What Makes A Website Catholic?
Last month, the Communication Directors and information specialists for the seven dioceses in Florida met to discuss the future of the church and its use of technology – primarily its use of the Internet.
It is mind-boggling how fast technology is advancing and the number of people using the Internet today.
All seven dioceses have a website, but we are now exploring how we can provide a uniform system for providing official Catholic resources to the public.
One of the many benefits of the Internet is the almost unlimited access we have to resources. On the flip side however, we are also exposed to unlimited access to questionable information.
When it comes to searching the web for Catholic resources to help us on our journey of faith, reliability and accuracy are critically important. I have had a number of people email me through our diocesan website (www.dosaonline.com) asking for additional resources on the Catholic faith. And I am always careful to direct them to sites that I know have official status in the church as well as a wealth of information.
As we discussed in our meeting, anyone can create a website and call itself an official Catholic website or even imply that it is a bastion of orthodoxy by the images it uses. The technology that provides us with so many benefits prevents the church from authorizing each of the hundreds of sites, or even keep up with the ever-changing landscape of sites that are added or changed each day.
So what are we to do, then, when given materials from these sources, or directed to sites for information? Cackie Upchurch in the spring issue of the Little Rock Scripture Study Newsletter (Liturgical Press) has these suggestions:
1. Read the material with a critical mind. How does what you are reading “gel” with your own experience in the church? How does it fit into what you have been taught as an adult?
2. Is the material factual? Is it an opinion? Is it an opinion informed by correct factual information?
3. Ask yourself what the purpose seems to be of those who printed the material online. Does the material draw you into a deeper relationship with Christ? Does it add to your faith or diminish it?
4. If you are in doubt about what you have read, share it with someone in your church whom you respect and admire as a disciple of Christ. Do they find the information solid, helpful, uplifting?
5. Talk with your pastor or religious education director to see if you are getting the whole picture. Learning about our shared faith should be an experience of growth. We should look for what builds up the Body of Christ and discard what is divisive or disrespectful.
The Diocese of Saint Augustine is very careful to link to only those sites that have official status in the church. Here are three sites that are listed on our homepage that can provide individuals with accurate information on the teachings of the church and church documents: www.nccbuscc.org (the National Conference of Catholic Bishops), www.flacathconf.org (the Florida Catholic Conference), and www.vatican.va (the Vatican homepage).
