ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to broaden the range of ecclesial action regarding mining by considering the church’s position within the global market networks that flow from mines to consumers. The “church” does not simply relate to the extractive industries through its social ministries and magisterium, but also as workers in those industries, nearby communities affected by them, and end consumers. These networks construct relations in a very powerful, but shallow manner. They connect consumers with extraction through the narrow relationship of the price signal. We are complicit in the destruction that accompanies mining, but lack knowledge of our relationships. The church is called to a deeper form of relationship and desires to establish a deeper global network characterized by: communion, solidarity, synodality, and accompaniment. This requires more than high level high-level engagements with human rights and regulatory bodies. By conceiving itself as an alternative network, the church can foster deeper relationships between members in mining zones and the end consumers complicit in their suffering.
