THE NATIONAL CATHOLIC WEEKLY OCT. 4, 2010 $3.50 OF MANY THINGS PUBLISHED BY JESUITS OF THE UNITED STATES iving in a flood-prone suburban FEMA sent crews and industrial- EDITOR IN CHIEF area, I know firsthand the devas- strength equipment to help with the Drew Christiansen, S.J. tation and damage water is capa- cleanup afterward and the removal, over L EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT ble of causing. I grew up dealing with a period of days, of discarded items MANAGING EDITOR floods—of the sewer-water variety— from each house on the block. I lost Robert C. Collins, S.J. pitching in, when I was old enough, to thousands of dollars worth of belong- EDITORIAL DIRECTOR assist my parents and siblings in the ings in a heartbeat. I submitted a Karen Sue Smith massive clean-up. We used brooms, detailed list, with price estimates, to ONLINE EDITOR wet-dry vacs and shovels to move the FEMA—but, alas, after their two visits Maurice Timothy Reidy muck-filled water out the back door to my home and letter exchanges, my CULTURE EDITOR from our basement. own and my neighbors’ appeals were James Martin, S.J. On one occasion the water level was turned down. LITERARY EDITOR high enough to seep through an oven Among the many items on my list: a Patricia A. Kossmann door. (We had a kitchen area in the brand new high-rise, a recliner, a POETRY EDITOR basement in those days and ate most of stocked cedar chest (which actually James S. Torrens, S.J. our meals downstairs.) Out, of course, floated across the room), a computer went the oven along with the small station, expensive luggage, cabinetry ASSOCIATE EDITORS fridge and other items. Each flood over and an entire bathroom wall, which George M. Anderson, S.J. Kevin Clarke the years brought certain loss, so we nearly collapsed. Kerry Weber eventually had a barricade built But among the most saddening loss- Raymond Schroth, S.J. between the outer and inner doors hop- es were a large box containing dozens ART DIRECTOR ing it would hold off rising sewer water and dozens of hand-made (by my aunt) Stephanie Ratcliffe headed to our basement door. Christmas tree ornaments and a carton ASSISTANT EDITOR Nowadays, still here in my original of photos and family memorabilia. Francis W. Turnbull, S.J. home (which has been continually ren- These were priceless and irreplaceable. I ASSISTANT LITERARY EDITOR ovated and redecorated), I find myself felt violated. Of course, as I contem- Regina Nigro listening closely—and with trepidation, plate the destruction and displacement to be honest—when weather forecasts endured by millions of families not only BUSINESS DEPARTMENT call for heavy wind-driven rains. It is in the United States but across the PUBLISHER then, for “protection,” that I light and world, I know my situation is far from Jan Attridge burn pieces of palm (reserved from dire. I keep that in mind whenever a CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Palm Sunday) in a small container. ‘Tis flood threatens my little world. Lisa Pope an old Irish superstition, methinks— I learned a lesson on that August ADVERTISING but I’ll try anything to escape Mother day. The flood, in a way, forced me not Julia Sosa Nature’s fury. only to clean up but to prioritize items Unfortunately, nothing could have according to need and importance so I 106 West 56th Street helped on the morning of Aug. 8, 2007. could place them safely. It also taught New York, NY 10019-3803 When the rains came, I watched from me to treasure the valuables I still have Ph: 212-581-4640; Fax: 212-399-3596 an upstairs window and within a matter (some photo albums in the garage, for E-mail: [email protected]; of minutes lost sight of the top grate of example) and be grateful to the Lord [email protected] the nearby sewer plate. It was beneath for my personal safety, the sturdy roof Web site: www.americamagazine.org. the rising waters. Again helplessness, over my head and, equally important, Customer Service: 1-800-627-9533 despite my having fortified the back the solidarity we neighbors experienced © 2010 America Press, Inc. door. In no time, neither the barricade among ourselves. Everyone reached out nor tons of towels (and prayerful, tear- to assist others, especially single home- ful pleas to God) were of any use. Over owners like myself, even as they battled Cover: Chuck Nelson, 57, a retired three feet of muck and water inundated their own messes. There are no barri- miner, surveys a mountaintop my lovely finished basement. Outdoors cades between us. And that, in my removal coal mine on Kayford Mountain, W.Va., in September automobiles were floating all over the book, is a real treasure indeed. 2007. Photo: Reuters/Andrea place. PATRICIA A. KOSSMANN Hopkins/Files CONTENTS www.americamagazine.org VOL. 203 NO. 8, WHOLE NO. 4906 OCTOBER 4, 2010 ARTICLES 11 APPALACHIA’S WOUNDS The injustice of mountaintop removal Kyle T. Kramer COLUMNS & DEPARTMENTS 4 Current Comment 5 Editorial Truly Catholic 6 Signs of the Times 11 9 Column Urban Renewal Thomas Massaro 22 Poem The Windows Leonard Cirino 41 Letters 46 The Word Saving Gratitude Barbara E. Reid 18 BOOKS & CULTURE 18 FALL BOOKS Sarah; Creation Untamed; City of Tranquil Light; The Man Who Never Returned; Travels in Siberia; The Virgin of Chartres ON THE WEB ON THE WEB Kyle T. Kramer, right, reports on coal mining in Appalachia on our podcast, and Austen Ivereigh evaluates the papal visit to Britain. Plus, David van Biema on how Unicef discov- ered Mother Teresa. All at americamagazine.org. 4635 CURRENT COMMENT Who are no longer coming? Mostly they are unauthorized The New Mass immigrants from Latin America (the Caribbean, Central In Advent 2011, there may be plenty of surprised America and South America), but excluding Mexico. The Catholics in your parish. The Vatican recently approved number from Latin America declined by 22 percent between the final version of the new English-language translation of 2007 and 2009, while the number from Mexico peaked at the Mass texts after a decades-long, byzantine process. around 7 million in 2007 and has leveled off. America readers will be familiar with the controversy sur- This report tracks a notable trend reversal but offers no rounding the approval (as well as the “What if We Just explanation for it. It does not show that increased border Said, ‘Wait’?” movement). Overall, the new translation is a security or stronger anti-immigrant laws or fewer job word-for-word replication of the approved Latin text opportunities are responsible. Nor does it suggest why the rather than one aimed at conveying a more general “sense” number of Latin American immigrants, in particular, is of the Latin. A few Catholics will be delighted by the more declining. Some will find the drop itself a positive develop- high-toned language; some will be dismayed at overly fussy ment, a big problem shrinking, whatever the reason. Yet words; most will probably miss the “old” Mass (a k a the few big problems solve themselves. In this case the need for Novus Ordo), which did not seem to need much tinkering. immigration reform at the federal level remains as long as There are some striking changes. Christ now died not “for there are millions of unauthorized immigrants among us. all,” but “for many” (the original Latin is pro multis). For a time, then, both priests and the faithful will have their eyes Developing Obesity glued on their sacramentaries and missalettes. Hunger and starvation continue to afflict the world’s poor- In preparation for the introduction of the new texts, the est countries, but in some poor nations obesity has also U.S. bishops have announced an ambitious catechetical emerged as a growing problem. In the past two decades, program. But is this a case of closing the church doors rates of obesity have tripled in developing countries that after the liturgical horses have fled? It is unlikely that any have been adopting a more Western lifestyle in terms of catechesis will convince Catholics who think otherwise food consumption, according to The New England Journal that the new translations are an improvement over the old. of Medicine. A study by the United Nations in 1999 Perhaps the best that the bishops’ program can do is found obesity in all developing parts of the world, and it remind Catholics of the centrality of the Eucharist, the tends to grow as income increases. Even in sub-Saharan “source and summit of the Christian life,” as the Second Africa, where most of the world’s hungriest people live, an Vatican Council taught. The Mass is still the place where increase in obesity is taking place, especially among urban Catholics meet God in the most profound way. And that is women. The World Health Organization has pointed out the invitation for all, not just many. that this pandemic originated in the United States, crossed to Europe and the world’s other rich nations, and then Who Is Not Coming? appeared in even the world’s poorest countries, especially A report issued in September by the Pew Hispanic Center, in their urban areas. based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, shows that Dr. Barbara Burlingame, a nutrition officer at the U.N. the size of the unauthorized immigrant population has Food and Agriculture Organization, has noted that obesity been shrinking since mid-decade and continues to often leads to micronutrient deficiency, which can lead in shrink—a marked reversal. The inflow of unauthorized turn to such health threats as anemia, diabetes and cardio- immigrants was nearly two-thirds smaller between March vascular disease.