Charity above all
According to the Angelic Doctor, charity is “to will the good of another”; “… for God is the principal object of charity, while our neighbor is loved out of charity for God’s sake” (Summa Theologiae, Secunda Secundae, Q 23).
“Catholic doctrine tells us that the primary duty of charity does not lie in the toleration of false ideas, nor in the theoretical or practical indifference towards the errors and vices in which we see our brethren plunged… but in the zeal for their intellectual and moral improvement. Any other kind of love is sheer illusion, sterile and fleeting.”
“If I speak with the tongues of angels; if I should have prophecy and should know all mysteries, and all knowledge, and if I should have all faith, so that I could remove mountains; if I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, and if I should deliver my body to be burned, but have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.”
Academic standard
We expect all discussions to be conducted with intellectual honor, fortitude, and academic rigor. Define your terms, list your sources. If you do not meet this academic standard, you will receive a warning. While your content will never be removed, if your behavior persists, you will become subject to potential banning from this community. (Reference also the “Rule governing disagreements”, directly below.)
n.b. — When quoting a source citation in your posts and comments, please try to format that citation by using the blockquote formatting button available inside the text editor. After saving and publishing your post or comment, you will see that the last paragraph of every blockquote is automatically formatted as the source citation; as demonstrated in the citation from St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, directly above.
Rule governing disagreements
Disagreements are inevitable; and we view them as a good thing, so long as they are ordered toward resolution, i.e. the mutual discovery of Truth.
However, we will not tolerate open-ended disagreements that are disparately littered throughout these forums. Toward the end of maintaining the tranquility of order, the moderators of this forum intend to strictly enforce the following rule which governs any and all disagreements that may arise in Catacomb:
Any commenters who may become entangled in a disagreement, in any forum, are bound to extract their dispute into a formal debate thread within the Debates forum. This debate thread can be opened by any one of the disputants; and should open by precisely defining the agreed upon terms of resolution.
If Catacomb moderators are forced to interject themselves to do this on your behalf, and you are found to be a repeat offender in this regard, you should expect to be banned. It is our desire that every member of Catacomb conduct themselves with honor befitting of the title Christian; and this includes having the fortitude to defend your position in a formal context.
Censorship policy
Any content submitted and/or uploaded to this site will never be censored, redacted, amended, or deleted, in any way whatsoever; with the following exceptions:
- Sinful: Anything posted that is objectively sinful, or an occasion of sin, will be deleted posthaste. An example of sinful content would be vulgar language or artwork.
- Note that while promoting erroneous doctrine is certainly a sinful act, we will never in any way edit or redact any content which we deem to be in error, towards the end of facilitating education and catechesis. (Reference also the “Rule governing disagreements”, directly above.)
- Be advised also that all forms of modern music (be it rock, rap, swing, doo wop, etc.), even if it were to have so-called “Christianized” lyrics, is considered disordered, an occasion of sin, and utterly inappropriate within the context of an academic study of the Sacred Religion.
- Off-topic: As should be self-evident, Catacomb has been established for, and was built and is maintained by, Sedevacantists. Anyone and everyone is welcome to participate, so long as your contributions to our community are relevant to our mission. We don’t need to agree with each other on every point of doctrine, as that is the whole purpose of Catacomb, namely to discuss, expound, explicate, and, ultimately, elucidate Roman Catholic Doctrine.
- Additionally, every “group” and discussion “forum” has a dedicated topic; and that topic is clearly defined by prominent descriptions within each group and forum. Any post in a given group or forum that is not aligned with the declared topic of that group or forum, will be marked as “off-topic”. It will then be your responsibility to migrate your post to the proper area on the site wherein it is better suited. Note that if no such group or forum exists within Catacomb, the content will be subject to removal.
- Kayfabe: Any content posted to this site that promotes the cause of any politician, political candidate, or political party, will be deleted expeditiously, with prejudice. It is an indisputable fact that all politicians and government officials in the formerly Christian world are direct collaborators with the sworn enemies of the Church; and we, as loyal sons and daughters of our Holy Mother Church, will not tolerate the appropriation of our platform as a channel for disseminating the systematically duplicitous misinformation and disinformation of the Synagogue of Satan. The City of God has fallen prey to the wiles of the Kabbalah for far too long; not on our watch.
- Promotional: A pattern of activity ordered solely toward the promotion (e.g. linking) of content which exists elsewhere on the web, will be deemed as “promotional” activity. Content creators of all stripes are more than welcome to participate, so long as they use Catacomb as a distribution platform, rather than solely as a promotional platform. All creators are free to upload unlimited text, documents, graphics, and video to our site. All of our members can follow creators to receive updates whenever they post; as well as leave comments and questions regarding the content which the creator posted.
- Spam: Based upon our prudential evaluation, and the context in which it is placed, any content that leads to a sales page or ecommerce site may be deemed as “spam”, and subject to potential removal.
- Also, any content that is bot or “AI” generated will be automatically blocked. We desire Catacomb to be a community of human beings who interact with this site using the two hands which God gave them.
Use your full baptismal name
We ask that you use your full given baptismal name within our community, in emulation of our sainted and noble forebears, who honorably attached their baptismal name to their activity in the public forum.
It has been our observation that the adoption of an “internet avatar” is frequently an occasion of sin, due to the lack of accountability for one’s actions that may be perceived by operating under cover of a pseudonym. Using one’s baptismal name, therefore, will help to guard against conduct unbecoming of the name Christian.
Having said that, we certainly acknowledge that there are valid reasons to use a pseudonym—taken under prudential judgement—such as if you work in an environment that is hostile to your Catholic Faith. However, this should be viewed as the exception, and not the rule. (Not to mention the fact that, if that is indeed the case, you are duty bound to seek alternative employment, rather than devote your God-given talents in service to His opposition.)
Unbaptized catechumens
If you are not yet a baptized Catholic, you are more than welcome to join us; but you also are asked to use your given birth name within this community, for the same reasons above stated. If you are unbaptized, please inform the site administrator via direct message, so that he can attach the “Catechumen” badge to your profile. This will encourage our Catholic members to pray for your baptism, and your safe initiation into the Fold.
Spiritual Joy
“My friend, through long experience, I know well that there are two types of sorrow, both quite distinct from each other. One form of sorrow is beneficial and healthy and leads the soul to penitence, reformation, and improvement. But the other form is pernicious and harmful, for it leads not to repentance or improvement, but rather only to the dreadful dead end of despair! One form of sorrow, holy sorrow, leads to life, but the other only brings death.
“It is true that there are many difficulties which you must undergo in this life, and many apparent tragedies and misfortunes take place, the reasons for which exceed our current understanding. No one can honestly deny this. But these should be a cause for awe and joyful expectation of what lies in the future, not of despair over the things of the present moment. For did not Christ, who is the Giver of all good gifts and the munificent Bestower of all joys, exhort us thus: ‘When people persecute you and speak all kind of calumny against you, then rejoice and be glad; for, behold, your reward shall be great in heaven!’ (St. Matt. 5:11-12.)
“O Soul, don’t let yourself be saddened by anything in this world, for it is all passing, and shall very soon vanish away like an insubstantial dream, a fleeting vision of the night. Set your heart, rather, on the things which are eternal, and direct your immortal soul to those realities which endure forever. Let your joy be grounded in the golden hope of heaven, and let your only real sadness be in the dread of losing that ineffable delight and glory!”
Changelog
Version 1: Published 28 DEC A.D. 2024
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