AWAKEN Catholic App
Community Guidelines
"... the future of humanity lies in the hands of those who are strong
enough to provide coming generations with reasons for living and hoping."
- Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, no. 31, Second Vatican Council
AWAKEN Catholic seeks to be a vibrant faith community within the Church, striving for Truth through beauty. Our vision for this community, including the app, follows the four marks of the Church: we seek to be One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
One
We come together with other Catholics and other people of good will. We may not always agree, but we are united in our love for God and one another (Matthew 22:27-30).
Holy
To be holy means to be set apart. Just as the Lord is high above all other gods (Ps 97:9), so too does he call us, the Church, to live in a way that is high above the world around us. Vitriol and hatred reign on many social media platforms but the Church is different. We will seek to be “children of the light” (Eph 5:8), uplifting one another. We give each other the benefit of the doubt and look for areas of agreement before seeking to correct. We always speak with charity and remember the dignity of the other person.
Catholic
The word “catholic” means universal. Our church is beautifully diverse and open to all who genuinely seek the Lord in good will and good faith. We expect to encounter and welcome a diversity of opinion in our community. We seek to imitate the many great saints who reached out with truth and love to a variety or people and engaged a variety of opinions with reason and compassion.
Apostolic
To be an apostle means to be a missionary. We serve the mission of Jesus in the Church to seek the last, the lost, and the least (Luke 4:17-21). We also follow the Apostolic teachings of the Catholic Church as passed down through the Sacred Tradition of the Church to the modern day successors of Jesus’ Apostles, the bishops and the vicar of Christ, the Pope. We revere and honor church teaching, even while discussing and questioning in good faith.
These principles should guide all of our participation and interaction on the AWAKEN app.
With those broad principles in mind, here are a few specific guidelines :
Be charitable and kind to each other - In the spirit of Ephesians 4:29, we lift one another up, not tear each other down. That means, no explicit or implicit insults. No attacks on a person’s character or faith (ie. claiming someone isn’t a “real Catholic.”) Only a bishop has the power to excommunicate people. Please do not use profanity, even in humor. Basically, don’t be a jerk. We are all on the same team here. We are members of one body in Christ (1 Cor 12).
Politics - Political discussions are important but often contentious. These should happen in the discussion group for the Catholic Citizen show. That’s a place specifically for those conversations. Remember that no matter where you are on the political spectrum, we are called to be Catholic first and foremost. Remember that our Church does not endorse any one political party and the Catholic worldview is bigger and more nuanced than the American political polarity.
Administrators - You can always bring any concerns about content or comments on the app to the attention of an Admin. Admins will try to let conversations flow as much as possible but reserve the right to delete or hide comments they think are not conducive to fostering a community rooted in the above principles. Please be kind to and patient with our Admins. They are here to help. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to an Admin if you see a problem or have a question.
Users of the app who do not follow these guidelines and whose comments are detrimental to the community may be removed from the app.
Finally, in the words of St. Paul:
“Now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
- Colossians 3: 8-15