As a Salesian presence spread throughout the country, but especially present in the Patagonian area of Argentina - the territory that Don Bosco dreamed of evangelizing and accompanying in its development - we feel the need to speak up for the life and care of our Common Home.
Last Wednesday we were surprised to see how the Legislature of the Chubut Province approved the project that will allow the extraction of silver, copper and lead in some areas of the province, such as the Central Plateau. An initiative that, as a political maneuver to avoid the prohibitions of the law, proposes the replacement of cyanide with xanthate during the process of separating minerals from the earth.
These days we have seen the strong demonstrations of the people of Chubut, we have listened to the resonances of what the native peoples (Mapuche and Tehuelche) teach us and we have heard the messages of other institutions of the Church. In particular, at this time it helps us to reflect upon the encyclical Laudato Si', Pope Francis' cry of supplication to God and post-modern man to care for, protect and make good use of the resources that Mother Earth provides us.
“We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.” (LS, 14). “An assessment of the environmental impact of business ventures and projects demands transparent political processes involving a free exchange of views. On the other hand, the forms of corruption which conceal the actual environmental impact of a given project, in exchange for favors, usually produce specious agreements which fail to inform adequately and to allow for full debate.” (LS, 182).
Because of our charism dedicated to the education and evangelization of children and young people, especially those in situations of poverty and vulnerability, we want to be close to the original peoples, to the native inhabitants of these lands; we want to accompany the claim of the people of Chubut in their quest for the care of our Common Home; and we want to express our energetic rejection of this project that threatens the health and lives of the inhabitants of these cities, of this province, of this country, and of the entire Common Home.
Fr Osvaldo Braccia, Vicar,
and the ARS Province Council
