Latin American Catholic organizations call for ‘transformative dialogue’ on extractivism

September 10, 2026

Warning that “we are now dangerously close to tipping points in the climate and environmental crisis,” six ecclesial networks that work in Latin America called for “transformative dialogue” on extractivism.

The networks—Churches and Mining, the Pan-Amazon Ecclesial Network (Repam), Pax Christi International, the Gran Chaco and Guarani Aquifer Network (Regchag), the Mesoamerican Ecclesial Network (Remam), and the Brazilian Commission for Justice and Peace (CBJP)—offered six principles in their document, “Fair and Equitable Dialogue for Conflict Transformation,” released September 1:

• Recognizing Power Asymmetries
• The Church as Guarantor of the Voice of the Victims
• Giving Victims Authority, Voice, and the Opportunity to Make Proposals
• Ensuring Transparency and Universal Access to Information
• Situating Dialogue in Territories Affected by Conflict
• Monitoring and Controlling Business Actions through Laws and Public Institutions

“This text arises from the accompaniment of communities affected by extractivism, a reality that continues to generate pollution, displacement, conflict, violations of rights, and various forms of violence,” the signatories explained. “In these territories, questions frequently arise that also challenge the Church: Where do so many aggressions against our territories come from? Who finances them? What interests sustain the threats against those who defend life, the common goods, and the rights of communities?”

The document continued:

The Church cannot be considered a neutral observer and mediator in contexts of conflict. Its commitment to dialogue arises from the preferential option for the poor and from the evangelical conviction that the dignity of the most vulnerable constitutes a fundamental criterion for social and pastoral discernment.

From Sacred Scripture, which highlights the bold nonviolent actions of Jesus in a context of oppression and domination over his people, through the tradition of the Church Fathers and up to the contemporary Magisterium, we find a constant invitation to listen to the cry of those who suffer ...

Likewise, various currents of popular education, including the approach proposed by Paulo Freire, remind us that processes of social transformation require recognizing the leading role of those who experience situations of exclusion, vulnerability, or injustice

“We trust that, by walking along this path, the prophetic Church will continue to offer the world a credible witness of hope, promoting a culture of encounter that does not evade conflicts, but rather contributes to transforming them through truth, justice, human dignity, and care for our Common Home,” the document concluded.

Bishop Vicente de Paula Ferreira, C.Ss.R., president of the Episcopal Commission for Integral Ecology of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, told the Vatican newspaper that he was spurred to action by a 2019 dam disaster that killed 272 people and polluted hundreds of miles of waterways.

“I wanted to speak out against a form of extractivism that is lawless and unethical, one that turns everything, including nature itself, into a commodity and a source of profit,” he said. “I began a fundamental shift in perspective. And a personal struggle.”

 

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Further information:

• Latin American ecclesial networks present reflection on just dialogue in contexts of extractivism (ADN CELAM, 9/1/26)
• Vicini al punto di non ritorno (L'Osservatore Romano, 9/9/26)