New liturgical music document

Morning's Minion generated some good discussion at Vox Nova around the U.S. bishops' upcoming update of their voter's guide, Faithful Citizenship a few days ago, which is set to be discussed at their upcoming meeting in Baltimore. Also on the agenda is the approval of a …

Drink local

I could probably write a post about the ethical option of choosing local brews over the big ones. But instead, I'll just ask you to send me some of this beautiful stuff.

Please?

Voting and Salvation: Thanks, but no thanks

As a Catholic whose ongoing study and reflection on discipleship has led him to political anarchism (of a particular type, mind you, though there is no space to get into the details here), the question of voting has been one that I have wrestled with for some time now. …

What Would Jesus Buy? out soon

A while back I blogged about an early premiere of Rev. Billy's What Would Jesus Buy here in Toronto. I missed it. But it'll be released soon. Read a piece on the film by Democracy Now!'s Amy Goodman here, and check out the trailer below.

New encyclical, "Spe Salvi," coming Nov. 30

From Reuters (h/t The Bride and the Dragon):

Pope Benedict's second encyclical will be released next week, the Vatican said on Friday.

The encyclical, called "Spe Salvi" (Latin for "Saved by Hope"), is expected to be a largely philosophical and theological work but …

"See that you not be deceived"

At today's liturgy for the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time we heard a challenging passage from Luke's Gospel proclaimed. Here is the text, to refresh our memory:

While some people were speaking about

how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive …

Appalachian theology series

2 more parts to that series coming! Thanks for your patience!

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (6)

Part Six: Appalachia today in the midst of new forms of "imperial capitalism"

Judging

In light of globalization's effects on Appalachia, the liberationist method of ethical reflection remains as important as ever. The Church must continue to strive to see reality from …

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (5)

Part Five: Appalachia today in the midst of new forms of "imperial capitalism"

Observing

The social sciences remain a key resource for understanding the socio-economic and political reality of Appalachia. In particular, the field of Appalachian Studies must be …

Mountaintop Removal on Democracy Now

On Friday Democracy Now! featured an interview with Vernon Haltom, co-director of Coal River Mountain Watch, an Appalachian grassroots organization fighting for social and environmental justice for people living near mountaintop removal sites. Here is an excerpt:

JUAN …

Bush's "culture of life" does not include rural Appalachians

Our self-proclaimed "pro-life" president proves yet again that, beyond a few minor gestures suggesting a personal opposition to abortion, he has no interest in truly promoting a "culture of life." The Bush administration is gearing up to release new regulations that …

Bush admin. set to expand mountaintop removal mining regulations

From Commondreams/New York Times:

The Bush administration is set to issue a regulation on Friday that would enshrine the coal mining practice of mountaintop removal. The technique involves blasting off the tops of mountains and dumping the rubble into valleys and …

New blog coming soon

Some of you know that I cross-post some of my entries here at a new Catholic group blog called Vox Nova. I don't post there as much as some of the other contributors do, but nonetheless, I really enjoy the group blog idea. So in light of this, and in light of some of …

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (4)

Part Four - At Home in the Web of Life (1995)

Observing

At Home in the Web of Life, the second pastoral letter of the Catholic bishops of Appalachia, was conceived as a continuation of the reflection started in This Land is Home to Me. Twenty years after the …

Hillarious interview w/ Daryl Hall

Don't get me wrong. I love me some Hall and Oates. Always have, always will. Their bass lines and chord progressions still amaze me. I recorded my own version of "Maneater."

But this recent interview with Daryl "The woman is wild wooOOOOOOoooo" Hall at Pitchfork …

What if the Reformation had happened in the '80s?

I need to share this with ya'll. I'm on Facebook which now has a bunch of customizable applications that Facebook users can add to their profile pages. One of them is called "Graffiti" and it allows users to draw pictures, graffiti, on the "wall" of their friends' …

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (3)

Part Three: This Land is Home to Me (1975) [19]

Observing

Part one of This Land is Home to Me describes the social, political, economic, and environmental reality of Appalachia as reflected through interviews with ordinary Appalachians, social service providers and …

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (2)

Part Two - The beginnings of "Appalachian liberation theology"

Before examining the two Appalachian pastoral letters in more detail, it is important to understand their context as an outgrowth and application of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II …

"Though the Mountains Be Shaken": Toward a Countercultural and Liberative Ecclesial Ethic for Appalachia (1)

Part One - Introduction

"Though the mountains be shaken

and the hills be removed,

yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken

nor my covenant of peace be removed,"

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

"O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,

I …

Dick Cheney in 1994

Dick Cheney in a 1994 interview explaining why invading and occupying Iraq would be a horrible idea. He was right.