The teachings of the Catholic Church are coming alive for West Virginia's young Catholics through a new initiative aimed at reaching them right where they "live" -- the Internet. In association with Outside da Box, the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston has launched "Video Catechism for Teens" -- a free online resource for youths and young adults. The site became available October 11 to coincide with the start of the Year of Faith, instituted by Pope Benedict XVI. The yearlong program of worship, catechesis and evangelization runs to November 24, 2013. To reach the young people of the church, the diocese looked at their social experience. Findings through a recent study conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation showed that teenagers consume about 10 hours and 45 minutes of media content every day -- four hours and 29 minutes of that time is spent watching videos on the Internet or TV. "We can easily remember a time in our lives when Facebook and YouTube didn't exist -- kids don't remember that," said Bob Perron, executive director of the diocese's Department of Youth Ministry. "We wanted to do something where we could help our kids become better catechized, but we knew we had to do it in a different, new kind of format." That format offers young people a four-minute video each month on the site that provides a dramatization of teachings from the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," presented in a way that is relevant to them and will help them understand how they may apply the teachings in their own lives. The dramatizations illustrate experiences and issues that young people face in their own lives and how they can find God in today's culture. The mission of Outside da Box, as described on its website, is "creating short films to help teens know, love and serve Jesus Christ."
The release of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s note, Mater Populi Fidelis , on November 4, 2025, seems to have sparked some immediate and widespread confusion, driven largely by sensationalist headlines from secular sources. In response to requests, particularly surrounding a potential Fifth Marian Dogma of Spiritual Maternity , the DDF addressed the usage of titles like Co-redemptrix and Mediatrix. Unfortunately, this has led to a large contingent online and in the media claiming that the Church has "tossed out" centuries of doctrine, with some outside the Church even proclaiming a "victory" over Catholic teaching (This may be the saddest part of it all, that we as Christians, are "competing" with each other). It is essential to understand that this doctrinal note is fundamentally about titles and clarity, not doctrine and change according to the Vatican News. The true teachings regarding Mary's unique role in salvation remain inviolabl...