Posted on 06/05/2026 9:46:55 AM PDT by Olog-hai
The Pope “would be totally opposed to the destruction of a sacred place” to mine gold, a priest told a public inquiry in Northern Ireland.
Fermanagh priest Father Joe McVeigh made the claim as the potential cultural and heritage impacts of Dalradian Gold’s planning application were examined, the Detail website reported.
The North American company hopes to mine gold, silver and other metals in the Sperrin Mountains designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty for more than 20 years.
Over three days this week, the Planning Appeals Commission heard witnesses on a number of topics, including a mass rock site cited by the priest, a historic road and archaeological assets like Beaghmore Stone Circles. […]
Fr. McVeigh criticized “the division in this community that is being caused by this process”.
“We work to keep the community together and then you have a foreign mining company coming in and disrupting this sense of community, I would oppose that,” he said. …
(Excerpt) Read more at irishnews.com ...
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Is it possible to do the mining with out destroying the historical/sacred areas?
This is akin to claiming some kind of pagan “sacred ground”. Also akin to how Lenin banned vital farming, hunting, mining et al in certain areas in Russia, resulting in economic calamity and famine.
Dalradian would certainly take natural beauty into consideration. This is all about where the company is based.
It is mostly owned by Orion Resource Partners which is an American company
Who asked him?
Only if the Pope (pbuh) is on the committee apparently
I've seen much of our West overrun with wind turbines and solar farms that have destroyed natural beauty everywhere. Once it's gone, it's gone for good. I hate it.
Ruining the beauty of their mountains and cultural heritage for a gold mine strikes me as a bad thing. I support their conservation efforts.
What the heck is a “mass rock site”?
Why bother? All the gold will end up owned by the Third World savages they are importing en masse to replace themselves.
Pope Marx II supports dumping every Islamic turd on European lands but not a gold mine?
Priorities.
Pope is clearly as much an expert in mining as he was in AI last week.
He’d probably support it if they were putting a muzzle prayer room and foot wash at the site.
How does the Pope have spare time for Irish political matters when he's so busy meddling in US immigration policy and the conflict in Iran?
muzzle = muzzie. FR likes to change my spelling on that.
— What the heck is a “mass rock site”?
During the period when the British outlawed Catholicism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_laws_(Ireland) a mass rock was a spot usually well out into the countryside where priests would illegally say mass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_rock
The Dalradian project is to be underground, not affecting the natural beauty.
You’ve never been around underground mines, I take it. The proposed mine would leave a permanent 17-meter-high engineered spoil mound on the surface, while 1,500 tons of rock per day would generate continuous heavy truck traffic on narrow rural roads. Mining operations would draw large volumes of water from local rivers and groundwater, threatening protected species including the freshwater pearl mussel, while creating ongoing risks of water and air pollution, landslides, and acid drainage. The surface facilities—processing plant, water treatment infrastructure, and ventilation works—would operate for 25 years, with long-term environmental liability extending well beyond closure.
Some German firm will do worse to the area and there will not be a peep about it.
And what’s with the liberal rhetoric?
“German firm...there will not be a peep about it.”
I really doubt that.
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