Catholics, Orthodox join to launch online-safety website

17 June, 2013 - Roman Catholics and Greek Orthodox in the United States have collaborated on a new website to instruct Web users, primarily parents, on how youths can navigate the online world, taking advantage of its promise while steering away from its pitfalls. The site, www.faithandsafety.org, was activated in the middle of June, which is Internet Safety Month. The site's subtitle is "Technology Safety Through the Eyes of Faith." Even in its first days, it is loaded with news about sites that teens use, eyebrow-raising details about children's first exposure to online pornography, suggestions on how to use technology safely at home, and tips on negotiating the mobile-app scene. The site was two years in the making. Its genesis was during a brainstorming session as part of a summit meeting of the Religious Alliance Against Pornography attended by Catholic and Greek Orthodox leaders. "We were challenged to come up with actionable items as a result of the summit," said Theo Nicolakis, chief information officer for the Greek Orthodox Church in the United States. "One of the items I came up with was that we were going to come up with an initiative that would give the voice of faith in regard to online and technological safety." (Source: CNS)