A Rural Calling: Sisters Gretchen Shaffer and Kathleen O’Hagan

A Rural Calling: Sisters Gretchen Shaffer and Kathleen O’Hagan

In February of 1975, 25 Appalachian Catholic bishops released a document titled “This Land is Home to Me: A Pastoral Letter on Powerlessness in Appalachia.” Written in free verse, it describes the history of extraction and exploitation in Appalachia’s coalfields and beyond, challenges the faithful to stand up for those abused and discarded, and suggests a path forward.  The bishops wrote: [T]he goal which underlies our concern is fundamental in …