Dioceses once mining shareholders, now responsible mining backers – Villegas

A Church leader on Monday admitted that some local dioceses used to own shares in mining companies but decided to divest.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said during a Meet Inquirer Multimedia forum that “there was really a time, many years ago when some dioceses had shares with mining companies.”

“But with understanding, the better understanding of the harm that mining does, we have also made a collective decision to let go of such shares because we are not supposed to make any revenue for the benefit of the poor coming from corporations that cause the destruction of nature,” he said in response to a question from Twitter.

However, he said the Church approves of “responsible mining.”

“Yes because our chalices are also from mines. They are metal. And our spoons and our forks are from mining,” Villegas said.

The archbishop explained that responsible mining can be achieved by using “the resources of the earth according to the design that God had for it.”

“In other words, when mining is conducted separated from God, it becomes harmful for humanity,” he said.

Mining became a hot topic in the Philippines after Environment Secretary Gina Lopez ordered the closure and suspension of several large-scale mining companies.