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Statement on Executive Action and Memorandum to Advance Construction of Oil Pipelines

Dominican Sisters of Peace: Our Statement on the Executive Action and Memorandum to Advance Construction of Oil Pipelines

871efdf7861ddc4b47c116447ac2accb_400x400January 31, 2017, Columbus, Ohio - In response to executive action signed by President Donald Trump to advance the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline as well as the executive memorandum inviting TransCanada to resubmit the Keystone XL application for a pipeline permit, the Dominican Sisters of Peace have issued the following statement:

The Dominican Sisters of Peace denounce the executive action taken by President Donald Trump to resume the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline and his Keystone memorandum inviting TransCanada to resubmit its application for a pipeline permit. These pipelines can easily wreak havoc on the drinking water of an entire community, and their immensity of size, particularly the Keystone XL which is designed to span up to 1,179 miles, directly undermine the United States' role as a leader in curbing climate change and reducing its dependency on fossil fuels. Resuming construction of the pipelines undermines care for creation, risks contaminating drinking water for poor communities as well as land throughout our country and Canada, and puts vulnerable populations, such as our Native American sisters and brothers and their sacred lands, at risk. These pipelines, while providing long-term profit to big business and short-term job creation, regrettably endanger those most vulnerable among us along with quality of life in the long-term. In his General audience in Vatican City on April 22, 2015, Pope Francis explained that the relationship between humanity and the Earth must be generous rather than greedy, saying, "May the relationship between man and nature not be driven by greed, to manipulate and exploit, but may the divine harmony between beings and creation be conserved in the logic of respect and care." In his encyclical, Laudato Si', Pope Francis again explains that "the climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all," and responsible care for the common good expects that President Trump reverse these directives and work to protect Earth and mitigate climate change.

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