Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán [Honduras]
Bishop’s office
Diocesan
Statement
(Santa Rosa de Copán, September 1,
2018)
THE DIOCESE OF SANTA ROSA DE COPÁN, ECCLESIASTICAL PROVINCE OF HONDURAS,
TAKES UP THE
COMMITMENT TO ACCOMPANY THE COMMUNITY OF AZACUALPA IN THE MINING CONFLICTS
“The time has come
… when the dead are judged; the time to recompense your servants, the prophets,
the holy ones, and those who fear your name, and to destroy those who destroy
the earth.”
(Revelation 11:18)
The Bishop and the
priests [presbiterio] hear the cry of the community of Azacualpa
(La Unión, Copán): No to the exploitation of the gold deposit in the Cerro el
Cementerio [Cemetery Hill].
1. Since May 27, 2018, more than three months ago, families
of the community of Azacualpa are heroically resisting "without selling
themselves to spurious local or international interests" (LS 38),
defending "Cemetery Hill" [Cerro el Cementerio] against the ambitions
and actions of the Mining Company AURA MINERALES DE CANADA, operated by its
subsidiary MINERALES DE OCCIDENTE S.A. DE C.V.(MINOSA) to exploit the gold
mine.
2. This conflict is added to many years of struggle against
the exploitation and destruction of the environment, which continues generating
divisions, intimidations, threats, prosecutions, and discussions. But, as the
Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’ [of Pope Francis] affirms: “In every
discussion about a proposed venture, a series of questions need to be asked in
order to discern if it will contribute to genuine integral development: For
what [purpose]? Why? Where? When? How? For whom? What are the risks? What are
the costs? Who will pay those costs and how? In this examination, some questions
must have higher priority.” (LS 185)
3. The families of the community of Azacualpa declare their
principal concerns:
3.1. NO TO THE EXHUMATION AND MOVING OF “LAS SEPULTURAS DE
LOS FIELES” [THE TOMBS OF THE FAITHFUL]. Because the company Aura Minerales and
MINOSA are actively trying to have the families give in and accept money in
exchange for the exhumation and moving of the bodies of their beloved.
3.2. PROTECTION OF AND RESPECT FOR “CERRO EL CEMENTERIO,” AN
HISTORICAL CULTURAL, AND SACRED HERITAGE. Currently the mine is only 30 to 50
meters from the cemetery, violating the limits which their license establishes,
which indicates that it ought to be 200 meters distant. Also, they raise the
fear that Aura Minerales will buy and obtain licenses to exploit the whole of
Cerro el Cementerio completely, destroying buildings and obstructing the lives
of the people and the environment. In the case of the cemetery, which, because
of its antiquity is a historical heritage of the community of Azacualpa,
Article 54, letter d of the General Mining Law (Decree no. 238-2912) ought to
be applied. This says: “To suspend immediately all mining activities and give
notice when, in the area of exploration and exploitation, [one] encounters the
presence of vestiges of the cultural heritage of the country, so that the
competent authorities may proceed to the delimitation of the area, that area
which will remain excluded from mining activity.” Also, the general principle
of Article 5 of the General Law of the Environment (Decree no, 104-93) on the
Environmental Impact Evaluation and the fulfillment of measures to protect the
environment and the historical cultural heritage should be taken into account.
3.3. THE NONFULFILLMENT OF STANDING LAWS OF THE COUNTRY AND
THE FAILURE TO GUARANTEE THE PROTECTION OF LIFE (soil, air, flora and fauna)
and THE HEALTH OF THE HUMAN PERSON (cfr. Art, 54.a. of the LGM [General Mining
Law]. The mining company’s abuses of power consist in direct actions which
violate the rights: to property, to life, to freedom of movement [transito]
and residency, to a healthy environment, to minorities, to count on appropriate
mechanisms of negotiation, to hold assemblies or meetings, to enjoy and make
use of their natural resources, to health – with the following problems which
originate from the mining industry, for example: pains in the lower
extremities, problems of dreams and nightmares which cause anxiety and sadness,
headaches, respiratory problems, skin rashes, hair loss, vision problems,
strange types of cancer, etc.
Our STANCE AND COMMITMENT AS
PASTORS
4. The Diocesan Bishop
– with the Presbytery – of the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán “freely
exercises his powers and function in sacred place [Churches and Cemeteries]”
(c.1213; cfr. c. 1205 [The Code of Canon Law]), because as the
ecclesiastical authority he ought to “protect and highlight their sacred
character (c. 1243). He can speak his word of advice or denunciation, if necessary,
as pastor of the Catholic community, because it is a question of “the burial of
the faithful” (c. 1205). This “deposit or mine” of gold found in the cemetery
of the community of Azacualpa, since it is located in a “SACRED PLACE,” does
not give to any institution or local community the right to be able to extract
from the terrain for its exploitation, only if the holiness of the place is
lost, that is, “if they [cemeteries] have been in great measure destroyed or if
they are permanently reduced to secular uses by the decree of the Ordinary [the
Bishop of the diocese] or as a matter of fact” (c. 1212). Therefore, we DECLARE
[MANIFESTAMOS] OUR SOLIDARITY AND SUPPORT of the community of Azacualpa
in their struggle to defend the environment and human life in the face of the
destruction and continuing threats of the Company AURA MINERALES and MINOSA;
and to “ALL” the mining companies we demand the closure of all operations
(Exploration, Exploitation, and Processing) and their DEPARTURE from Copán and
from the other departments of our diocese (Santa Barbara, Lempira, Ocotepeque,
and Intibucá).
THE CHURCH’S SOCIAL TEACHING
[MAGISTERIUM} on the care of “our sister mother earth.”
5. Pope Francis, since 2015 makes a “CALL” to the human
family and, therefore, to the local Church of Santa Rosa de Copán: “the urgent
challenge of protecting our common home includes a concern to unite the whole
human family in the search for a sustainable and integral development, since we
know that things can change…. I want to recognize, encourage, and thank all
those who … are working to guarantee the protection of the home which we share.
Special gratitude is owed to those who vigorously struggle to resolve the
tragic effects of environmental degradation on the lives of the world’s poorest.”
(LS 13)
6. In the commitment and ability to work together to “construct
our common home” among us, “we need a conversation that brings all of us
together, because the environmental challenge we are living and its human roots
concern and impact all of us…. We need a new universal solidarity…. All of us
can collaborate as God’s instruments for the care of creation, each one from their
culture, experiences, initiatives, and abilities” (LS 14).
7. In Honduras and in all the peoples of Latina America and
the Caribbean, “financial institutions and multinational companies are becoming
stronger to the point that local economies are subordinated, above all weakening
the local States, which seem ever more powerless to carry out development
projects at the service of their populations… International extractive
industries and agribusiness often do not respect the economic, social,
cultural, and environmental rights of the local populations, and do not assume
their responsibilities” (Aparecida Document, 66)
8. Echoing the Document from Aparecida (no, 66) of 2007, the
Encyclical LAUDATO SI’ of 2015 invites us to “acknowledge the sins
against creation: ‘that human beings destroy the biological diversity of God’s
creation; that human beings degrade the integrity of the earth and contribute
to climate change, by stripping the earth of its natural forests or destroying
its wetlands; that human beings contaminate the earth’s waters, soil, and air.
All these are sins.’ For “to commit a crime against nature is a crime against ourselves
and a sin against God” (LS 8)
9. In the face of these “risks to the environment,” “the
situation demands that decisions must be made based on a comparison of the hypothetical
risks and benefits that each possible alternative decision entails.
10. In the course [recorrido] of the World Ecological
Movement and in the Diocesan Environmental Crisis, according to the Christian
conscience, we need a “New Diocesan Solidarity”; because “the work of
international agencies and civil society organizations is praiseworthy – those which
raise public sensitivity [sensibilizar] to these issues and cooperate critically,
also employing legitimate means of pressure to ensure that each government
carries out its own duty which it ought not delegate to others [indelegable]
to preserve its country’s environment and natural resources, without
capitulating to spurious local or international interests. (LS 38)
11. But we are conscious that environmental policies cannot
be modified every time there is a change of government; also, “the enforcement
of law is at times inadequate due to corruption” (LS 179). Therefore, “continuity
is indispensable”. “For politicians to assume these responsibilities and the
costs they entail, this does not fit with [responder] the logic of efficiency
and short term results [eficientista y inmediatista] of present-day
economics and politics. But if they are dare to do this, they will again
recognize their God-given dignity as humans and leave behind in history a testimony
of generous responsibility (LS 181).
12. Finally there are lines of action in the
church teaching [Magisterio], in which “Political activity on the local level could also be directed to
modifying consumption, to developing an economy of waste disposal and
recycling, to protecting certain species, and to planning a diversified
agriculture with crop rotation. It is possible to encourage the improvement of
agriculture in poor regions can be improved through investment in rural
infrastructures, in the organization of local or national markets, in systems
of irrigation, and in the development of sustainable agricultural techniques. One
can provide [facilitar] forms of cooperation and community organization that
defend the interests of small producers and preserve local ecosystems from destruction.
There is much that can be done!” (LS 180)
Demands for
Political Institutions and Actions of the Presbytery and Parishes
13. The position of the diocese against mining: GET OUT OF
AZACUALPA AND OUT OF THE DIOCESE!
14. Demands to the State of Honduras: THE LEGISLATIVE, EJECUTIVE, AND
JUDICIAL POWER[S]
14.1. TO THE NATIONAL CONGRESS
14.1.1 Revise and reform the Mining Law in accord with the
interests of the State and of the local Communities which possess mineral
resources, including the following themes:
14.1.1.1. No to open pit [cielo abierto] mining
exploitation.
14.1.1.2. No to the use of cyanide and other chemical substances
which contaminate and destroy Human Life and the Environment.
14.1.1.3. Obligatory and binding consultation with the communities
with natural resources (minerals).
14.1.1.4. Reparation [reparación] for the damages to the
environment and health.
14.1.2. Study and fulfill the Law of Mining, Communities, People,
and Government.
14.2. TO THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT
14.2.1. Urge the revision and reform of the Mining Law, without bias.
14.2.2. Promote the Common Good and the integral and sustainable development
of the peoples.
14.2.3. Respect sovereignty and the people’s will.
14.2.4. Efficient service of the governmental institutions involved
with the mining industry. (STSS [Secretaría de Trabajo y Seguridad Social/Ministry
of Labor and Social Security], INHGEOMIN [INSTITUTO HONDUREÑO DE
GEOLOGÍA Y MINAS/Honduran Institute of Geology and Mines], SAR [Servicio de
Administración de Rentas/Service of the Administration of Revenues], Salud [Ministry
of Health], MIAMBIENTE [La Secretaría de Energía, Recursos Naturales, Ambiente
y Minas/Ministry of Energy, Natural Resources, the Environment, and Mines,
SANAA [Servicio Autónomo Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados/National Autonomous
Service of Water and Sewage Systems], ICF [Instituto de Conservación Forestal/Institute
for Conservstion of Forests], IHAH [Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e
Historia/Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History], SEDIS (La Secretaría
de Desarrollo e Inclusión Social/Ministry of Development and Social Inclusion],
COPECO [Comisión Permanente de Contingencias/Permanent Emergencies Commission].
14.2.5. Publish all the requests for concessions of exploration,
exploitation, and processing so that the peoples and the communities may
exercise their sovereignty.
14.3. TO THE SUPREME COURT OF JUSTICE
14.3.1. Impartial application of the General Mining Law.
14.3.2. Sanction the true violators [of the law]
14.3.3. Assure that the Law is enforced and respected by the
various social actors (State of Law)
14.4. TO THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT[S]
14.4.1. Promote the Common Good and the integral development of
the communities.
14.4.2. Apply the municipal laws according to the “agreements of
the neighboring peoples [poblaciones].”
14.4.3. No to complicity with the Mining Companies.
14.4.4. Promote and respect the organization of the people in defense
of their rights.
14.5. TO THE MINING COMPANIES
14.5.1. We make you an urgent and radical petition: GET OUT OF OUR
TERRITORY!
14.5.2. Do not exploit or rob our natural resources.
14.5.3. No to the contamination, corruption, and illegal exploitation
in our country, which in your cases the peoples and the government prohibit. We
demand that you respect:
14.5.3.1 The national and international laws, regulations and
conventions.
14.5.3.2 The organization and the will of the people.
14.5.3.3. The obligatory consultations with the communities, with
a binding character.
14.5.3.4. The corrective measures which have risen from the
Environmental Impact Evaluation (EAI).
15. LINES OF ACTION OF THE BISHOP, THE PRIESTS, AND THE PARISHES
15.1. Study and deepening of the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’
[of Pope Francis] at every level of the church.
15.2. Campaigns for Protection of the Environment through the MCS,
Social Ministry, Caritas, etc.
15.3. Organization of Committees for the Defense of the
Environment (Land, Water, Forests, etc.)
15.4. Support of Civil Society Organizations which protect the environment
and human life (ASONOG, MADJ, CIPRODEH, etc.)
16. With hope based in the fulfillment of the Messianic promise of
“a new heaven and a new earth” (Revelation 21:1), TODAY WE BUILD a “NEW
DIOCESAN SOLIDARITY.” With optimism and joy we sing the “Canticle of Daniel 3,” joined with Holy Mary, Queen of all that is created, with Saint
Joseph, Protector of the Universal Church, and with Saint Francis of Assisi,
“most excellent example of care for what is weak and of integral ecology, lived
joyfully and authentically” (LS 10).
Let the earth bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor;
mountains and hills, bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor;
everything that grow in the earth, bless the Lord, sing eternally
in his honor;
springs of water, bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor;
seas and rivers, bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor;
whales and all that swim in the sea, bless the Lord, sing
eternally in his honor;
birds of the air, bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor;
wild beasts and cows, bless the Lord, sing eternally in his honor.
Monseñor Darwin Rudy Andino Ramirez. C.R.S.
Bishop of the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Copán
--------------------------------------
TRANSLATOR’S NOTES:
· For translating texts of church documents, the
translator consulted the English translations of Laudato Si’ and the Aparecida
Document but changed them, at times, significantly, when he felt they did not
reflect the Spanish translation used in this pronouncement.
· He also sometimes included the Spanish words in
square parentheses [ ]when he felt that the English translation he made may not
reflect the full significance and nuances of the Spanish.
· Words or phrases included within square parentheses
[ ] were added by
the translator for clarity or to explain an abbreviation or reference.
·
I have translated
the word “presbiterio” in two different ways. “El presbiterio” is used
to indicate the body of priests in an area. I have translated it as “presbytery”
or as “priests” in the plural.
·
If there are any errors, please feel free to contact
the translator.
The original Spanish can be found here.
The original Spanish can be found here.
The photo of the mine of San Andrés was taken from San Agustín, Copán, August 25,
2013.
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1 comment:
excellent and well done. This needs to be shared and I have, especially to people concerned about Canadian mining in the Americas.
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