Appalachian coal country, little change in 40 years

Appalachian coal country, where sisters see little change in 40 years

by Dan Stockman

Global Sisters Report: When Notre Dame de Namur Sr. Kathleen O'Hagan and St. Joseph Sr. Gretchen Shaffer arrived in Mingo County in 1976, nearly everyone was economically poor. Though four decades have passed since the pastoral letter by the Appalachian bishops, the region's underlying problem has not changed: The people still have little voice.

Q and A with Sr. Mary Going, fighting for disability pay for former coal miners

by Dan Stockman

GSR interview: Mount Tabor Benedictine Sr. Mary Going is an attorney at the Appalachian Research and Defense Fund of Kentucky. These days, she is handling loads of disability cases, indicative of an ongoing crisis in eastern Kentucky.

Wilderness teaches appreciation of density, difference

by Donna Schaper

Reflection: There are many kinds of wilderness, both natural places, like the desert or the bottom of the sea, or internal, wild ones. We can learn from both.