In January of 2002, Pope John Paul II gave a speech entitled “Internet: A New Forum for Proclaiming the Gospel.” In this speech he spoke of the value of using the Internet as a new form of evangelization for the Church. Many people within the Church have taken up this call to arms, establishing web sites on a wide array of topics. With the wealth of information currently available, the next question becomes how to access and process it all.
It is the goal of the Catholic Web Traveler, in conjunction with Catholic Exchange, to provide you with links to the most relevant and useful Catholic Web sites focusing primarily on the areas of vocations, family life, media and the arts. We hope you find this information useful and we wish you well on your journeys around the Net!
When seeking a place to find Christian-inspired movie reviews, one should look no further then the Decent Film Guide (DFG). Maintained by Steven D. Greydaus, a frequesnt Catholic Exchange film critic, DFG has everything a reader needs to decide if a movie is worth plunking down nine dollars for. Mr. Greydaus, who describes his site as “a site of film appreciation, information, and criticism informed by Christian faith”, has worked hard to create a space that is useful and informative to all who visit. His site is broken up into multiple sections, focused in areas such as reviews, commentaries, ratings and more.
On his review pages, which are the chief reason to visit, he breaks down his ratings criteria into four components, which in combination with his long analysis of the film, provides a well-balanced approach to film recommendations. DFG provides the ability to search for films by title or one of a host of other criteria. The layout is clutter-free, providing for an easy navigation experience. Before you head to the movies this Friday night, make sure to check out DFG first.
Part of a larger web site devoted to Mary, Our Lady’s Gallery acts as an online repository for a large amount of artwork dedicated to Her. The site attempts to capture a portion of the flavor of the art that has been painted of Mary throughout the centuries, with positive results. Most of the art can be viewed on either the Slide Show page, which allows you to scroll through the pictures one at a time, or the Thumbnails page, which displays all of the art as small pictures on one page. A Wallpaper page is also available, which allows you to save some of the images to your desktop so you can add a bit of the holy to your computer.
The single most interesting feature on this site, though, is the Premier Gallery, which features amazing high-resolution pictures of Marian art by many famous painters. As you browse through these photos, you might find yourself feeling as if you are in a fine gallery, instead of at home in front of your computer. As a resource for Marian art, Our Lady’s Gallery ranks high and is an excellent place to visit.
Nino Marchetti is a member of St. Catherine's parish in Burlingame, California. He is an avid web surfer who is dedicated to helping Catholics find the best information on the Internet that will allow them to live their lives more fully in the faith. If you have a web site you would like him to consider listing, or just wish to send a comment, you can email him at ninomarchetti@msn.com.
