Catholic Leaders Take Firsthand Look at MTR

Just a few days before Christmas, several leaders of the Catholic Church met in Hindman, Ky., to take a close look at the effects of mountaintop removal on coalfield communities. The leaders, including three bishops from the Appalachian region, visited an active mountaintop removal site and heard from mining representatives, as well as coalfield residents.

They visited with Rev. Steve Peake of Corinth Baptist Church in McRoberts, Ky., a town surrounded by mountaintop removal.

OVEC member and Boone County resident Maria Gunnoe (see photo at left) gave an impassioned talk on the havoc mountaintop removal had done to her home and quality of life, showing pictures of the devastation that had been caused by floods.

The Catholic leaders were very moved to see and hear the stories of all the affected individuals, but, as the Kentucky Coal Association later stated in their newsletter Cross Roads, there were those who felt that the leaders were being co-opted into calling for an end to mountaintop removal.

They felt it was organized "to lead attendees to conclude the coal industry and mountaintop mining are extremely harmful, not only to the environment, but to the people of Appalachia."

What follows is a reaction by Sister Robbie Pentecost, one of the organizers of the conference.

As an organizer for the Bishops’ Mountaintop Removal Forum, I was disappointed by the headline, "Miners say mountaintop removal forum well-intentioned but misguided," (Cross Roads, Jan. 4, 2004) emphasizing the mining industry’s point of view. The forum was indeed, well-intentioned, but not misguided. When people’s homes, health, water, culture and lives are at risk, the Church must seek information and stand with those who are vulnerable.

I would like to highlight the results of the forum. First, Bishop Joe Kurtz of Knoxville clearly identified the need to strengthen the regulations around mountaintop removal and to better enforce the existing laws. Secondly, the National Catholic Rural Life Conference will emphasize mountaintop removal as an example of why new national energy policies are needed. Thirdly, the Catholic Committee of Appalachia will develop materials for education and social analysis with young people working in the region during school breaks. Finally, Jerry Hardt (a parishioner of St. Luke’s in Saylersville), Fr. John Rausch and I will continue the dialogue with Kenny, Rusty and other St. Francis parishioners involved in mining. These positive results suggest a more appropriate headline.