related communities to fulfill their important roles in the ever-renewing processes of life (Berry 1999). As Mercy, we are called to listen to the communities of color and indigenous communities, which continue to be disproportionately and violently impacted by extractive industries.  Working to become an anti-racist congregation and to address our climate emergency, requires a recentering on the stories and experiences that drive our decision-making.  We are called to explore what it means today for Mercy to stand in solidarity with communities harmed by extractive industries. With a listening heart, we strive to hear what these communities say to us about the actions that are needed to heal Earth. We seek to understand how we, as individuals and as community, are complicit in the climate crisis that is unfolding in our time.

“Called in this moment to act,” we are compelled to respond to the impact of extractive industries on people, communities, and Earth. By committing ourselves to a decentered way of listening, seeing, and making decisions, we engage in decolonized analyses of our own structures and practices. We seek right relationship and harmony with the community of life, in which we strive to embrace a reciprocal, cooperative, and non-dominant stewardship with all of God’s creation.

“We hear the call of our suffering world. The impoverishment of peoples, the devastation of Earth and oppressive social norms and systems call us at this moment to act…To intensify our efforts to align our investments with our values and especially now, to pursue education and action against practices of extractive industries that are destroying people communities and Earth.”

Chapter 2017 Recommitment Statement

Key Points in Using a Mercy Lens:

• We serve the suffering of our world with a special commitment to our Critical Concerns.
• We work toward transformation of greater integrity in word and deed.
• We listen to the cries of communities demanding justice from where they stand and in their own experience.
• We seek right relationship and harmony with Earth’s community of life through reciprocal, cooperative and non-dominant relationships.
• We listen to the stories and experiences of others from a decentralized and decolonized place.
• We caution against the imbalance and destructive forces perpetrated by the dominance of the powerful, privileged, white, patriarchal, and capitalistic/imperialistic perspective.

Sister Terri Bednarz explains how to use this lens in social analysis in this six-minute video.

Reflection Questions:

1. What stays with you from this description of the Mercy lens?
2. Is there a concept or element in the description that you need clarified? If so, what?
3. What is the key word that speaks most to you about using a Mercy lens to analyze extractivism?

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An Ecofeminist Theological Lens – God is Relatedness, God is Everywhere Present

The ecofeminist perspective of Ivone Gebara provides us a lens with which to examine the values and assumptions at work and in tension with anthropocentric theologies. This perspective challenges the patriarchal notion that humans are mandated by God to subdue and dominate Earth. She explains that language about God not only forms our theologies about God, but also shapes our behavior toward Earth and her vulnerable communities. When metaphors become literalized, the mystery of God is replaced by absolutism and rigidity of beliefs. Gebara proposes a metaphoric way of knowing God that expands beyond images. God is “relatedness.” Relatedness means that experience is a value and a way of knowing the mystery of God. Relatedness expresses presence, but “not something that can be reduced to some form of being.” Through this theological lens, Gebara adds, God can be “encountered in a variety of expressions.”

God is not out of touch in some transcendent realm and relating to us from afar with occasional and limited incarnational incursions (the traditional view of sacraments). Using Sallie McFague’s metaphor of the universe as God’s body, Gebara unites the immanence and transcendence of God. “Everyone and everything become potentially a sacrament of God.” The metaphors of God as relatedness and the universe as God’s body compel us to see Earth, creation, and ourselves differently in relation to one another. God is in all and all is in God. We cannot locate God. We cannot say God is here and not there. God is not a pure essence existing in itself, rather God is better symbolized as relatedness or relationship. When we speak of God, it is by means of relationships and relating. When we speak of God, it is out of our personal experience.

Gebara raises another theological point, that we are compelled to experience God as presence. The language of God’s presence and God’s absence is dualistic. How is God absent? To say that God is absent from creation, or stands outside of creation, places God in some ethereal space. These dualistic and hierarchical beliefs are patriarchal notions of God. They have led to all kinds of theologizing such as why this “remote” God does or does not answer the pleas of the poor or care about the suffering of “lowly creation.”

Gebara urges us to move beyond dualistic anthropocentric theologies that elevate human suffering above the suffering of other creatures and creation itself. She notes that many of us have been so embedded in anthropocentric values that eco-feminist views may strike us as strange, even pantheistic. But again, we cannot locate God here or there. When we pray as if God is out there, we locate God in some place outside of ourselves. In a sense, we objectify God. When we have not felt the integrated, interconnected, and interdependence of all things, it is harder for us to imagine God except in our own image and likeness.

The Bible is full of non-anthropocentric images of God, yet we have latched onto the human image because our worldview is embedded with patriarchal ways of seeing. The idea of a divinity, Gebara explains, that pervades all beings, times, and places has been dismissed by patriarchal voices as primitive and mythical. In order to subdue and dominate creation, patriarchal views hold to the notion that we must be better than and have a higher status than creation. But Gebara objects, we can no longer speak of God existing before creation as if there was some linear ordering of God first, then creation. There is no gap between the atemporality of God and the temporality of creation. God does not exist as a being separate from creation—God is always and everywhere present. By separating God radically from creation, we uphold God as an untouchable “moral reserve” that permits humans to leave an evil domain or evil actions. In effect, with God’s help, we can remove ourselves from what we have destroyed and leave it behind, or with a modern apocalyptic notion, we can believe it will all be replaced with a new and improved Earth.

Why does Gebara’s eco-feminist lens matter? Why shift our way of perceiving God? Gebara says we will not solve the problems of human anguish and suffering with the traditional dualistic discourses that separate God’s presence from creation. We need a unitary and a very realistic perspective. We seek to understand and alleviate the suffering of Earth, of animals, of humans, not believing that one suffering is superior or inferior to the other. Relatedness is not a discourse about the “being” of God, but about what we perceive of the mysterious body of the universe to which we belong. This way of seeing challenges traditional discourses about God and reclaims metaphors for God from rigid literalist and dogmatic niches. We can expand our images of God, share experiences of God and move away from images of God that are no longer meaningful.

Gebara explains that 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 within our very humanity. Within our very being throbs an incredible attraction toward other beings, toward creation. We must allow our life experiences to be our first teacher.

Reflection Questions:

1. How did your family and your childhood experiences shape your perspective of God? In what ways did your perspective of God shape your interactions with creation and creatures?
2. In what ways has the community shaped your relationship to God and Earth? What did you find yourself letting go of? What inspired your change? How have your values shifted?
3. What about Gebara’s theological lens challenged you?  What about Gebara’s theological lens inspired you or affirmed your own experience of God?
4. How is Gebara’s eco-feminist lens relevant to your discussion on extractivism?
5. Which eco-feminist values create tension within you as you have listened deeply to experiences of trauma? What has emerged in you?

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An Ecological Theology of Liberation – The Preferential Option for the Poor and the Problem of Plunder

Theologian Daniel Castillo engages us through the influential lens of Gustavo Gutierrez’ theology of liberation but further develops it with an ecological lens.  He also challenges, as does Gebara, the oppressive anthropocentric and androcentric theologies of the global north but sets these theologies within their Anthropocene context.

For Castillo and other liberationists, responding to the evils of extractivism requires us to rethink our cosmological perspective. The idyllic view that we are part of the grand scheme of God’s creative process stands in stark contrast to the evolutionary perspective in which humans are evolving as complex creatures through triumphalist behaviors.

Castillo argues that we may indeed experience a greater sense of connectedness with creation when we see everything as composed of stardust, but this grand unified feeling does not help us deal with harsher realities. How do we respond to genocides, to climate change, and to viruses as these too are part of creation and composed of stardust? The universe story is not just some beautiful history of cosmology; it consists of the process of evolution that can be brutal as life evolves from simple to complex. The emergence of higher forms of life details a triumphalist account of history in which victors emerge, and it is their history that is celebrated. The cries of the Earth and of those who have been made poor have been and continue to be buried in triumphalist accounts. The historical reality of evolution is far starker and much messier than our idyllic view of cosmology lends itself to. Castillo urges a politico-ecological approach that seeks to illuminate the abuse of power within the world. 

He begins with the anthropocentric biases inherited from medieval-era Christianity. Castillo points to a common Christian belief that God instructed humans to exploit nature for their use (a common misinterpretation of Genesis 1:26-27). Medieval theologies also desacralized the natural world with calls for Christians to separate themselves from worldly things and focus on otherworldly pursuits. The secular was made out to be dirty and ungodly. Humans were viewed as redeemable with souls that could be saved and elevated, while the natural world lacked a soul and existed only to serve humans (dismissing the idea that creation gives glory to God by its being). According to Castillo, this desacralizing process has both sanctioned and catalyzed the exploitation and domination of nature, which in turn, led to our current ecological crisis. With these anthropocentric views, we fail to see that humans are responsible before God for our actions. We must act with an understanding of who God is and what God desires. We are called to reevaluate old theologies and soteriologies that linger in us to assess whether we have seen what God really desires. Castillo points to understanding God’s self-disclosure in our Christian tradition (the Bible, doctrine, and other sources of tradition), but he also affirms nature as a source of God’s revelation (as elucidated by Pope Francis in Laudato Si). According to Castillo, Jesus embodies the desires of God when he offers good news to the poor and gives hope to the captives and adjures his followers to take care of the least ones (Matt 25:35-40) (897). The Beatitudes speak of God’s desire to bless the vulnerable (Matt 5:3-12 // Luke 6:20-25). Jesus proclaims God’s good news to the poor (Matt 11:5 // Luke 4:16, 7:22).

In the 1950s and 1960s, the influence of liberation theology took hold in Latin America. Its core tenet is the belief that the “preferential option for the poor” compelled communities to respond to the injustices oppressing and killing those who are poor and other marginalized peoples. Castillo explains that two divergent understandings of liberation theology and its emphasis on the “preferential option for the poor” began to emerge. On one hand, liberation theology urged a call to radical transformation on the part of God’s people that required participation in the struggle against psychological, political, cultural, and economic forces (908). On the other hand, supporting the causes for those who are poor and marginalized did not necessarily require a conversion of life. One could remain in a position of apathy but also remain in a place of non-involvement regarding structural transformation (908). Castillo argues that in its heart, liberation theology requires a community of believers to practice works of charity and mercy, but also and importantly, to confront and transform the socioeconomic, political, and cultural forces that produce injustices, material poverty and oppression (919). If the love of God and the desire of God is to be lived through a commitment to a preferential option for those who are poor, it demands conversion, which necessitates a reorientation of our lives and communities toward the service of transforming the world (919). How can conversion happen unless we are awakened and grow more deeply aware of our own participation in the oppression and injustices that affect the poor? We are called to see how our own ideologies contribute to these injustices. We are called to a new consciousness.

Castillo explains how colonialism and the ideology of plunder shaped relations between the two global hemispheres. In short, the North has plundered the global south for more than 500 years, driven by the Doctrine of Discovery and the Papal Bulls. He adds that this plunder was perpetuated by the ideology of plunder that incorporated racism, misogyny, and cultural superiority. And it was sanctioned in varying ways by Christian theology. In the aftermath of World War II, colonialism as we knew it began to collapse, but a new form of colonialism was on the rise, and it was being powered by the mythos of progress (938). While Castillo does not mention it, the rise of the Prosperity Gospel and its close theologies influenced the undercurrent of U.S. cultural values that to this day continue to plunder the global south. As the global south welcomed the decline of old colonialism, Castillo writes that President Harry Truman (1945-1953) urged an era of developmentalism. He advocated effectively for improving underdeveloped regions by bringing scientific advances and industrial development to them. In effect, he ushered in a neo-colonial era before the global south could construct and institute new paradigms for themselves (949). Their short-lived welcome of liberation from old colonialism reverted into a new kind of colonialism in which the global north used developmentalism and modernization to mask the plundering of the resources of the South (in labor, in land, in minerals and other resources).

It was within this new era of neo-colonialism and in response to the violence and devastation that characterized it that Gustavo Gutiérrez, a Peruvian philosopher and theologian, first produced and put forth the ideas of liberation theology (1971). Essentially, he called forth a radical shift toward liberation and urged a break from the developmentalism. Castillo reminds us how Gutiérrez revealed the misleading and dangerous undercurrents legitimized and obfuscated by the rhetoric of development and modernization (981). He helped raise critical questions. What was really happening in the name of development and modernization, and how are these concepts of progress preventing real transformations?  And furthermore, who is really benefiting from these concepts instituted by the global north? Gutiérrez’s call for liberation from sociopolitical and cultural structures of development requires an imminent conversion, not some delay into the distant future (981).

There are three essential points expressed in Gutiérrez’s liberationist lens.

First is his concept of salvation. He explains that salvation is not exclusively an afterlife otherworldly reality, but it is experienced in history and in communion with God. Salvation is not only liberation from sin, but also the experience of grace. Salvation occurs through experiences of communion and solidarity with the vulnerable and marginalized.

Secondly, Gutiérrez emphasizes what he means by “neighbor.” The neighbor includes most especially the poor and oppressed, because as he explains, the love of God is expressed through a profound love of “the least.”

Thirdly, Gutierrez emphasizes that solidarity with the poor requires a commitment to transform the structures and forces that produce poverty, oppression, and death. Cultural and structural sin, most especially in the guise of development, must be confronted with a radical break (993).

Castillo develops Gutierrez’s theology of liberation with an ecological lens by linking the cries of the poor to the cries of the Earth. The mythos of progress persists because it lures one by the idea of a better way of life, but in reality, only a few will benefit. For example, when multi-national companies seize land and water rights to develop labor-intensive projects (e.g., hydroelectric plants), they often bring in outside laborers and contractors. Once the projects are finished, people are left jobless and landless with their whole way of life upended. Castillo cites Pope Francis in saying that we cannot separate the human world from the natural world, because everything is connected. (no. 16, Laudato Si). An integral approach to ecology is needed. Transformation needs to occur on a cultural/psychological level and on socio-structural level.

As Pope Francis says, we need a vision of “right” ordering so that what is best for the common good is attended to. It will require a personal and societal embrace of limitation, restraint, and humility (Laudato Si). In order to respond to the cries of Earth and the poor, paradigm shifts on many levels are needed. Politics, economics, social, cultural, and religious formations all need to shift away from structures of exploitation. We are called to a praxis of care oriented toward God’s desires. Specifically, we are urged to perceive creation as a “thou” as opposed to an “it.” How we view creation informs our praxis. If we approach nature without a sense of awe and wonder, our attitude will be that of masters, consumers, and ruthless exploiters. We will be unable to set limits on our immediate needs. If we feel intimately united with all that exists, solidarity and care will well up (no. 11, Laudato Si). God desires for us to care, protect, preserve, and oversee, and to live in communion with God, neighbor and Earth. If we live with care for Earth, we will find ourselves standing in solidarity with God’s preferential option for the poor.

Reflection Questions:

1. What different ways of seeing emerged in you? How did Castillo challenge your own perspective of creation? In what ways were your own perspectives of creation affirmed?
2. Let’s broaden our questions… How would Jesus urge us to address the problem of extractivism, especially as it devastates the care of Earth and the poor? What about Catherine’s advice—what would she say?

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The Lens of Integral Ecology – Interconnectedness of all Life and Earth as Our Sustainer and Caretaker

For the full document with several language options, click here… Pope Francis’ Encyclical, Laudato Sí’.

On May 24, 2015, Pope Francis shared with the world an encyclical letter, Laudato Sí’. In the tradition of Catholic Social Teaching, he discussed various human causes of environmental deterioration and he called the world to act in unity for the care and health of Earth.

Pope Francis begins by praising the beauty of Earth, our common home, and naming Earth as our sustainer and our caretaker. Earth produces flowers, food and other goods that benefit the creatures of Earth. Our very bodies are made up of Earth. We are interdependent with Earth. But Earth, Francis states, is sick. Water, air, and soil have been poisoned. And Earth, like those who have been made poor, has been abandoned and maltreated and her ecosystems are failing. Pope Francis himself states that he was not the first pope to address ecological concerns. In 1971, Pope Paul VI expressed in his encyclical Pacem in Terris a serious concern for the global escalation of industries and the exponential increase in destructive human activity. Scientific advances, technology and unbridled economic growth were among his deepest ecological concerns. Pope Paul stated that exploitation of nature would lead to tragic consequences. John Paul II in Redemptor Hominis raised concerns about destructive production and unrestrained consumption and called for conversion of lifestyle, a shift away from consumerism and a move toward a moral global ecology. Pope Francis points to other groups who share serious ecological concerns including scientists, theologians, and environmental organizations, as well as from Catholic and other Christian communities. The voices of alarm are increasing and uniting to make themselves heard.

In Laudato Sí, Pope Francis turned to the words of Bartholomew I, the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church. In June 2003, Bartholomew called each person to repent for their role in harming Earth. Humans have destroyed the biological diversity of God’s creation, degrading Earth’s ecosystems, stripping out natural forests, destroying the wetlands, contaminating waters, air, and land. Bartholomew urged repentance, noting that our sins against the natural world are sins committed against God and ourselves.  But he goes further in calling for a change in how humanity treats Earth. We must address the ethical and spiritual roots of the problem. Technological solutions are not sufficient. Bartholomew calls us “to replace consumption with sacrifice, greed with generosity, wastefulness with sharing, a moving away from what I want to what God’s world needs.” He urges an ascetism that compels “learning to give, and not simply to give up.” Christians are called “to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale.” (LS 0.8-9).

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis reminds us of the saint’s concern for God’s creation, for the poor and the outcast. He lived simply and in harmony with God, with others, with nature. Pope Francis explains a new concept for many of us referred to as “integral ecology.” What is “integral ecology”? The understanding that everything is interconnected and interdependent. All ecological systems are interrelated. Humans must play a critical role in redressing the damage caused to God’s creation. Each person is the answer to solving the crisis, no matter how small their efforts, whether one applies their talents to addressing a particular damage to Earth or reshapes their lifestyle to reduce or eliminate damage to Earth. We must all cooperate for the care of creation. Pope Francis notes two key elements needed for change to happen: motivation and the process of education. (LS 1.10-15)

What is striking about the acceleration of changes underway, is not the element of change itself. Change is ever present in complex systems, but human activity has accelerated the speed of change far beyond the “naturally slow pace of biological evolution.” Pope Francis addresses key areas of accelerated change: pollution, waste, and throwaway culture; the depletion of healthy water and water in general; the loss of biodiversity; the effect of pollution and privatization on human communities; the social and economic inequities; congestion and poverty of urban communities; and inequality. The deterioration of the environment and of society affects the most vulnerable, those made poorest among us. Pope Francis urges a global response that hears “both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” The affluent live far removed from the cries of those who are poor. (LS 1.18, 48)

The global north has plundered the resources of the global south resulting in severe environmental and societal destruction. Francis cites examples like the use of mercury in gold mining. Rivers and other water sources have been polluted by mercury poisoning. The global north exacts more than plunder in taking the resources. It also deposits poisonous waste in the global south. Dangerous waste includes electronic parts from computers and smart phones. Francis adds, the global north does not want such poisonous waste in its own lands, so it deposits it in the lands where those who are poor cannot object. Food waste is another issue of concern. A third of all food produced, Francis notes, is discarded and never reaches the table of the hungry. Extreme and selective consumerism generates this waste. As resources dwindle or become depleted, wars break out. Although some progress has been made such as the cleaning of rivers and the restoration of forests, these renewal projects, in and of themselves, will not solve the global ecological problem. We are captivated by the myth of progress. We believe that a better future lies ahead of us through technological advances, but these advances themselves contribute to a culture of waste. In the name of progress and development, the destruction of our common home continues at a rapid pace. (LS 1.50-1.58)

An Integral Ecology

Pope Francis calls for a vision that considers the interrelatedness of all things. In short, working toward a sustainable solution to the global crisis requires an integrated approach.

Environmental, Economic and Social Ecology

Francis emphasizes that the physical, chemical, and biological aspects of Earth are interconnected. He urges us to question “certain models of development, production and consumption” that deteriorate and diminish this interrelatedness (4.138).

An integral ecology requires a shift in our perceptions. Are we unique and special in God’s creation and so the only creature beloved by God? Some important observations by Pope Francis in Laudato Sí include:

Scientific data shows that “much of our genetic code is shared by many living things.” Francis writes that “nothing stands in isolation, not time, space, atoms, subatomic particles. Nature is not something separate from us nor it is the mere setting in which we live.” The environment is the relationship that exists between nature and that which lives in it. Essentially, Francis believes that there is a deeply embedded interconnectedness and interrelationship with all of creation. To his point, “there are not two separate crises, an environmental one and a social one. One crisis is interwoven with the other crisis. Combating poverty and protecting nature are interrelated.

(LS 4.138-139)

Pope Francis urges the need for more ongoing research and education to help us understand Earth’s ecosystems and how these ecosystems regenerate and interrelate. The critical questions include how to foster economic growth that protects the environment. He insists that development cannot come at the expense of the environment. Effective legislation is needed to protect forests. Social institutions are needed to regulate human activity and relationships (LS 4.142). Without effective legislations and the development of social institutions, serious degradation will continue. The environment, ecosystems and human communities will continue to deteriorate through acts of injustice and corruption. Violence, the loss of freedom, and the destruction of lives will escalate (LS 4.140-4.142).

Cultural Ecology

The destruction of communities in the name of progress has devastating effects on the historic, artistic, and cultural inheritance of a place. The original identity is lost when cities and places are rebuilt. Local cultures must be incorporated into studies of the environment so that dialogues can occur between “scientific-technical language and the language of the people.” “Culture is more than what we have inherited from the past; it is also, and above all, a living, dynamic and participatory present reality.” Culture evolves from its past, and lives in the present. Local cultures have developed their own processes, which need to be respected and heard. Today’s globalized economy, Francis points out, tends to have a “levelling effect on cultures, diminishing the immense variety of heritages.” Resolving problems from the outside is not the adequate answer. Local cultures need to develop new processes through their own culture to preserve their heritage. The disappearance of culture is as serious as the extinction of a species. Francis urges respect and care for indigenous communities and their cultural traditions. Many indigenous are being pressured to abandon their lands so that “progress” can be made. What follows are agricultural and extraction projects that disregard and decimate nature and culture (LS 4.143-4.146).

Ecology of Daily Life

Pope Francis addresses concerns for the quality of daily life. The environment that people inhabit, especially the poor who live in densely populated urban settings, can be “chaotic, saturated with noise and ugliness” and lead to overstimulation and the feeling of asphyxiation. The people living in extreme poverty in such areas often lack harmonious open spaces, or beautiful safe spaces. In addition, social anonymity creates uprootedness, which leads to antisocial behavior and a rise in crime. Pope Francis urges a number of ways to enhance the environment in which persons who are poor live. Consideration in the design of buildings and planning of public spaces are examples of the ways and programs of mutual assistance. (LS 3.147-150)

Principle of the Common Good

For Pope Francis, the vision of an “integral ecology is inseparable from the notion of the common good.” He defines the common good as the principled respect of the human being, and of their basic and inalienable rights. The welfare of society depends on the well-being of its members and on their ability to live in peace, in security and with stability. Key to the development of the common good are the principles of subsidiarity (e.g., processes which that focus on organizing, decision-making and authority at the community level) and distributive justice (i.e., concerns that ensure a socially just allocation of resources). The pursuit of the common good requires a particular solidarity and a “preferential option of the poor,” who are the most vulnerable in society. Where more and more people are denied their human rights, where more and more people are perceived of as expendable, we are called to stand in solidarity with them. (LS 3.156-158).

Justice Between the Generations

Pope Francis also urges that a commitment to the common good must extend to future generations. The environmental and economic crises of the world are having detrimental effects on our common destiny. We are obligated to leave future generations with a just, and sustainable world. We cannot leave them an uninhabitable, debris-filled, desolate, and filthy planet. Rampant individualism, instant self-gratification, impulsive and wasteful consumption are just a few of the factors leading to the deterioration of a viable world for future generations. Francis makes an urgent appeal for intragenerational solidarity to address these issues (LS 3.159-162).

Moving Forward with an Integral Approach

Through Laudato Sí’, Pope Francis has urged us to take a deep look at our interconnectedness with the cries of those who are poor and the cries of Earth. Our lifestyles, our institutions, and our corporate and political decision-making processes continue to profoundly impact the lives of those who are economically poor and vulnerable women and their communities and cultures. We find ourselves called in an urgent response to a catastrophe already under way.

Our consumeristic consumptions, our support of multinational corporations, and our institutional structures are, in effect, creating a new kind of colonialism—a neo-colonialism that subjugates and exploits Earth and people for the benefit of the privileged. At the root of this neo-colonialism is the practice of extractivism. The purchase of products accrued through extractivism plays into this neo-colonialism. Extraction industries rely on processes like fracking and strip-mining. These industries insert themselves into communities, poisoning their land, water, and air destroying ecological and cultural diversity. These industries depict beautiful images of happy families, educated children and healthy communities on their webpages, but in reality, they promote violence against women and their families and open wide the door to human trafficking. They bring into these communities the horrific abuse of human rights, the suppression of culture and the escalation of labor conflicts. Communities become divided, disfigured, and displaced.

Everything is interconnected and interrelated. One eco-system effects another and brings the repercussion of our decisions back upon ourselves.

Reflection Questions:

1. How do we commit to the principle of the common good that protects, serves, respects Earth and all of creation?
2. How do we shape our lifestyles and corporate decision-making in ways that replenish the health of Earth and move us into meaningful solidarity with the persons and communities, who are most vulnerable?
3. How do we respond to the most damaging activity of our time, extractivism?
4.  In what ways can we develop corporate decision-making processes that help us respond with urgency to cries of Earth and the poor?

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For Further Reflection:

Use the following questions for additional reflection. You are encouraged to write your reflections, insights and emerging questions in your journal. 

• Which voices are prioritized in the lenses that you chose to use?  
• Whose voices are missing, and why might that be? 
• What sustains an extractivist model of development? 
• In what ways do the lens(es) you chose challenge complicity in extractive industries? 
• How do we see ourselves contributing to and shaping a viable future for the whole Earth community? 

Additional Resources to Go Deeper:

Mercy Associate Virginia Fifield reflects on extractivism through a Native lens 
Mercy Sister Mary Pendergast shares her experience of extractivism in Alberta, Canada, in a 13-minute video

Pope Francis’ address to representatives of the mining industry and those harmed by extractivism

Continue to Session 4

Preparation for Session 2

Prior to the session, all participants should read Deep Listening from the Self-Study Guide found here. In addition to the reading material, a focus of this session is the video In Defence of Life (33 mins). If participants were not instructed to watch the video prior to Session 2, arrangements should be made to watch it together during the session.

Choose one of the two options for opening prayer. There is a short prayer in the text of the Self- Study Guide for Session 2. There is also a longer prayer resource available here.

If you wish to extend the session, choose one of the additional resources listed at the end of this session’s Self-Study Guide to explore as a group.

Outline for Session 2

Welcome and Prayer

After a welcome and any initial business, lead the opening prayer you have selected.

Discussion

Discuss the reading material for Session 2. Give special attention to this excerpt from the reading:

As we listen deeply to the stories of trauma, we must engage our whole body in the process of knowing. Knowing is different from empirical knowledge; it is an “inner knowing.” When we move into the place of inner knowing, we engage our hearts, and we hear those who have experienced and continue to experience exploitation and violence. We hear the cries of Earth and those who have been made poor.

Engage the group in discussion around these questions:

• What are your thoughts about the concept of “Deep Listening”?
• What experience do you have with deep listening?

Video

If you chose to watch the video In Defence of Life together, do so now. Then use these questions for discussion.

After listening deeply to these voices:

• What is emerging from our hearts?
• What values are creating tension within us?
• What is clear in us, and what remains unresolved?
• What impacted you the most as you watched and listened to the voices in the video?
• How is extractivism challenging your complicity?
• Who benefits and who is harmed by extractive industries?
• Does this system support or destroy life?

Stories of Exploitation

With consideration for time, offer space for any participant in the group to share his/her story of direct experience with extractivism. Lay ground rules in advance to create a safe space for sharing. The goal is simply for others to listen. It is not an expectation that all or even any group member will have something to share, but this is a chance to hear participants’ own experiences. Any follow-up questions should be for clarification only.

After everyone has had a chance to share a direct experience, invite participants to close the session by sharing a brief sentence on one new understanding or insight gained from deeply listening to these stories. As they do so, ask participants to give responses that:

• Are centered in the experience of people, communities and Earth
• Avoid generalizations
• Focus on the specifics of what was heard
• Are not moving to answers but sitting in the discomfort and the understanding of the suffering

Preparation for Session 3

Participants will be expected to read Deep Reflecting Part 1 in the Self-Study Guide, found here.

For Mercy Groups: If your group is made up of participants affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy, they should read, reflect and journal on the Mercy theological lens material. They should also watch the video “Social Analysis and the Mercy Lens,” with Sr. Terri Bednarz and engage with at least one other lens.

If your group is not affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy, they should read, reflect and journal on at least one of the theological lenses. You are also invited to offer them another reading or video that connects to your group’s charism, scriptures or teachings.

Additional resources to go deeper:

Extractivism: Burden over Benefits Demands a Just Response, an article from the Sisters of Mercy 

Extractivism: 500 Years of Devastation, an interactive timeline 

A Just Response, a guide to reacting to extractivism 

Continue to Session 3

Preparation for Session 1

Prior to Session 1, participants should read:

• Definitions of Extractivism
• Session 1 of the Self-Study Guide

Participants should be prepared to journal, as they will be asked to reflect and record their thoughts during the sessions.

Choose one of the two options for opening prayer. There is a short prayer in the text of the Self Study Guide for Session 1. There is also a longer prayer resource available here.

Several slides are available for this session, if you choose to use them. They cover the definition of extractivism (two slides), the Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting, Deep Transformation process (three slides) and Contemplative Dialogue (one slide).

The content in Definitions of Extractivism will be relevant for all the sessions in this process. It is that participants have a good understanding of this material. There may be times during future sessions when it is helpful to revisit these resources.

Outline for Session 1

Welcome, Introductions and Prayer

Welcome participants and introduce the theological reflection process. If this is the first gathering of this group, consider spending time doing introductions. Then, lead the opening prayer you have selected.

Defining Extractivism

Read aloud the definition of extractivism, or ask a volunteer to do so. (Two of the optional slides can be used here.)

Extractivism is a destructive and exploitative model of development

that extracts natural resources on a massive scale,

disrupts or destroys biodiversity,

impacts global ecosystems, and

devastates the health and well-being of local communities,

while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few

Read each of the phrases in the definition again, asking the group to pay attention to the adjectives and circle them in their minds.

Invite participants to pause and then journal on the following questions:

• What feelings stir within you?
• What questions surface for you?

Read each phrase in the definition again, asking the group to pay attention to the verbs and circle them in their minds.

Again, iInvite participants to pause and then journal on the following questions:

• What feelings stir within you?
• What questions surface for you?

After sufficient time has been offered for journaling, invite everyone to share one feeling, thought, insight or question from their reflection.

Defining the Process

Introduce the process of Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting, Deep Transformation using the overview from the Self-Study Guide, the optional slides or this summary:

We will “see” what extractivism is and how it impacts people, communities, and Earth. The word “see” here connotes “deep listening, a seeking to understand.” Here we will decenter ourselves and listen carefully and attentively to the stories and experiences of those most impacted by extractivism. After deep reflection, we “judge,” that is, analyze what our response needs to be. Finally, we will determine how we might be transformed by what we have heard and learned. We discern how we might act in response to extractivism.

Preparation for Session 2

Prior to Session 2, all participants should read Deep Listening from the Self Study Guide found here. In addition to the reading material, a focus of this session is the video “In Defence of Life” (33 mins). You should either instruct participants to watch the video prior to Session 2 or make arrangements to watch it together during the session.

Continue to Session 2

As our journey into Deep Listening, Deep Reflecting and Deep Transformation is never fully completed, we need to pause occasionally to look for opportunities to take action in solidarity with people, communities and Earth.

We hope that you find the resources below helpful in discerning ways to address extractivism.

Additionally, since extractivism has very local impacts, we suggest focusing your efforts on what is happening in your local community. Seek out organizations working with communities 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.

TAKE ACTION!

Urge Congress to pass the FOREST Act, which would bar imports into the U.S. of goods sourced through illegal deforestation, a form of extractivism that is threatening vital ecosystems around the world.

Endorse the Fossil Fuel Nonproliferation Treaty to move the world away from oil, gas and coal.

Learn More

Current Extractivism Issues

Webinar recording: “Awakening to a New Consciousness on Extractivism.” Sisters in Panama, the Philippines and the United States and an associate in Guyana talk about their struggles against the harms of mining, oil and gas drilling and other forms of extraction of natural resources in their communities.

Faith groups oppose permitting reform bill

Sisters of Mercy denounce murder of Honduran environmental activist

Vision of a post-extractivism world

Increased mining for minerals deemed critical to the energy transition

Deep sea mining

Advocacy for updating the 1872 Mining Law for the 21^st century

Faith principles for sourcing minerals for the energy transition

Responses from Communities Threatened by Extractivism

Honduran water protector murdered

Apache people strive to protect sacred land from copper mining

A Call from the Amazon to Build an Agreement for Life

Manaus Declaration for Human Rights in the Climate Emergency

Declaration on Mining and Alternatives in the Amazon Region. The Amazon: The complexities and challenges of its protection.

Educational Programming

Interfaith Power and Light recording of a one-hour webinar on mining, faith and the future of green technology for the energy transition

Prayer and Reflection Resources

Colorado River – I Am Red — 3 minute reflection from the perspective of the Colorado River

Ecospirituality, a 3 minute meditation

Rosary of Creation — Joyful Mysteries

Rosary of Creation — Sorrowful Mysteries

Rosary of Creation — Mystery of the Fullness of the Universe

Inter-religious Working Group on Extractive Industries

This coalition responds to extractivism with education, advocacy on federal policy in the United States, and solidarity with impacted communities. This backgrounder on extractivism explains why people of faith are called to engage this issue and suggests avenues for action.

Local Justice News & Upcoming Events

Invitations from Christians for Ceasefire

Accompaniment Delegations to Palestine. With Sabeel, we are going to keep the wave of accompaniment delegations going to Palestine, especially with the recent activity in the West Bank. Please consider joining or sharing this invite with trusted people. If you can’t go, please consider making a donation to support other delegates going. There is another trip Jan. 18–27 (contact Carol: cgarwood62@gmail.com).

Call to Prayer

We place ourselves in God’s Divine presence, deep within and all around us. We take a breath and breathe in the air that is essential for life and breathe out the dangers of polluted air. We place our feet firmly on the ground and hear the cry of Earth beneath our feet, her moans and aches from the cracks and holes that have been created below the surface and her cries of grief from the species that have been taken. We look around to those who are here with us and center ourselves in the cries of those whose voices may be muffled by the power and greed of our world. May our ears be opened to the cries, may our eyes be opened to the damage and may our hearts and minds be open to change. Amen.

An additional prayer resource is available here.

Exploring Extractivism

In answering the challenges of our times, we begin by listening deeply to the experiences of those traumatized and most impacted by extractivism and to our own experiences. We reflect and learn from these experiences by placing ourselves in a new light. The process of conversion begins when we experience the unexpected in ourselves and in the vulnerability of the other.

These inner and outward encounters unsettle our own habitual ways of thinking and acting. We begin “to see what we have made invisible.” In effect, when we become “seared by an experience,” we are compelled to change and to address systemic change. We realize that the small steps of our own conversion keep us personally engaged in larger collective decisions that are needed in a world where supply and demand shape the forces that entrap people who are most vulnerable.

Among the vulnerable are the rural Indigenous peoples struggling against corporate pollution of their waters, land and air; the economically impoverished urban people struggling to acquire daily food; and the refugees fleeing desperate situations often entrapped in border places. It cannot go unnoticed that most of these communities are Black, indigenous and other persons of color. Our Earth is among the most vulnerable, suffocating with explosive human consumption and multi-national greed.

This exploration of extractivism calls us to seek a more intense union with God through contemplative dialogue and through a cyclic process of conversion. In this kairos time, God asks us together to engage our prophetic voice. As we enter into this study, we seek to learn more about extractivism and the systems that maintain it, about its effects, and move toward a conversion that leads to common action. Through our prophetic collective action, we will challenge ourselves: How do we choose to stand together as a whole on the critical issue of extractivism?

Extractivism is a destructive and exploitative model of development that extracts natural resources on a massive scale, disrupts or destroys biodiversity, impacts global ecosystems, and devastates the health and well-being of local communities, while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few. 

This process takes an integral approach, engaging us in three ways:

1. Deep listening in which we hear personal and communal experiences that bring the effects of extractivism to life;
2. Deep reflection on these experiences and on the root causes and effects of extractivism that is grounded in our theology and our social analysis; and
3. Deep transformation as we discern how to act at this moment in time.

We will rely on intercultural and interdisciplinary lenses that shift power out of dominant Western worldviews and theologies. We will look to engage the whole body: mind, heart, flesh, hands and feet, understanding that knowledge is not located exclusively in the head, nor solely in facts and figures and scientific data. We are summoned to listen to the stories our whole body reveals to us. Even so, we cannot dismiss empirical data, as this information shows us what our bodies do not: the invisible poison in the crystal-clear river as it works its way down the mountain, the unseen toxins in the air that does not obscure our view of healthy trees, or the hidden contaminants in a deliciously crunchy apple.

We begin by listening deeply to experience, our lived reality and the lived reality from the perspective of peoples, communities and Earth impacted by extractive industries. Deep listening is listening with the heart. We move ourselves deeper by reflecting on these experiences. Deep reflection is letting go of preconceived ideas and norms so we are open to others’ ways of interpreting reality, which compels us to deepen our understanding of the root causes and real effects of extractivism. We will use the lens of eco-feminist theology of liberation rather than the dominant theological lens of the global North. This lens moves us out of the boundaries and dominations of Western analytical processes to include the wisdom, experiences and mediums – such as art, poetry, story and song – meaningful to those who live on the margins of society. The lens of an eco-feminist theology of liberation has risen from within the global south in its struggle against the interventions of the global north, and it will compel us to see differently.

By listening and reflecting deeply, we identify the ways we are called to respond. We engage God’s desires for a deeper communion between ourselves and God, a deeper communion with our neighbors, especially persons made poor by extractive industries, and a deeper communion with Earth and all of creation. Through this process, we are then called into Deep Transformation, a change personally, communally and corporately, to be in solidarity with and responsive to the needs of the vulnerable and marginalized.

This threefold process requires deep listening, deep reflection and deep transformation, and it compels us on both a personal and communal level to respond to God’s call for a new consciousness. It is not a linear progression, but a circular movement, going deeper by listening and reflecting, and coming back to our experience, and going yet deeper again as the cycle progresses through our conversation together and we come into a place of transformation.

Resistance to Change and the Power of Habits

Resistance to change, the power of habits and our support of exploitative systems are among the greatest hurdles we face as we seek to transform ourselves, our communities and our world. To effect real change, we need to understand and engage in change and transformation within ourselves while we seek systemic change and transformation in the world. We cannot challenge extractivism while in the same breath we support it through our daily habits and in our collective decisions. Fear and the complexity of the issue can paralyze our responses unless we follow the lead of those most impacted and their creative responses already underway to address the problems of extractivism. In short, there is hope and a way forward.

As Sisters of Mercy, we developed this material to renew our commitment to our Critical Concerns: Earth, immigration, nonviolence, racism and women. We invite you to join us in challenging ourselves on a daily basis to reflect on our habitual ways of thinking and acting, and at times, choosing to disrupt old habits and form new beneficial ones for the common good. We invite you to engage in this personal transformation when you pray, make choices about what you buy and how you live your daily lives and where you decide to collectively invest; when you educate yourselves and others in addressing these intersecting concerns; when you advocate with legislators and leaders; and when you invest resources to effect systemic change.

Deepening Our Commitment to Conversion

Two major environmental crises of our times unfolded in 2019-2020. In 2019, the burning of the Amazon rainforest, rightly called the lungs of the planet, accelerated. Driven by economic interest, land was and continues to be cleared for cattle ranching and for mineral extraction. The first highway built deep into the Amazon has paved the way for massive destruction of old- growth forests and substantial intrusions into the lands of indigenous peoples. The horrors perpetrated on the indigenous communities led to Pope Francis’ call for the Amazon Synod (October 6-27, 2019). Catholic bishops gathered to listen to the cries of the people who lived and worked in the Amazon. The Catholic Church found itself called to new paths of conversion.

Beginning in March 2020, we faced the unprecedented crisis of a global pandemic. The world was shuttered by a new coronavirus (COVID-19). Daily habits were disrupted, and we were compelled to learn new behaviors. While we were forced to stay home, Earth experienced a mild but measurable healing from our lack of activity. Reduced gas emissions worldwide resulted in cleaner air, bringing back views of our world once obscured in haze. But the behaviors we engaged in then did not all become new Earth-friendly habits once COVID subsided. And so, the warming of the planet continues on its trajectory.

The density of human population and its need for food and energy will intensify as the destruction of the natural world increases. Humans and their communities will persist in overstepping boundaries and encroaching on the habitats of wildlife. As a result, we will see not only the destruction of natural lands and forests as we have seen in the Amazon, but also a continual threat and a rise in frequency of more deadly viruses that originate when humans and domesticated animals “encounter” wildlife. Viruses such as MERS and SARS, and probably now the infamous COVID-19, have been linked to human encounters with bats. COVID-19 in its earliest phase threatened black and indigenous communities with alarming rates of infections and deaths. Viruses probably will alter our world even more in the years to come as climate change and human activity continue to disrupt ecosystems.

A third crisis, while not a new reality, challenges us. The Black Lives Matter movement has challenged longstanding systemic racism in the United States, and particularly racism perpetrated on Black communities. Racial violence fueled first by the historic brutality of slavery was followed by Jim Crow laws and lynching mobs that enforced systemic racism and racial segregation. The Black Lives Matter movement made visible the persistent forms of systemic racism still existing today, especially the inherent racism in our judicial and police systems. Environmental racism and racism embedded in financial structures and the extractive development model is seen when affordable housing and schools serving Black communities are located in old chemical- and waste-dumping grounds.  In an area dubbed Cancer Alley in Louisiana, industries along the Mississippi River continue to decimate the health of Black communities. Underlying health conditions and lack of access to affordable healthcare surface are yet another effect of systemic racism. Black people died from COVID in disproportionate numbers. Thousands joined the Black Lives Matter movement to challenge these forms of structural, systemic and environmental racism.

As we struggle with the destruction of the Amazon and with the ongoing impact of COVID, and as we join in the challenge to address personal and systemic racism, we also face the unmitigated forces of extractive industries. Unrestrained extractivism takes many forms, and it affects the whole network of ecosystems, including our own. Extracting minerals and energy or extracting human labor, or extracting members of the community of life all severely disrupt and even eliminate ecosystems. They result in the poisoning of water, land and air and the displacement of whole communities. .

The most vulnerable especially Earth, laborers and the displaced are deemed expendable, with the greatest damage done to those already marginalized by race, ethnicity and money. Minerals and energy are not replenishable. There is no cycle of life, no planting and replanting as with the food cycle. There is only taking of Earth’s limited resources. With extractivism, ecosystems will continue to be radically changed, even destroyed, speeding up the climate emergency and its effects.

As we struggle to cope with the true cost of these challenges, we must engage in hard conversations and decisions and the reframing of our understanding. It is difficult to change values and habits and sustain new ones when we go it alone and are listening predominantly to the loudest voice and extractive industries who continue to make the business case for extractives. It is important to share in the process by which we challenge and change, but to do so in a way that inspires us. Such inspiration will keep us committed and engaged, while fear and anxiety will serve only to paralyze us.

We are in a new kairos moment. We are called to wake up or risk losing something indefinitely. This space of hope compels us forward so that we do not get stuck in a place of fear and anxiety. We begin by exploring the underlying values and inspirations that have already compelled us to change our habitual way of thinking and acting. We ask ourselves: What ways have we already changed and deepened our consciousness in favor of Earth’s health? In what ways have our current actions led to deeper changes?

Called to a New Consciousness: The Journey of Transformation

We long to live in right relationship with all people and with all of creation. This compels us to seek out a new way of seeing, a new consciousness. In this time, we are part of a global system that perpetuates the destructive effects of extractive industries along with their devastating impact on people, communities and Earth. The core business and the extractive development model of fossil fuel companies, mining companies and other companies focused on extraction of natural resources are inherently hazardous to people, communities and Earth. They have devastating impacts on water, land, air, biodiversity which has seen an 80% loss globally, and on the very life force of Mother Earth. It is a primary cause of our climate crisis. Respect for our interdependence with all creation is ruptured by extractive industries.

Indigenous peoples, who have lived for thousands of years in the lands of present-day Latin America, are victims of extractivism. They have experienced death threats, assassinations of beloved leaders and family members, and the destruction and poisoning of their sacred land, air and water. Whole communities have been forced out of their homes and land. Members of Black, brown and indigenous communities in the United States often must choose between their own physical wellbeing and their financial security when making economically disadvantageous decisions to leave an area where fossil fuel companies operate with no regard for environmental impact.

The call to a new consciousness by exploring and responding to extractivism is a challenging one. It requires us to move out of our habitual ways of thinking and acting, which for many of is us driven by Western thinking and economic models. It requires us to engage in new experiences that unsettle us and summon us to listen deeply to what stirs in us. And it calls us to critically examine the ideologies, prejudices and assumptions that inform our worldview.

Questions tug at our hearts: What makes it difficult for me to move out of my comfort zone? What keeps me there? What attracts me if I let go? What gives me joy in choosing differently? Whose stories do I not hear? What does a commitment to climate integrity ask of me at this time? It calls us to a more engaged solidarity especially with Black, indigenous and people of color, who are disproportionately impacted by extractives industries. It asks us to reclaim our interdependence and harmony with Earth and to understand deeply the devastating impact of extractive industries on the flourishing of the whole community of life.

The journey toward a new consciousness opens us in vulnerable ways so we can hear, center and respond to the cries of the poor and of Earth. In this journey of little conversions, we will find ourselves changing our habitual ways of understanding, thinking and acting. Systemic change does not begin with some grand transformation; it begins with a new understanding and these little conversions. While we move to claim our prophetic voice and prophetic actions, we remember that deeper transformation must be held and sustained by our solidarity with those most impacted by extractive industries, especially communities of color, and by an engaged and supportive community. This deep kind of transformation calls us to live together more conscientiously on an individual, communal and corporate level.

So how do we begin this journey toward a new consciousness around extractivism? And how will we empower our new consciousness through acts of solidarity with Earth and her suffering peoples?

Reflection Questions

As we begin, we will see what extractivism is and how it impacts people, communities, and Earth. The word “see” here connotes deep listening, a seeking to understand. Here we will de-center ourselves and listen carefully and attentively to the stories and experiences of those most impacted by extractivism. After deep reflection, we judge, that is, analyze what our response needs to be. Finally, we will determine how we might be transformed by what we have heard and learned. We discern how we might act in response to extractivism.

Start by reflecting on the following questions regarding personal and communal conversions that you have engaged in previously after hearing the cries of the poor and the cries of Earth. Take time to reflect on how far you have come, what compelled you to change and perhaps what holds you back from deeper transformation. Do you own personal reflection and journaling on these questions:

• Whose stories have you heard or read that have recentered your thinking towards the cry of Earth and cry of the poor? How have you found those stories?
• What concrete action have you committed to that changed a past habit or behavior in answering the cries of Earth (e.g., energy and water waste monitoring)?
• How have these changes called for a radical shift in how you live your daily life, such as an awareness of the amount of water used when showering or gas used when driving?
• How have these changes led you to acts of advocacy either through education or seeking policy changes in institutions and governments, responding to action alerts calling for just transition to renewables or campaigns to keep fossil fuels in the ground?

Next, continue by reading the expanded Definitions of Extractivism document.

• How do these definitions impact your understanding of extractivism?
• Take a few moments to journal your responses.

Continue to Session 2

Welcome to Awakening to a New Consciousness on Extractivism, a resource developed by the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. This process will help participants delve deeply into the issues surrounding extractivism, including personal and societal complicity in the practices involved.

Extractivism is a destructive model of development that extracts minerals, metals, oils, gas and coal on a massive scale. We have come to understand it also extends to commercial over-fishing, deforestation for agricultural commodities and taking of land for tourism. In all its forms this model disrupts or destroys biodiversity, damages global ecosystems and devastates the health and well-being of local communities, while creating significant economic profits for the privileged few.

This material helps participants to:

• Deeply listen to the experiences of those most impacted by extractive industries;
• Deeply engage in theological reflection and social analysis;
• Prepare for deep transformation of individuals and communities;
• Take action on behalf of all creation.

Materials

Designed for use over six sessions, this process offers several ways for individuals and groups to engage in theological reflection.

• The 48-minute overview can be used as a stand-alone educational component or an extended introduction to the full process.
• Individuals can use the self-study materials, resources and reflection questions to explore the issue of extractivism at their own pace.
• The group process provides a facilitation guide for religious communities, parishes/congregations and other small groups to engage in education, reflection and discussion together.

Process Overview

The video provides a general overview of the issues connected to extractivism. The self-study and the group process provide the resources that you need to move through deep listening, deep reflecting and deep transformation on your own or with others. We strongly encourage you not to skip any of these steps since they build upon one another to challenge your thinking and lead you to more thoughtful responses.

More Resources

When you have completed your choice of engagement, we invite you to check out the More Resources and Actions page for information on the most current issues related to extractivism and calls to action.

We hope you find these resources informative, challenging and inspirational. We’d love to hear what you have learned and any commitments to action that you have made. You may contact us at justice@sistersofmercy.org.

“We hear the call of our suffering world. The impoverishment of peoples, the devastation of Earth and oppressive social norms and systems call us at this moment to act … To intensify our efforts to align our investments with our values and, especially now, to pursue education and action against practices of extractive industries that are destroying people, communities and Earth.”

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Chapter 2017 Recommitment Statement

By Sister Sue Gallagher

Once in a while I listen to Vatican News. Today I tuned in to hear that Pope Francis made a visit to the Vatican Summer Camp! The time was described as festive with the children wearing colorful tee shirts and hats. It sounded great until the reporter added “and 300 biodegradable balloons.” I thought this sounded like a bit of greenwashing. I, like a lot of people, enjoy the fun balloons can add to a celebration; however, I swore off balloons of any kind years ago! 

A quick search supported my skepticism about ecofriendly balloons! An article in the Conversation reported: “For decades, the industry relied on one industry-funded study from 1989 which claimed that after six short weeks, balloons degraded ‘at about the same rate as oak tree leaves’ and there was no way balloons were a threat to wildlife.”  The research in this article debunks the claim that any balloon is biodegradable. These kinds of balloons are just as toxic as any other plastic.  

It should be noted here that biodegradable is not the same as compostable.  Biodegradable simply means that the balloons will eventually break down into smaller pieces while potentially leaving behind toxic waste in the environment. Compostable refers to organic matter that will completely break down, leaving valuable nutrients and no toxic residue behind.  Products that claim to be compostable should be ‘certified compostable’ (albeit only in an industrial facility) by the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI).  Based on recent research, no BPI-certified balloons have been found. 

Some states have banned balloons from being released outdoors. For example, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia prohibit balloon release; and Pennsylvania has a law moving through the House banning the same. 

Ah, they are so much fun and so pretty! Please consider putting balloons on your “do not use” list! Don’t use balloons! At the very least do not release balloons outdoors. Do not use helium-filled balloons, which is a critically limited resource.  

Consider alternatives to balloons, like bubbles. Make educated purchases with federal Green Guidelines. Other reusable and/or compostable options to consider for decoration centerpieces would be potted plants (in ceramic or clay pots, if possible), banners and garland made from cloth, light strings, etc.   

Balloons are pretty – to a point. They are quite deadly in many ways!