Diocese of La Ceiba
[Honduras]
The diocese of La Ceiba [Honduras], fulfilling the mandate of the diocesan Assembly held
June 1, 2013, in the parish of San Isidro with the presence of 120 pastoral
workers from all the parishes, to make a statement on the problem of Mining
in the department and in particular in the sector Florida, of the parish of
Nuestra Señora del Pilar in Arizona, lets it be known to all the People of God, to all people of good will, to the
authorities and the citizenry in general, that
1. WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT…
1 – Our earth is the creation and gift of God. Therefore we
have to treat it with respect. We human beings, created in the image of God
(Gen 1: 26), are called to be
responsible administrators of the gods of creation, and we are called to “keep and cultivate [it]” (Gen 2:15).
2 – Jesus announced with his words and deeds that God is the God of Life (John 10: 10). Fidelity
to the Gospel demands that we
contemplate life as a gift of God in all creation. This integral and
interdependent dimension of all that is created places a commitment on human
responsibility.
3 – There is a close link between following of Jesus and
mission. “The evangelizing mission cannot be separated from solidarity with the
people and their integral promotion” (Document
of the Latin American Bishops Conference in Aparecida [DA], 545). Thus,
“the living conditions of many abandoned, excluded and ignored in their misery
and their sorrow contradicts the project
of [God] the Father and calls from believers a major commitment in favor of the
culture of life. The Reign of Life which Christ came to bring is
incompatible with those inhuman conditions. If we try to close our eyes in the
face of these realities we are not defenders of the life of the Kingdom and we
place ourselves on the road of death (DA 358).
4 – To live according to the Spirit of Jesus calls us to reaffirm the option for the poor, the vulnerable,
and the excluded, who are the preferred recipients of the Kingdom and the
primary victims of the negative effects of the socio-economic model now in
place and of natural disasters provoked as a consequence of global climate
change.
2. WE WISH TO BRING TO LIGHT…
5 – We do not have the right to exploit the resources of the
earth, “irrationally devastating the
sources of life” (DA 471).
6 – The Social Teaching of the Church emphasizes the “a correct understanding of the environment
cannot reduce nature in a utilitarian way to a mere object of exploitation” (Compendium of the Social Teaching of the
Church [CDSI] 459). This implies also the responsibility so that future
generations can inherit a land that is habitable.
7 – Reaffirm the need to preserve the planet earth as the “common house” of all living beings.
Blessed Pope John Paul II advised us of the risks that are involved with
considering the planet solely as a source of economic resources: “The environment as ‘resource’ puts in
danger the world as ‘home’ ” (CDSI 461). For this reason there is a need to
evaluate the long-term environmental cost of extractive [mining] activities.
8 - In regard to the activities of the extractive activities
and to the use of natural non-renewable resources, it is necessary keep in mind
the principle of the universal destiny
of the goods of creation, especially the resources of vital importance such
as water, air, and earth. This is
the fundamental principle of the ethical-social order (Laborem Exercens, 19).
9. Another fundamental principal of Social Teaching which
guides the Church in its commitment to promote integral and sustainable development
is the principle of the common good.
“To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice
and charity” (Caritas in veritate,
7). Likewise, recall that “the church has the responsibility in regard to
Creation and senses the duty to exercise it also in the public environment to
defend the earth, the water, and the air, gifts of God the Creator for all, y
to protect the human person” (World Peace
Day Message, 2010, 12).
3. We are concerned… and we reject…
10. The avalanche of
mining projects in our department of Atlántida, which according to the data
are several dozen, and try to exploit zones of a high ecological value.
Atlantida has an unrivaled natural beauty with twelve protected areas as
natural parks which represent 40% of its territory and is a region a the
country with a major production of water, possesses a coastline apt for tourism
with a series of coral reefs. Do we want
to put all this beauty and richness in danger?
11 – The
environmental impact that all these projects would bring on and the negative
consequences for the life of the communities. Until now we do not have
clear proof and evidence of the realization of any studies of the environmental
impact which were carried out with the participation of the people affected.
The lack of information in this respect makes us suspect the lack of
credibility and the technical quality of these supposed environmental impact
studies. We cannot begin a path in the name of development which will bring
more damages than benefits.
12 – The lack of
transparency and the secretive nature in these processes of concessions without
informing and behind the backs of the communities which will be gravely
affected. The wish is to impose the realizations of these projects on the
communities without them having been consulted and with the excuse that “there are permissions” and “it is legal.” Can these projects be implemented without
having taken into account the opinion of the communities? As the Church we say
that it is not possible and reject this assault on personal and collective
human rights.
13 – The intervention
of the Police and State security forces biased in favor of those who manage
capital, influences, and wills. We
do not believe that the police acts in this case to protect the population,
which has always been peaceful, but acts in favor of a part arriving to
transgress legal limits and the police’s motto of “protect and serve.” Why is there the presence of the Cobra
elements [an elite police force] in the zone with a provocative attitude toward
the population which has lived peacefully without police presence? We reject that the State be the provocateur
with its forces to the population of this sector. We are unsettled by the motto
of these Cobra forces “to conquer or die.” Conquer whom?
14 – The intervention
of the local authorities that do not act with transparency, denying the people
the right to decide. Why has it not
been possible to organize a popular consultation so that it would be the
population who decide? Why have permission to operate been given without taking
into account the opinion of the communities directly affected? Why do our
public authorities turn their back on the people whom they ought to serve
seeking the common good? Why this distance and failure of fluid communication
with those whom they represent?
4. WE PROMOTE AND DEFEND…
15 –Fulfilling its mission to work for reconciliation and unity, for respect for the dignity of
each person and for the common good (cf. Lumen Gentium 1), the Church continues
promoting an open and transparent dialogue between the different actors in
the society who are involved in the socio-environmental conflicts. In this way
the Church wishes to help in each case to
put the breaks on the escalation of conflicts, to avoid violent outcomes
and to find a just and sustainable solution.
5. WE ASK AND WE
HOPE…
16 – The diocesan church of La Ceiba calls the State, before
authorizing the initiation of whatever mining activity:
• Guarantee
consultation with the people beforehand, facilitating the participation
representatives of the peoples and communities affected in decision making
about the possible realization of said projects.
• Environmental Impact
Studies which are serious and trustworthy with the participation of the affected
communities.
•The Church also demands that the state, though its mining
authority, adequately inform the
population on the results of the study.
17 – That a dialogue
be opened in the sector and in the whole department to arrive at a consensus on
the routes to an equitable, human, and true development. We support the vocation of Atlantida as a
tourist site, as much for its beaches ad for its mountains, the investment in
forestry systems, fishing, agriculture and cattle farming, craftswork… Is
mining the future of Atlantida? We believe that it is not and we know that
other more human and sustainable alternatives must be sought in a form of
consensus.
6. WE DENOUNCE…
18 – The inhuman
pressure that is being exerted on the communities of the sector of Florida
and especially the community of Nueva Esperanza, in the Tela municipality in
the parish of Arizona, Atlantida.
19 – The introduction
of high caliber weapons in the sector. All this is permitted and with the connivance of the police in the zone for the
purpose of squelching the voice of the communities which resist the
imposition by force of a project which threatens their future.
20 – The presence of
highly armed men in the zone, brought in from the outside the sector who
are threatening all those who oppose the project with the practice of hired
assassinations.
22 – The strategy of
[sowing] division and confrontation among the people settled there. The
mafia strategies of sowing chaos and lack of trust among the people with
“informers.” “spies,” etc.
23 – The slander and
threats against Father César Espinoza and the missionary team of Arizona, by
some unscrupulous businessmen and those groups that come under their influence.
As the Church of La Ceiba we support the
pastoral work which is being done from the parish of Arizona rooted in a
commitment to the poorest, in accord with the rich social teaching of the
Church, accompanying the people who struggle for the right to life and the
common good of the population.
7. WE HOLD
RESPONSIBLE…
24 – We don’t want
this to come to violence in the zone… but if it comes to be, from today we
deem responsible the impetuous
businessmen who urgently are disposed to whatever may be in order to exploit
the zone against the will of the people settled there, thus showing their
imprudence and arrogance, as well as those responsible for State security forces who give orders which violate the security
and the lives of a simple and peaceful people, and the police who follow orders to act against their own people in
the service of private interest, and the
local authorities for not having informed and consulted the people in a
transparent manner.
8. WE OFFER...
25 – As Church to go forward strongly in the process
of dialogue between the parties
and to base ourselves in the just which does not always coincide with the laws
which are passed.
We ask St. Isidore the Farmer, lover of the land and patron of
our diocese, and St. Francis of Assisi to illumine everyone to find a wiser
solution to the problems we confront. To them we entrust ourselves.
Promulgated in the city of La Ceibe, June 26, 2013
Signed by Monseñor Michael Lenihan, OFM (bishop of the
diocese), Father Francisco Sánchez Argueta (vicar general), Father René Flores
Pineda (chancellor), and Father Victor Cámara Cámaro (episcopal vicar).
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The parts highlighted in black are highlighted in the original Spanish.
