By Mary Cunningham, HM and Barbara O’Donnell, HM
I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe, plans to give you a future full of hope.” Jeremiah 29:10-11
Experience
“Fracking is fracturing land, families, and communities,” said Pauline Beck, one of four neighbors who joined four Sisters of the Humility of Mary to plan a town hall meeting at Villa Maria Community Center in western Pennsylvania. Her words describe the relational breakdown in rural Pulaski Township where 90% of the land is leased for hydraulic fracturing. Neighbors and former friends have opposed one another at local public hearings and in the media.
The town hall session was one of twelve public gatherings to educate ourselves and the wider community. Presenting various dimensions of horizontal hydraulic fracturing were scientists, attorneys, ethicists, farmers, university professors, community organizers, oil companies, health professionals, environmentalists, leased and unleased landowners, and persons already suffering harm. Download the PDF document below to continue reading
