Salt + Light Media has announced the premiere of the new documentary Magisterium of the People: The Story of the People’s Pastoral from the Catholic Committee of Appalachia. The film, directed and produced by Sebastian Gomes, highlights the work of the grassroots church in Appalachia, including the development of CCA’s third pastoral letter, The Telling Takes Us Home.

Salt + Light’s description of the film reads: 

The Catholic Committee of Appalachia has been listening to the cries of the poor and the earth since 1970. Its hallmark: three pastoral letters published over the last forty years that have told the story of a land and people struggling for survival against a system of exploitation and indifference. The third pastoral letter, issued in 2015, did not come from the Catholic bishops of Appalachia, but from the people themselves. It was a bold and prophetic step, to listen yet again to the cries of the poor and of the earth, to bring the “periphery” into the center, and to create new paths forward toward justice, peace and wholeness in their communities and for creation.

The film premieres Christmas Day at 8:00 pm on Salt + Light TV. The station provides a free online stream live at http://www.saltandlighttv.org/live. View the trailer here.