Can We Get One of These on the Popemobile?

According to an article posted on the Catholic News Service website, more than 3,000 people (many of them Catholic Workers!) signed a letter to Pope Benedict XVI to ask him to speak out against the war in Iraq when he comes to visit in April. Specifically, it asks the pope to reconsider his plans to meet with George W. Bush as a means of reiterating his already public disapproval of the war.

Here's another issue I would like to see addressed...Recently the Vatican has taken steps to become more "green". They have installed photovoltaic cells on buildings to produce electricity as well as hosted a scientific conference that discussed global warming as a result of the human use of fossil fuels. A recently released list of "new sins" includes pollution and other crimes against the environment. Since Pope Benedict is coming to visit the nation's capitol, and will be only a stone's throw from the destructive source of the very fossil fuels which are destroying our planet, it only makes sense that he takes the opportunity to address the subject of responsible stewardship of the environment. Because he has an extremely busy schedule that can't possibly allow him to address every single issue that Catholics should be concerned about, what better (and more American) way to make a statement than through a bumper sticker? It would put the Pope in solidarity with the people of the Appalachian region who involuntarily are forced to sacrifice their livelihoods so that fossil fuels can be extracted from their homelands desecrating the land in the process. This is an issue that needs to be addressed by every person that uses electricity in this country and yet is relatively unheard of outside of the region that it takes place. We need to find creative ways to educate people and raise awareness...I think this might be one.

I plan to write a letter to the Holy Father about Mountain Top Removal and ask him to consider having an I Love Mountains bumper sticker put on the popemobile for people to see when he travels through the streets of D.C and New York. I will be distributing the letter, to begin collecting signatures, tomorrow via email, MySpace, Facebook and this site. Who knows? The Spirit does work in mysterious ways...

On a final note, America Magazine recently featured a full page editorial in their March 3rd edition entitled King Coal that addressed the MTR issue in Appalachia.