Ecclesiastical Approval

Ecclesiastical obedience and the rights of Catholic Christians

 

 

 

The purpose of this web site is to fulfill our Christian vocation via apostolic action on the web which is permitted, and even obligated, by Canon Law.

 

 

We specifically derive our rights and obligations from the following:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canon 215

Christ's faithful may freely establish and direct associations which serve charitable or pious purposes or which foster the Christian vocation in the world, and they may hold meetings to pursue these purposes by common effort.

Canon 225 § 1

Since lay people, like all of Christ's faithful, are deputed to the apostolate by Baptism and Confirmation, they are bound by the general obligation and they have the right, whether as individuals or in associations, to strive so that the divine message of salvation may be known and accepted by all people throughout the world. This obligation is all the more insistent in circumstances in which only through them are people able to hear the Gospel and to know Christ.

Canon 225 § 2

They have also, according to the condition of each, the special obligation to permeate and perfect the temporal order of things with the spirit of the Gospel. In this way, particularly in conducting secular business and exercising secular functions, they are to give witness to Christ.

1 Peter 3:15

Simply proclaim the Lord Christ holy in your hearts, and always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience.

The Catholic Church for all of us starts at the local level: in our parish. This is where Our Lord, from the beginning of time, has planned for us to partake in His plan of bringing the Good News of Jesus to the whole world. We encourage everyone to work and develop their unique calling from their parish, and in obedience with a bishop that is loyal to the Holy See.

 

Most of our apostolate work is based in the Archdiocese of Boston, and we are delighted to report that, according to Cardinal O'Malley's secretary, the Cardinal himself has said some very kind things about the work we are done, specifically at CPATS.org/AskACatholic.com. 

 

Nevertheless, we acknowledge the content of Canon 216 which states:

 

Canon 216

Since they share the Church's mission, all Christ's faithful have the right to promote and support apostolic action, by their own initiative, undertaken according to their state and condition. No initiative, however, can lay claim to the title 'Catholic' without consent of the competent Ecclesiastical authority.

Thus, we want to make it clear that our domain name, BibleBeltCatholics.com is not meant to imply that we are an official Catholic web site in any way. By putting the disclaimer "Does not imply Ecclesiastical approval", below our domain header, we hope to clarify this issue, and show that we are striving to keep in good graces with our Cardinal, Cardinal Sean O'Malley.

 

We are simply a group of individual Catholics trying to do God's will. We are baptized Catholic Christians called to preach, teach, evangelize, and clarify the Word of God in both the written and oral Traditions of the Church.

 

This specific web site focuses on the writings of the Early Church.

• Isn't that what Our Lord Jesus tells us to do in the Gospels?
• Isn't that what St. Paul would do if he had access to an Internet back in his times?