“Until there is convincing evidence that such activity can be undertaken without causing serious or irreversible harm, prudence calls us to exercise great caution.”
The Catholic Episcopal Conference of the Pacific (CEPAC) expressed this in a pastoral statement issued on Aug. 10 on deep-sea mining, signed by the Conference’s President, Archbishop Ryan P. Jimenez of Agaña, Guam, who also serves as President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania (FCBCO).
In the letter, the Bishops stated, “We respectfully encourage all who bear responsibility for decisions concerning deep-sea mining to proceed with wisdom, transparency, humility, and genuine concern for the common good.”
For generations, they noted, humanity has extracted the mineral resources of the earth to sustain economic development, often without fully considering the long-term consequences for our common home.
Yet today, they pointed out, commercial deep-sea mining in the region appears increasingly imminent, warning that large areas of the Pacific seabed, including the 33 million acres in the waters surrounding American Samoa and areas near the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, are now being considered for commercial leasing
“History,” they noted, “teaches us that when science remains uncertain about the consequences of actions that may cause serious or irreversible harm, wisdom calls us to proceed with humility, prudence, and prayerful discernment.”
For Pacific peoples, the Bishops explained, this conviction is deeply rooted in their way of life. They expressed their hope that their generation would be remembered “not for what it extracted” from Creation, but “for what it protected.”
Source: CBCP News