.catholic Pre-Register Domain - .catholic Domain Information

MISSION/PURPOSE OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD

The mission/purpose of the .catholic TLD is to share the teachings, message and values of the Catholic Church with its own members and with the wider global community, by creating a dedicated, authoritative online space for the exclusive use of the Catholic Church and its constituent institutions, including dioceses, religious orders, institutes of consecrated life and organizations affiliated to the Catholic Church, and for the benefit of its adherents globally. The .catholic TLD will serve as an important method of communication for the Church, by establishing a formal and official channel for online communications via the appropriate channels of the Catholic Church. This function of the TLD is consistent with the Church's core activities, as communication is important in the life of the Church insofar as it facilitates the sharing of information and helps build a sense of community and belonging amongst its adherents. The .catholic TLD will complement the Church's long established global network of communications activities including print and digital media, television and radio.

The gTLD applicant (PCCS) was established in 1948 as a Dicastery (Department) of the Roman Curia, the central governing body of the Catholic Church and the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, to promote communication activities within the life of the Church. This organisational aim is detailed in the foundational basis of the PCCS, where it is stated (in Article 170 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia) that "the chief task of this Council is to encourage and support in a timely and suitable way the action of the Church and her members in the many forms of social communication." The .catholic TLD will serve to give coherence and unity to the digital presence of the Catholic Church. In particular, the TLD will provide a direct form of identification and authentication for official Catholic institutions in the digital environment.

All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and the constituent institutions of the Church. The PCCS will not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registration in the TLD to any third party that is not identified within the TLD Catholic Community. As such, individual adherents will not be eligible to register or be granted use of .catholic domain names. Dioceses, religious orders and institutions as found in the "Annuario Pontificio" (the official annual directory of all the institutions related to the Holy See) are recognised as members of the TLD Catholic Community, by virtue of their being formally recognised by the Catholic Church. This recognition is primarily, though not exclusively, evidenced by inclusion in the Annuario Pontificio. The PCCS will maintain a list of institutions formally recognised by the Holy See as falling within the Catholic Church.

Each diocese, official religious order of the Catholic Church and Church-affiliated institution, may be granted use of an associated .catholic domain name to facilitate the establishment of formal and official channels of online communication for the Catholic Church, and promote the overall mission/purpose of the .catholic TLD. The use of the domain names by these institutions is subject to internal acceptable use policies.

How do you expect that your proposed gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users, and others?


BENEFITS OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD

There are four main beneficiaries of the .catholic TLD:

1. PCCS: The .catholic TLD will bring benefits to the PCCS by supporting its efforts to promote social communications supportive of the teachings of the Catholic Church — by establishing a communication channel and a contemporary method of sharing social media content. Existing communication channels include print and radio, television and digital media. A dedicated TLD will enable communications via the Internet to be conducted in a forum of trust and legitimacy amongst users, as existing TLDs do not offer users certainty. The .catholic TLD provides certainty as existence of the domain name indicates legitimate affiliation with the Catholic Church, and that content has been approved by said entities. The .catholic TLD would therefore immediately provide trust in the sole registrant (PCCS).

2. Dioceses, religious orders, educational institutions, and other appropriate Church-sanctioned entities: These entities will be granted use of a .catholic domain name in order to carry out activities supportive of the Church. These entities will be granted the use of domain names that highlight the legitimacy of their position. Ease of communication between these organisations would be increased through the addition of a cohesive and authoritative channel for digital communication. For example, different dioceses could get in contact with one another to share their experiences and passing on best-practices to each other. Also, they could collaborate on common issues if they border the same geographical areas. Access to the new TLD platform would enable less advantaged dioceses to achieve higher visibility. This would enable them to maintain a profile equal with dioceses in more developed economies.

3. Members of congregations, members of religious orders, and those involved in any other organisation affiliated with the Church: these individuals will benefit through being able to easily access information pertinent to the Church and its activities with confidence.

4. Internet users: The .catholic TLD will benefit Internet users seeking philosophical direction by granting them access to appropriate content providers. Benefits are expected for the broader Internet community. By providing a space in which Internet users can feel confident about the authenticity of the Church-related institutions they access, the .catholic TLD will help promote the philosophical ideals and aims of the Church.

i. What is the goal of your proposed gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels, or reputation?

GOALS OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD

The primary service offered by the .catholic TLD is the immediate distinction of legitimacy, authoritativeness and relevance that the string provides to Internet users given the authenticated nature of the institutions to which the string will be consigned.
A high level of trust in the TLD is paramount to its success and high levels of service will be provided to ensure that the TLD space is maintained as intended and not diluted by unqualified registrations.

A high level of service will help maintain the integrity of the TLD. Granting of use of a domain name will only occur following an established method of verification. For example, use of a .catholic domain name will be granted if the Diocese is recognised by the Holy See and there is no formal request from the applicable Bishop to withhold release of the domain for that Diocese.

This focus of service will maintain the attractiveness of the TLD to all of the above-identified beneficiaries.

The goals of the .catholic TLD are described below along with a discussion of the benefits associated with each goal:


RECOGNITION OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD AS THE AUTHORITATIVE SPACE FOR LEGITIMATE CHURCH INSTUTUTIONS:

The PCCS intends that the .catholic TLD will achieve the reputation of being an authoritative space for legitimate Church-related information provided by dioceses, religious orders, and other Church-affiliated institutions — as a result of eligibility for use of a domain name being limited to entities recognised by the Church.

The PCCS intends that among those to whom the use of a domain name may be granted the .catholic TLD will have the reputation of being the official, authoritative online space for religious entities within the Catholic Church. Among Internet users the PCCS intends that the .catholic TLD will have the reputation of being an authoritative and verified space for accessing online Church-related material.

.catholic domain names will be registered in the name of the PCCS and granted for use to an authorised entity — a diocese, religious order or Church affiliated institution. The reputation amongst these authorised entities will be measured by actual use of the domain name by the entities. Periodic audits will be conducted to assess whether the domain name is being used and complies with the acceptable use policy. These audits of domains will ensure that content posted on .catholic domains is congruent with the TLD mission and purposes and adheres to the standards expected of official Church communications. The PCCS' goal is to see more than 75% of domain names appropriately used within three years of launching the TLD.

The attainment of this reputation amongst Internet users will be measured by reference to visit metrics for .catholic domain names. This will be cross-referenced with demographic data, such as diocese size, to enable a more sound measure of the level of use for a particular .catholic domain.

FUNCTION AS A COMMUNICATION CHANNEL:

The goal is that the .catholic TLD will serve as a privileged method of communication for the Church, by establishing an authoritative and official channel for online communications with the Church's constituent institutions and its adherents globally.

The .catholic TLD intends to promote the usage of information and communications technologies among the global network of dioceses, religious institutions and entities belonging to the Catholic Church. The purpose is to support the wider Catholic Community and to serve its global outreach. The TLD would also provide a digital platform that connects different cultural and geographically distant communities and enables them to interact and cooperate. This would add new possibilities of access to a diversity of assets and resources, thus expanding the dioceses' scope of action and hence improving the social conditions of the respective local areas. Also, the TLD would provide for better communication not only among dioceses or religious institutions, but between these and civil entities— attracting the attention of the general public onto the needs of the local communities that are served by the dioceses and religious/charitable/educational institutions.

The establishment of this communication channel would benefit Internet end-users from the dioceses' communities by creating a virtual space that promotes the sharing of information, both within the same diocese and between dioceses, religious institutions and entities belonging to the Catholic Church. By building dedicated websites, it would be possible to create a virtual community where members could upload videos, publish communications, write blogs, etc.

PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGITIMATE CHURCH-RELATED CONTENT ONLINE:

The goal is that the creation of an authorised space for Church-related information online, will encourage constituent institutions of the Church to publish material online by allaying their concerns regarding illegitimate communication channels, thereby facilitating the sharing of the Church's teachings. The creation of an authorised space will be supported by restricting domain name registrations to the PCCS; which provides an increased level of security to end-users by providing assurance that those granted use of a domain name are officially recognised, and thus sanctioned to publish the content on the domain name.

The achievement of this goal will be measured by audits to assess whether domain names are used to publish Church-related content, and are compliant with the acceptable use policy.

In summary, the short-term vision of the .catholic TLD is to offer a trusted, verified online space for Church-related communications; this is something that does not exist in the current offering of TLDs. The medium-term vision is to achieve acceptance of the .catholic TLD through significant usage of websites. The PCCS considers that these aspects would be useful measures of the success of the .catholic TLD, and its achievement of the mission/purpose described above. The long-term vision for the .catholic TLD is to achieve high acceptance of the TLD through usage by the majority of suitable Church-recognised entities, and by the wide-spread dissemination of information consistent with the Church's teachings via hosted pages containing appropriate content.

By achieving the above-identified goals, the .catholic TLD will establish itself as a unique, authoritative, dedicated space for organisations within the Church. Internet users would thus be able to safely and confidently access Church-related information provided by official sources, which is consistent with the overall goals and values of the Catholic Church.

ii. What do you anticipate your proposed gTLD will add to the current space, in terms of competition, differentiation, or innovation?

ANTICIPATED CONTRIBUTION TO THE CURRENT SPACE

The .catholic TLD will make a significant contribution to the current space in the following ways:


DIFFERENTIATION AND INNOVATION

The .catholic TLD will provide a high level of differentiation from existing TLDs. From a technical viewpoint, whereas existing TLDs often apply to diverse and broad markets, the .catholic TLD will be differentiated by offering only a relatively restricted number of available registrations. Users searching for information pertaining to the Catholic Church will be easily directed to that material via specific applicable sites. Any registration will be sanctioned by the PCCS and hence by the governing structure of the Catholic Church itself, so validity of registrants will be incontrovertible.

By providing a new alternative TLD, present crowding and forecast crowding in existing TLDs will be negated. Non-sanctioned domain name users will not be able to secure similar strings to confuse end-users or to supply controversial content. Non-sanctioned domain names will be identifiable by the absence of a .catholic registration, and the subsequent clear recognition that said content has not been specifically approved for hosting on a .catholic domain.

Although the .catholic TLD is an ASCII string and therefore primarily targeted at English-language audiences, it is imagined that the ultimate audience will be global in scope. The string is widely recognisable in alternative European languages and is suitable to broader audiences.

The restrictions placed on registrations ensure that the information provided by the qualified institutions is reliable and accurate.

The .catholic TLD will specifically address the need for an authoritative and dedicated online space for Church-affiliated entities to identify themselves as such and to express their beliefs and general information pertaining to the Church and its activities.
The .catholic TLD will directly address internet users' concerns about the legitimacy of the sources of information available online by restricting registration of domain names to the PCCS. This will enable Internet users in general to make informed choices relating to those issues that are presented on such sites.


COMPETITION

These clear points of differentiation of the .catholic TLD will promote competition amongst existing TLDs by offering domain name users products and services which are currently unavailable in existing TLDs. Because the registration of domain names is restricted to the PCCS, the .catholic TLD will not compete with other TLDs in terms of acquiring registrations, but has a significant competitive advantage in terms of the value received by Internet users. The .catholic TLD promotes competition by making available a unique TLD with uniquely identified registrations and consequent content for Internet users, hence promoting consumer choice. The restriction on the ability to register domain names, is the key to favourably positioning the .catholic TLD in the market.

iii. What goals does your proposed gTLD have in terms of user experience?
iv. Provide a complete description of the applicant's intended registration policies in support of the goals listed above.

REGISTRATION POLICIES IN SUPPORT OF THE GOALS OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD

All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and the constituent institutions of the Church. The PCCS will not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registration in the TLD to any third party that is not identified within the TLD Catholic Community. As such, individual adherents will not be eligible to register or be granted use of .catholic domain names.

Each recognised diocese (as evidenced by inclusion in the list of affiliates), official religious order of the Catholic Church and Church-affiliated institutions may be granted use of an associated .catholic domain name to establish formal and official channels of online communication for the Catholic Church, and to promote the overall mission/purpose of the .catholic TLD. The domain names granted for use by each entity will be the linguistic term most closely related to the official name of each entity, as determined by the PCCS and within the boundaries of protected name limitations. Additionally, the PCCS may in its sole discretion register generic terms for its own use or the use of recognised institutions. The use of the domain names by the PCCS and the recognised institutions is subject to internal acceptable use policies.

This restriction on eligibility ensures the identification of the .catholic TLD with the Catholic Church. It ensures that the information provided is consistent with the official views and teachings of the Catholic Church and thereby enjoys an appropriate authoritativeness. This restriction consequently strengthens the function of the .catholic TLD as a communication channel for the Church, whose authenticity is a result of the verified nature of the recognised institutions. Furthermore, this ensures the consistency and coherence of the information supplied by the different institutions.

In addition the following restrictions apply to all .catholic domain names:

- the Registry Operator will reserve names in accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement. The protection of geographic names in the .catholic TLD will be described further in the response to Question 22 — Protection of Geographic Names.

- Domain names will be registered to the PCCS for a one year term.

- .catholic domain names must be used to promote the mission/purpose of the TLD and must therefore only host material relating to the Catholic Church in accordance with the acceptable use policy.

Restrictions on who may be granted use of domain names and the acceptable use policy ensure the reliability, the authenticity and trustworthiness of information published. Self-regulation is the initial mechanism in place for this, with existing Church protocols regarding internal disputes to be utilised for any issues relating to registrations or information.

Periodic audits will ensure that these restrictions are adhered to. These restrictions ensure that all domain names will be used to promote the mission/purpose of the TLD.

The combination of restrictions on eligibility and use of domain names, and the established methods of internal dispute settlement to govern content matters, will ensure that the advancement of the TLD's goals relating to establishing an authoritative and legitimate TLD for Church-related communications may be achieved.

v. Will your proposed gTLD impose any measures for protecting the privacy or confidential information of registrants or users? If so, please describe any such measures.

PROTECTION OF PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and the verified institutions. No information in addition to that which is published on WhoIs will be collected from the sole registrant — the PCCS. Therefore, specific measures to protect publically available information are unnecessary.

No obligations will be imposed by the registry operator on registrars in relation to the handling of confidential information. Note the obligations imposed on registrars through the RAA in relation to handling registrant and confidential information.

In order to be granted use of a .catholic domain name, the name of the authorised entities must be verified by the PCCS against a list of formally recognised Church-affiliated institutions. Because only formally recognised entities will be granted use of domain names, and the information that supports this claim (the name of the entity) is not sensitive information, the PCCS does not consider necessary to keep this information confidential. In all cases the PCCS' Security Policy protects against the misuse of this information.

The PCCS' Privacy Policy will require that measures are in place to prevent disclosure of confidential information including registrant contact information — other than available through WhoIs, or intentional disclosures to ICANN or law enforcement agencies.


OUTREACH AND COMMINICATION ACTIVITIES

Outreach and communications activities to promote the .catholic TLD will be undertaken through the Church's channels of communication. Conferences of Bishops will be informed of the benefits of using a .catholic domain. The highly authoritative position that the PCCS holds within the Church will likely result in a high level of uptake following outreach efforts.

The PCCS enjoys a high degree of support in its work to promote the Catholic faith globally, as all dioceses benefit from this work. Diocese-level support for the TLD is therefore assumed to be in place and easily leveraged into use of domain names in the TLD.

The PCCS has existing staff that are employed to promote social media outreach, and the TLD is a natural extension of existing initiatives. Staffing requirements and promotional networks which are in place will be utilised to promote the TLD. The PCCS will directly manage these high-level efforts.

Subsequent to this, local promotion will become the responsibility of the dioceses. The promotion of the TLD by dioceses will serve to increase the value in their own domain names and, by extension, in the TLD itself. Appropriate use of registrations will help strengthen the dioceses' positions in the local communities, a goal that is embraced both by the global Church structure and by local establishments.

The awareness generated through outreach and communications activities described above are critical to the achievement of the goals of the .catholic TLD. With a broad uptake, the Church would enjoy a new communication channel which would enable it to reach of its own members and the general public.

This is in accordance with the overall aims of the PCCS, having over 40 years' experience in utilising media to promote the Catholic faith, and this places PCCS in a strong position to successfully add communications via the .catholic TLD to its existing range of communication methods.

What operating rules will you adopt to eliminate or minimize social costs (e.g., time or financial resource costs, as well as various types of consumer vulnerabilities)? What other steps will you take to minimize negative consequences/costs imposed upon consumers?

INTRODUCTION
All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and the constituent institutions of the Church. The PCCS will not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registration in the TLD to any third party that is not identified within the TLD Catholic Community. As such, individual adherents will not be eligible to register or be granted use of .catholic domain names.
The PCCS will maintain a high degree of control over the TLD as facilitated by the eligibility restrictions criteria and internal policies and processes. The PCCS has interpreted this question broadly and prepared this response to consider social costs and other negative consequences facing the consumers and internet users who will access content through the .catholic TLD; the PCCS considers these likewise eliminated or minimised by the manner in which it will operate the TLD.


i. How will multiple applications for a particular domain name be resolved, for example, by auction or on a first-come/first-serve basis?

METHOD OF RESOLVING MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS

Multiple applications for the same domain names are not anticipated in the .catholic TLD because domain name registrations will be registered for the exclusive use of the Catholic Church and its constituent institutions. Use of domain names will be granted to all dioceses, religious orders and institutions affiliated with the PCCS. Each of these entities possesses a unique denomination which is different from the others. Therefore every authorised entity will only seek to use a .catholic domain name that identifies their own name, so problems of competitive applications for the same name are not foreseen.

Registrations will not be generally available as eligibility to register domain names is limited to members of the TLD Catholic Community, resulting in no competing interests and no risk of multiple applications. The decision-making authority as to which domain names will be registered and for which purposes, will vest in a single office; this will be addressed through internal processes regarding domain name registration, which will require approvals within established reporting lines and the use of a username and password to register domain names. Compliance with these processes will ensure that multiple applications do not arise. Registration in the .catholic TLD will effectively be first-come, first-served at all stages of registration (sunrise and general registration).


ii. Explain any cost benefits for registrants you intend to implement (e.g., advantageous pricing, introductory discounts, bulk registration discounts).

COST BENEFITS TO REGISTRANTS

The gTLD will be developed by the PCCS as a service to the constituent institutions. The community nature of this application ensures the maximum sensitivity to the needs and requirements of the registrants.


iii. Note that the Registry Agreement requires that registrars be offered the option to obtain initial domain name registrations for periods of one to ten years at the discretion of the registrar, but no greater than ten years. Additionally, the Registry Agreement requires advance written notice of price increases. Do you intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation? If so, please describe your plans.


CONTRACTUAL COMMITMENTS TO REGISTRANTS

All registrations will be subject to negotiations between the PCCS and the community institutions. This will ensure a consensual resolution of all issues relating to the ongoing development of the project.


OTHER OPERATING RULES WHICH ELIMINATE OR MINIMISE SOCIAL COSTS

By imposing strict eligibility restrictions and internal processes regarding domain name registration and restricting the .catholic TLD to uses that clearly support its mission/purpose, the PCCS anticipates that vulnerabilities to itself as the sole registrant, and to the Internet public who accesses content through the TLD, would be eliminated through internal policies and procedures which ensure that registrations are made by authorised representatives using established reporting lines. Abusive registrations and misuse of registrations will be prevented by having in place and enforcing a robust anti-abuse policy. This policy is described in detail in the response to Question 28 on Abuse Prevention and Mitigation mechanisms.

The .catholic TLD belongs to the category of community-based Top-Level Domains. The applicant is the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, henceforth referred to as "PCCS" (in Latin, Pontificium Consilium de Comunicationibus Socialibus). The PCCS is a Dicastery of the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church. The .catholic TLD belongs to the category of community-based Top-Level Domains. The applicant is the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, henceforth referred to as "PCCS" (in Latin, Pontificium Consilium de Comunicationibus Socialibus). The PCCS is a Dicastery of the Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church. By applying for the .catholic TLD, the PCCS is committed to carrying out its mission of serving the community of the Catholic Church, and in particular its member institutions, including Dioceses, Religious Orders, Institutes of Consecrated Life and organizations affiliated to the Catholic Church. The "Holy See" is internationally acknowledged to be the highest juridical authority of the Catholic Church, being governed by the Pope, also referred to as "the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Catholic Church". For instance, the U.S. Department of State states that "the "Holy See" is the universal government of the Catholic Church and operates from Vatican City State, a sovereign, independent territory […]. The Pope is the ruler of both Vatican City State and the Holy See. The Holy See, as the supreme body of government of the Catholic Church, is a sovereign juridical entity under international law." (ref. http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/3819.htm). As far as the Catholic Church is concerned, it has a long history and traces its origins to the teachings of Jesus Christ (c.33 A.D.). The Catholic Church has a highly elaborated understanding of its own nature. This understanding is informed primarily by its theological conviction that the Church is both a visible and a spiritual reality. For the purpose of clearly defining the community for whose benefit the .catholic TLD will be operated, the PCCS understands that it must focus on the institutional and visible dimensions of the Church. From the beginning, the Catholic Church has availed of structures of communities in order to realize its mission and its identity. These communities include both the "territorial communities", also called "particular Churches" (i.e. dioceses and other territorial equivalents, such as territorial prelatures, territorial abbacies, vicariates apostolic, prefectures apostolic and permanently established apostolic administrations, etc.), the "membership-based communities" (i.e. Religious Orders and Institutes of Consecrated Life) and "institutionalized activities" of the Catholic Church (including institutions affiliated to the Catholic Church which provide educational, healthcare, communications and charitable services). The above-mentioned structures are intended to be the beneficiaries of the subject TLD, namely the targets of the second level domains. For the purpose of this application, said territorial communities (e.g. New York, Westminster, Manila), membership-based communities (e.g. Jesuits, Franciscans, Mercy Sisters) and institutionalized activities (e.g. Catholic Universities and Hospitals) will be henceforth referred to as the "TLD Catholic Community". HOW THE COMMUNITY IS DELINEATED FROM INTERNET USERS GENERALLY: The TLD Catholic Community is delineated from the broader Catholic Church and Internet users generally by its direct connection to the Holy See. The .catholic TLD thus serves to represent the community of Catholic institutions that acknowledge the authority of the Holy See. The majority of the members of the TLD Catholic Community are identified in the Annuario Pontificio (most updated version as of year 2012), which is the annual directory of institutions related to the Holy See. It lists in a comprehensive and authoritative manner all the governmental offices of the Holy See, as well as the territorial and membership-based communities that are related to the Catholic Church. The remaining members of the TLD Catholic Community, the Catholic institutionalized activities, although not named in the Annuario Pontificio, are nevertheless affiliated to the Holy See. Such a delineation of the TLD Catholic Community is based on the understanding that its members serve the many believers, adherents, parishes, schools, hospitals and charitable activities that fall within the Church's own broader view of the Catholic community. STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION OF THE COMMUNITY: As specified in Articles 368 and 573 of the Code of Canon Law, the Catholic Community is basically structured into "territorial" and "membership-based" communities as well as institutionalized activities. "Territorial communities", which are represented by dioceses and other territorial equivalents, are overseen by a Bishop or equivalent who is responsible for the ordinary governance of that unit. At the same time, each diocese includes different parishes overseen by the Bishop himself. If a diocese is composed of a notable number of parishes, or if it has acquired particular historical relevance, it is called "archdiocese", and its Bishop is called "Archbishop". National Bishops' Conferences support the work of diocesan Bishops by co-coordinating certain activities and by providing shared services and logistical assistance as is deemed appropriate. There exist also Regional and Continental Conferences involving representatives of the National Conferences. Again, the purpose of these structures is to co-ordinate at the regional and continental level common activities of Bishops. These Conferences assist the individual Bishops but ultimately each Bishop remains personally responsible for the management of his diocese. Membership-based communities are constituted by established "religious communities" whose members have committed themselves to live a more radical form of service in accordance with the traditions of the communities. These communities have emerged from groups who have dedicated themselves to particular forms of service within the broader Catholic community. These particular communities have their own governance structure and their own specific responsibilities within the life of the Church. The principal global institutes are guided in their activities and internal structures by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (Arts. 105-111 of the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus). The Congregation maintains an official listing of such Institutes, which is published in the Annuario Pontificio. The community is also constituted by institutions which are responsible for the provision of specific services to the broader Church community, both at the global and local levels. These institutions have their own autonomy insofar as their existence is provided for by their establishment as public juridical bodies (the equivalent within Canon Law to corporations). These institutions include the departments of the Holy See, healthcare, educational, charitable services and communications providers. ESTABLISHMENT: In a broad sense, it is possible to say that the Catholic community roots originate in the times of Jesus Christ. However, from an historical point of view, the establishment of the Catholic Church can be traced back to its social affirmation in the Roman Empire. Sporadic and then systematic persecutions of the Christian communities within the I-III Century A.D. in the Roman Empire provide ample evidence of the presence and structure of the Christian communities which gained their official and political recognition as an institution through the Edict of Milan in 313 A.D., by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. With the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Christian community rapidly gained political recognition as established by the political treaties si

RELATION BETWEEN PCCS AND THE TLD CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: The Applicant, PCCS, is a Dicastery of the Holy See and thus is itself a member of the TLD Catholic Community. The PCCS is also an officially acknowledged representative of the Catholic Church in matters of social communications, as it is documented by the Apostolic Constitution "Pastor Bonus", promulgated by Pope John Paul II on 28 June 1988. In this mission it supports the actions of the Church and its institutions by coordinating and handling all the forms of social communication such as newspapers and periodicals, as well as films and radio or television broadcasts and web based communications. In performing its duties, the PCCS has strong relations with the various dioceses, religious orders and institutions. There are a number of already existing and well-established procedures that could be drawn upon as a basis for the coordination of the TLD Catholic Community on the digital platform. The PCCS avails of the periodic "ad limina" visits of National Bishops' Conferences to maintain contact with representatives of local churches. Each Bishops' Conference visits Rome every five years - prior to the visit each Bishop sends a report on the state of his diocese in which he sets out, inter alia, the situation pertaining to communications. During the visit, the Bishops meet with the PCCS in order to allow for discussion of the reports and of other matters of interest. At the same time, in line with its mission to serve the community, the PCCS has organized five International Congresses focusing on the impact of new technologies and the digital culture on Catholic TV stations, Catholic faculties of communications, Catholic Radio stations, Catholic print media and those Bishops who are responsible for the promotion of communications at the level of National Bishops' Conferences. These Congresses are well attended and involve representatives of over 120 countries. The PCCS seeks to be present at the more significant meetings of Church communicators at continental and national levels. At continental level, there are regular gatherings of National Conferences' representatives. The purpose of these meetings is to co-ordinate at the regional and continental level common activities of Bishops. The PCCS has strong relations with these groups as communications has emerged as a theme of particular interest. The continental groups in Africa (SECAM), North America, Asia (FABC), Latin America (CELAM), Europe (CCEE) and Oceania (FCBCO) all have specific offices and committees focusing on the co-ordination of communications activities. The PCCS is represented at the annual meetings of such groups and maintains close contact with the national representatives. The PCCS also attends many National Conferences to deliver seminars which promote the importance of communications whilst addressing specific opportunities and challenges of new information technologies and social media. In the last two years, the PCCS has delivered seminars in Brazil, Cuba, Chile, Kenya, Tanzania, Bangladesh and Belorussia. The positive response from representatives of the "particular churches" to the initiatives of the Pontifical Council and the invitations issuing from them to the PCCS to be present at their gatherings and assemblies testify to the standing of the PCCS within the global community of Catholic communicators. ACCOUNTABILITY OF THE PCCS TO THE TLD CATHOLIC COMMUNITY: Art. 41 of Apostolic Constitution "Pastor Bonus" states that it is the task of the Secretariat of State, which is the highest governmental structure in the organizational chart of the Holy See, "to expedite the business concerning the daily service of the Supreme Pontiff" and, in accordance with Art. 169 of the same Constitution, the PCCS, as dicastery of the Holy See, is accountable to the Secretariat of State. Thus, PCCS is institutionally charged to co-ordinate the activities of the whole TLD Catholic Community with reference to communications. The ultimate accountability of the PCCS to the TLD Catholic Community will be established by the willingness of that community to partake in the gTLD project. The PCCS is confident on the basis of its ongoing relations with the broader community that there will be a significant interest in the project. The Pontifical Council will establish an Advisory Group with representatives of the dioceses and of the religious communities in order to develop the gTLD project and to ensure that its development is responsive to the needs and concerns of the constituent members of the community. Four Community Endorsement Letters are provided in attachment to Question 20(f): - Q20f_Community Endorsement Letter from the Vaticanʹs Secretariat of State; - Q20f_Community Endorsement Letter from the Bishopsʹ Conference of Australia; - Q20f_Community Endorsement Letter from the Bishopsʹ Conference of the USA; - Q20f_Community Endorsement Letter from the Bishopsʹ Conference of Italy.

COMMUNITY-BASED PURPOSE OF THE APPLIED-FOR GTLD: The community-based purpose of the .catholic TLD is to enable the TLD Catholic Community to achieve the mission/purpose of the TLD, which is to: disseminate the teachings, message and values of the Catholic Church to its own members and to the wider global community by creating a dedicated, authoritative online space for the exclusive use of the Catholic Church and its constituent institutions and for the benefit of its adherents globally. The .catholic TLD offers members of the TLD Catholic Community the opportunity to register domain names in an authenticated space and use these to promote and achieve the mission/purpose of the TLD. INTENDED REGISTRANTS IN THE .CATHOLIC TLD: The .catholic TLD is a dedicated and authoritative communications structure for the exclusive use of the TLD Catholic Community. The PCCS, a member of this Community, is ideally situated to facilitate the fulfillment of this purpose as the sole registrant given that it is specifically tasked by the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonus with the dissemination of teachings, messages and values of the Catholic Church through communications media. Registrations in the .catholic TLD will therefore be made exclusively by the PCCS. INTENDED END-USERS OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD: Through its role as sole registrant, the PCCS serves as representative of the many members of the TLD Catholic Community, who collectively are the intended end-users of the .catholic TLD. Such end-users are the members of territorial communities, membership-based communities and institutionalized activity structures of the Catholic Church. All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and of the other members of the TLD Catholic Community as defined above. LASTING NATURE OF COMMUNITY BASED PURPOSE: The purpose of the .catholic TLD is to enable the PCCS and the other members of the TLD Catholic Community to disseminate the teachings, message and values of the Catholic Church. As established by the centuries long history of the Catholic Church, the TLD Catholic Community itself and its purpose are of a lasting nature. ACTIVITIES BY PCCS IN SERVICE OF THE COMMUNITY BASED PURPOSE: As explained above in the context of accountability, the PCCS has a long-established relationship with other members of the .catholic TLD Community. This relationship involves the ongoing presence of the PCCS at various assemblies and meetings of members of the .catholic TLD Community, particularly those responsible for communications. The rollout and development of the .catholic TLD will become a particular focus for these established activities. These meetings and assemblies will provide the PCCS with the opportunity to explain and promote to other members of the TLD Catholic Community the .catholic TLD and its use as a tool in social communication. On the basis of its success in carrying out its existing mission, the PCCS is confident that the .catholic TLD will be viewed as a natural extension of this existing mission. The PCCS is also confident that the .catholic TLD will be warmly welcomed by the TLD Catholic Community because it addresses a perceived need to assure the authentication of the Catholic presence in the online environment.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE APPLIED FOR GTLD STRING AND THE COMMUNITY IDENTIFIED IN 20(A): The term "Catholic" is universally and consistently used to designate the Universal Church, which is led by the Pope as the Supreme Pontiff, and the affiliated institutions and adherents of this Church. In its own teachings, the Catholic Church uses the term "Catholic" as a clear identifier; for example, the definitive presentation and explanation of the Church's beliefs is called "The Catechism of the Catholic Church". The term "Catholic" has been used in this manner for centuries, the first example of this being found in the Letter of Ignatius of Antioch in c.110 A.D. - and recurs frequently from that time on. Some examples of this usage from antiquity are as follows: "Wherever the Bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." c.110 A.D.- St. Ignatius, Epistle to the Smyrnaeans "We say that both in substance and in seeming, both in origin and in development, the primitive and Catholic Church is the only one, agreeing as it does in the unity of one faith." c.202 A.D. - Clement of Alexandria "Now it [the Church] is called Catholic because it is throughout the world, from one end of the earth to the other". c.347 A.D. - St. Cyril of Jerusalem RELATIONSHIP TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS: The word "Catholic" is frequently used to specify the identity of territorial communities, membership-based communities and institutionalized activities. Very often, a diocese is identified as the "Catholic diocese of…" or the Bishop is identified as the "Catholic Bishop". Similarly, in secular reporting, it is common to identify religious orders and communities such as the Jesuits as "Catholic".

DESCRIPTION OF THE APPLICANT'S INTENDED REGISTRATION POLICIES Eligibility: The eligibility to register a domain name within the .catholic TLD will be restricted to the PCCS and the PCCS alone. Use of a .catholic domain name may be granted at the sole discretion of the PCCS to an affiliate such as recognised dioceses, religious orders and Catholic Church-affiliated institutions. The PCCS maintains a list of affiliates formally recognised by the Holy See as being part of the Catholic Church and thus being eligible to be granted use of a .catholic domain name. This list is primarily based on, however not exclusively, on the Annuario Pontificio (the official annual directory of all institutions related to the Holy See). In support of the mission and purpose of the .catholic TLD, the use of .catholic domains will be subject to an acceptable use policy which governs the use and outlines acceptable content for hosting within .catholic domain. Prior to use of a .catholic TLD being granted, the ultimate user of each domain must have read and agreed to the acceptable use policy. Name Selection: Selection of names for domains within the .catholic TLD will be administered by the PCCS in collaboration with the applicants for said domains. The type of second-level domain names that may be registered in the TLD will include the most closely related linguistic term to the official name of the affiliate as per the Annuario Pontificio within the boundaries of protected name limitations. The PCCS, at its sole discretion, may also register generic terms for its own use or the use of affiliates to further support the Mission and Purpose of the .catholic TLD. All names will be assigned in accordance with Specification 5 of the Registry Agreement. Content and Use: The use of a .catholic domain by the PCCS or an affiliate will be governed by an acceptable use policy. This policy stipulates that content and use of domains in the .catholic TLD are supportive of the Mission and Purpose of the TLD and are used in an acceptable fashion to assist with sharing the message and teachings of the Catholic Church. Registrations within the .catholic TLD will be initially for a one (1) year term only. Prior to expiry of each registration, use of each domain will be reviewed and renewal will occur should the domain be in use and comply with the guidelines of the acceptable use policy. Enforcement: On a regular basis, the Project Manager in charge of the .catholic TLD will be required to undertake an audit of all registrations within the .catholic TLD. This will be undertaken in liaison with personnel from the National Bishops' Conferences. The audit will ensure that all domain names created have been authorised and comply with name selection policies. This is to ensure that all domain names are the closest related linguistic term to the name of an affiliate according to the Annuario Pontificio and no breach of Specification 5 of the registry agreement has occurred. As the single registrant, the PCCS exercises a significant amount of control over registrations within the .catholic TLD. An acceptable use policy has also been developed so affiliates understand their responsibilities and what constitutes acceptable use and content of a .catholic domain name. In conjunction with this, the PCCS being part of the Holy See, is held in high regard within the Catholic Community and therefore any directive to an affiliate will be taken seriously and recommended actions will be acted upon as a matter of priority. Through this, we anticipate that the likelihood of a breach of policy will be minimal.

We have engaged ARI Registry Services (ARI) to deliver services for this TLD. This response describes protection of geographic names as implemented by ARI.

1 PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHIC NAMES

In accordance with Specification 5 of the New gTLD Registry Agreement, the registry operator must initially reserve all geographic names at the second level, and at all other levels within the TLD at which the registry operator provides for registrations.
ARI supports this requirement by using the following internationally recognised lists to develop a comprehensive master list of all geographic names that are initially reserved:
- The 2-letter alpha-2 code of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including all reserved and unassigned codes [http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-3166-1_decoding_table.htm].
- The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 List, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union [http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-3166-1_decoding_table.htm#EU].
- The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardisation of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World. This lists the names of 193 independent States generally recognised by the international community in the language or languages used in an official capacity within each country and is current as of August 2006 [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/ungegn%20tech%20ref%20manual_M87_combined.pdf].
- The list of UN member states in six official UN languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the standardisation of Geographical Names [http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/UNGEGN/docs/9th-uncsgn-docs/econf/9th_UNCSGN_e-conf-98-89-add1.pdf].
Names on this reserved list in ARI's registry system are prevented from registration.
A corresponding list of geographic names will also be available to the public via the registry operators website, to inform Registrars and potential registrants of reserved names. The lists noted above, are regularly monitored for revisions, therefore the reserved list (both within the registry and publicly facing) will be continually updated to reflect any changes.
The following applies to all Domain Names contained within the registry's reserved list:
- Attempts to register listed Domain Names will be rejected.
- WhoIs queries for listed Domain Names will receive responses indicating their reserved status.
- Reserved geographic names will not appear in the TLD zone file.
- DNS queries for reserved domain names will result in an NXDOMAIN response.

2 PROCEDURES FOR RELEASE

We understand that if we wish to release the reserved names at a later date, this will require agreement from the relevant government/s or review by the GAC, and subsequent approval from ICANN.