Last week a new search engine was launched just for Catholics, aptly named “Catholic Google.” Powered by but not affiliated with Google.com, its tag line reads “The best way for good Catholics to surf the web.” Using “safe search” technology, CatholicGoogle.com gives weight to “Catholic” websites and avoids “unsavory content.”
So, here is what came up on a few searches I tried…
When I searched for “contraception,” a few conservative articles came up about the Vatican’s antiquated stance on contraception. If I had searched on normal Google, I would have been directed to articles on contraception, how to properly use birth control, and where to purchase contraceptives. Thank goodness CatholicGoogle.com saves us from that blasphemy!
The same happened when I searched “stem cell research,” “sex,” “life” and “abortion.” All the articles reinforced the institutional Catholic Church stance on the subjects.
Surprisingly, the editors of this site must have forgotten to block out those renegade progressive Catholics (note the sarcasm). When I searched for “women’s ordination” two pro-women’s ordination groups, Roman Catholic Women Priests and Women’s Ordination Conference, were the first sites that came up
The same happened with when I searched “LGBT” and DignityUSA, a group working for LGBT rights in the Church, topped the list. However, if you search for “homosexual,” an organization called Courage comes up. Courage is an organization which tried to convince gay and lesbian Catholics to be chaste.
It was only a matter of time before someone figured out how to “save the children” from that anti-Catholic blasphemy out in cyberspace. Heaven forbid they know what a condom is! At least some organizations that offer different perspectives of Catholicism are able to slide under the radar, but I am certain that won’t last long.
In the end, I seriously doubt that I will accept the site’s offer to “Make CatholicGoogle.com my homepage.”
