WELCOME

Welcome to the Catholic Theology Chatroom! All people* are welcome here from all different religious backgrounds, spiritualities and none at all. This is a forum to share, learn and discuss religious concepts in relation to Catholic theology. Foundational for this room are charity, civility and respectfulness. Your welfare, safety, dignity and right to be in an atmosphere of decorum are taken seriously.

*Except those mentioned under #12 of the Chat Room Violations below.


ROOM NAME AND FOCUS

The name of the chatroom, “Catholic Theology,” reflects the focus of the room. By Catholic theology is meant that which reflects the official magisterial teaching of the Catholic Church. While some cordial side talk and congenial personal exchanges are fine, attempts to derail the main focus of the room and supplant it with other topics, especially those that are antagonistic to Catholicism, are not. Political topics and discussions are not permitted.


PURPOSE OF THE ROOM

The purpose of the room is to provide a friendly forum though which Catholic faith and practice may be discussed. Most importantly are the following:

1. to provide information to those seeking knowledge;

2. to correct misinformation about Catholicism and promote Catholic apologetics;

3. to foster an atmosphere that allows for prayer, scripture and faith sharing;

4. to advance ecumenical harmony through charity without compromise to the truth;

5. to offer a support venue for those contemplating conversion to the faith.

NOTE: While the purpose of the room is not to specifically proselytize, if a person becomes interested in conversion to the Catholic faith, room hosts may assist by directing interested parties to their nearest parish for information about OCIA.


CHATROOM PARAMETERS

1. The Catholic Theology chatroom is welcome to all persons, regardless of personal religious affiliation including belief or non-belief race, color, gender, age, etc.

2. Chatters may present their religious beliefs or opinions in a respectful way.

3. Chatters may pose sincere, appropriate questions so long as they do not provoke, demean or offend.

4. Controversial subject matter may be discussed pastorally (subject to the discretion of the room owner and hosts who monitor the room).

5. Overly graphic (sexually explicit, violent, etc.) postings should be avoided.

6. Debates are permissible so long as propriety, civility, reason, order and respect are maintained.

7. Anyone seeking to privately message another chatter in the room should first ask the other chatter in the public forum if it is permissible to do so.

8. The use of WireClub “Superpowers” (such as Big Text, Upsidedown Text, Disemvowel, etc.), may be used in the room so long as it is being done as friendly teasing in a spirit of joviality and not being done to harass others. If and when a chatter objects to Superpowers being used on him/her, then it must cease immediately.


CHAT ROOM VIOLATIONS

Both the Terms of Service of WireClub AND the Catholic Theology Chatroom Guidelines are in effect. Those who violate the Terms of Service of WireClub and/or the Guidelines of the Catholic Theology Chatroom are subject to room host or moderator intervention and, in more serious offenses, may be reported to WireClub. These infractions include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. TERRORISTIC THREATS: threats or veiled threats of violence or death; on-line stalking.

2. SOLICITATION of any kind including proselytizing. Conversion attempts will not be tolerated.

3. CYBER ATTACKING: including attempts at hacking, malware, “phishing” or attempts at gaining personal information of any kind of chat members.

4. SEXUAL IMPROPRIETY; including predation, trafficking, provoking, cruising, propositioning, or advances; promoting sexuality or sensuality through any means including messages, pictures, memes, private chat messages, room postings, or profile content; dehumanizing women or men. Additionally, those who are in sexual chatrooms while also in the Catholic Theology chatroom.

5. LOITERING OR LURKING in the chatroom, especially by new chatters and those with unverified accounts, without posting or responding in the public forum. However, those persons well-known to the room owner and/or hosts who have an acceptable and positive history, may “park” in the room (be inactive for a time).

6. HARASSMENT: bullying, hate speech; mockery; name-calling; attacking others and/or negatively targeting them even in a passive way; slander or gossip or spreading rumors; provocation, taunting and teasing; attempts at humiliating others in the public form, messages, private messages or doing the same in other chatrooms, using WireClub “Superpowers” to harry another, unwanted messaging or private chatting (or other means of contacting another chatter), that is considered undesirable by the chatter receiving the communication, especially any content that violates WireClub’s TOS or these Guidelines. Additionally, not stopping the contact when told to do so.

7. BELIEF BASHING: attacking, condemning, ridiculing or abusive postings targeting the spirituality, faith, religious beliefs or non-beliefs of others; posting misinformation of or distorting the beliefs of any religion/faith, especially after being corrected and informed (especially when demonstrated by an official source of that particular religion).

8. DISRESPECTFULNESS, including rudeness, passive-aggressive behavior, “sniping,” snideness and backhanded comments.

9. PROFANITY, vulgarity, lewdness, cursing, masked sexual content or obscene double entendres, blasphemy and sacrilege. This includes offensive abbreviations such as "GFY" or "STFU" as well as unsuitable acronyms or other veiled inappropriate content.

10. DISRUPTION: “trolling,” willfully being an annoyance; “bombing" or “tag-teaming;” or "hit and runs;" scrolling (continual posting causing disruption with words, emoticons, copy and pasting a long series of related content such as articles, etc.); airing interpersonal conflicts or personal issues in the public forum; making references or comments about host or room-owner interventions such as corrective actions taken; bringing up incidents from this chat room or from other rooms, especially of a disciplinary matter, that may lead to bickering or humiliation of others.

11. ANNOYING BEHAVIORS that are typically a nuisance such as frequently picking on words, being frequently contradictory, passive-aggressiveness, persistently bickering and/or inciting quarrels, baiting, fomenting negative drama, continual questioning to instigate trouble, constantly posting "LOL" or another phrase after someone else posts something, being a provocateur, becoming obtuse, picayune or persnickety, bringing up incidents from the past or from other chatrooms to instigate a quarrel, or any behaviors that continually require host/moderator intervention.

12. ANTAGONISTIC ASSOCIATIONS: Those who admit to, or whose profile content, including pictures and blogs, suggest that they are members of or affiliated with or supportive of organizations, philosophies or religions, that by their very nature, are intrinsically evil in that they are directed against the values and virtues of charity, justice, order, equity, peace, faith, equality, purity, holiness and goodness as understood by divine revelation and a civil and just society respecting humanity. Additionally in this category would be those associations and ideologies that have negative effects upon the physical, psychological or spiritual well-being of individuals and/or society. Examples would be White Supremacy, Neo-Nazism, Satanism, Anti-Semitism, Ku Klux Klan, “entrapment cults," and NAMBLA.

13. LINK POSTING in the chatroom: this includes pictures, videos, chat rooms, articles, etc. Suitable posting of links, and other content, may only be done after permission is granted by a host monitor who has scrutinized the material for content. Suitable links are those that are spiritual/religious in nature that advance education, edification, ecumenical harmony, etc. (and still must be cleared by a host).

14. UNSUITABLE TOPICS: Attempting to instigate discussions that promote, extol or dwell on topics contrary to the nature and rating of this room, including the following: politics; sexual content; substance use; graphic violence/gore; vilification of the Catholic Church/faith or other religions or beliefs/non-beliefs; any subject matter lacking in taste, or propriety according to the judgment of the room owner and/or room hosts (sometimes referred to as “moderators”).

15. POLITICS. The prohibition of politics includes the following:
A. No political parties;
B. No political agendas;
C. No political news;
D. No mention of politicians or former politicians except those before 1960.
E. No mention of political candidates or former candidates;
F. No political artforms of any kind;
G. No political quotes or statements;
H. No quotes from politicians or former politicians;
I. No mention of politics of any kind in relaying religious information/discussion
J. No political links;
K. No political inferences;
L. No political jokes;
M. No trying to get by the rules by "not mentioning any names," etc.;
N. No passive-aggressive or "code" political postings;
O. No mentioning of politics/politicians even on "cross-over matters";
P. No using "cross-over material" to sneak in political material.
Q. No politics period.

16. PROFILE CONTENT: Personal profile/user name, profile picture(s) or other profile content that contains subject matter considered by the room owner or hosts to be inappropriate, lacking in taste, unsuitable or objectionable given the aforementioned guidelines and nature of this room.

17. CONTEMPT FOR AUTHORITY: Disregard for room authority. Refusing to abide by the directives of the room owner, or room hosts. NOTE: It is not permitted to block or ignore the room owner, or the room hosts.

18. INTERFERENCE in, commenting on (especially negatively), or butting in on host interventions, such as when hosts are cautioning or warning others or have removed offenders from the room.


HOST INTERVENTION

A host intervention is a corrective action taken by a chatroom host (including the room owner) in order to keep the chatroom safe, friendly, peaceful, orderly, appropriate and free from violations. Host interventions include (1) warning; (2) room ejection; (3) temporary suspension and (4) permanent ban, depending on the nature of the violation.

If a person is in violation of the guidelines, a room host will ordinarily alert that person of the infraction and will provide a warning. If the warned chatter continues to violate the guidelines, that person may be removed from the chatroom. After continual infractions, a person may be temporarily suspended or permanently banned from the room and possibly reported to WireClub or even secular authorities.

NOTE 1: Depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, a warning may not be issued, and the offending chatter may be immediately subject to any other corrective action stated above.

NOTE 2: In matters of contestation, the judgment of the host shall prevail. Additionally, all have recourse to the room founder / owner in the event one believes a matter was not handled with propriety or equity.

NOTE 3: It is not permissible to bring up incidents of host interventions / corrective action in the public forum of the chatroom (See #10 of Chatroom Violations above). Harping on and bringing up past issues of a host intervention will not be tolerated.


RECOURSE AND APPEAL

If a person feels that he or she was treated inappropriately by anyone in the room, including a host, or if a person feels that a host intervention was unwarranted, that individual may present a grievance to the room owner/founder, Father Barnabas, via (private) message. It is best to submit a screen shot of the matter in question whenever possible. Father Barnabas will review the matter and try to respond in a reasonable amount of time depending on his schedule. Attempts to bring up incidents in the public forum of the chatroom are not permitted and will not be taken seriously.

SUGGESTIONS AND COMMENTS

We welcome your comments, recommendations, complaints, suggestions and compliments. Please send a (private) message to Father Barnabas. Thank you!

Updated: 8/8/2024
Last updated: 11/3/2023, 1/8/2023, 11/16/2021, 8/5/2021, 7/14/2021 and 11/26/2018.