The First International Meeting of the Platform for Divestment in Mining, convened by the Churches and Mining Network from 19- 21 March 2026 in Rome, was marked by a spirit of attentive listening and shared discernment. Participants, including the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) and Centre Arrupe pour la Recherche et la Formation (CARF)entered into a deeply reflective space where experience became the primary text. While the ecumenical presence enriched this dynamic, it was the small, theme-focused group conversations that truly shaped the gathering. In these circles, discernment unfolded slowly through listening, weighing, and honoring each voice rather than through debate or resolution. The process itself became a form of communal listening where truth and justice were calling.

The meeting opened with a profound eco-spiritual reflection led by Yolanda Flores, grounding the entire experience in reverence. The prayerful act of seeking permission from Mother Earth to speak on her behalf set a tone of humility and relational accountability. This was not merely symbolic; it framed the conversations that followed as a dialogue not only among people but with creation itself where extraction of minerals takes place. Across discussions on geopolitics, energy transition, illegal mining, conflict, and financial systems, a consistent thread emerged: the need to listen deeply to voices from the margins: communities, ecosystems, and lands that bear the cost of extraction. Stories from Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, and parts of Europe echoed one another with painful familiarity, revealing patterns of broken promises, environmental degradation, and displacement from ancestral lands. Listening became an act of solidarity, and discernment a response to shared suffering.

A pivotal moment came with the press conference at the Vatican Press Office, where the divestment platform was launched in the presence of Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini and Bishop Vicente Ferreira. Yet even this public milestone was rooted in the quieter, collective discernment that preceded it. The final phase of the meeting, which focused on defining priority strategies and the functioning of the divestment platform, reflected a careful integration of reflection and action. That final phase respected the reality that communities affected by mining are responding to mining differently. What emerged was not one plan, but a shared commitment shaped by listening to one another, to affected communities, and to the cry of the earth. In this way, the convening embodied a model of discernment that is both spiritual and practical, grounded in experience and oriented toward transformation.