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Serial entrepreneur from Poconos gives Catholics chance to log on and share acts of kindness

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The Roman Catholic Church has received a lot of negative publicity in recent years, but serial entrepreneur Brian Pedone wants the world to know that most Catholics are honorable people who do good things. And in the 21st century, what better way to do that than on the Web?

So AreYouCatholic.com was born. Pedone thought the best way to inspire Catholics and non-Catholics, and to display the positive things Catholics do every day, was to give church members a forum to share their good deeds. “People don’t want to be preached at,” he says. “They want to see the actions.”

Acts of kindness on the site now include “Purchased food for a person in need at the supermarket,” and “An elderly lady @ Walgreens was taking her husband with Lung Cancer home to die-she was getting his pain meds,I prayed w her.”

Catholics across the United States and as far away as Indonesia and Kenya have posted their good deeds online. The most active church is Pedone’s home parish, Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in the Poconos town of Brodheadsville. So far word about AreYouCatholic.com has spread though social media, Catholic blogs and word of mouth. But Pedone says the Diocese of Scranton plans to promote the site in each of its 199 churches this spring. (Pope Benedict XVI has even spoken publicly about the possibilities social media present.)

Although good deeds are posted anonymously, those who register them have to say what church they belong to. Pedone says that creates possibilities for friendly competitions and fundraising among different parishes.

Source: Brian Pedone, AreYouCatholic.com
Writer: Rebecca VanderMeulen

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