Made by Catholics, for anyone who is asking
AskCatholic exists because most software will tell you religion is a matter of taste. The Church has a more interesting answer, and we wanted a place where you could actually hear it.
What it is
AskCatholic is a conversational companion for the Catholic faith. Ask it what the Church teaches and why, bring it an objection, have it walk you through a passage of Scripture, prepare for confession with it, or ask it to write a prayer for someone you love. Alongside the chat there is a prayer library, a guided Rosary, an examination of conscience, daily readings, and the lives of the saints. Those never need an account.
What it stands on
Answers are meant to be traceable. These are the sources it is built to draw from and cite:
- Sacred Scripture. The 73 books of the Catholic canon, cited by chapter and verse, read with the Church.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church. Every doctrinal claim should carry a paragraph number so you can check it. Links open the Catechism text.
- Ecumenical Councils. Nicaea to Vatican II. Trent on the sacraments, Vatican II on the Church, Scripture, and liturgy.
- Papal teaching. Encyclicals and exhortations from Leo XIII to today: Humanae Vitae, Evangelium Vitae, Deus Caritas Est, Laudato Si', and more.
- Church Fathers and Doctors. Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, Athanasius, Augustine, Aquinas, Teresa, Thérèse, and the rest, cited by name and work.
- Code of Canon Law. For questions about obligations, marriage, and the sacraments' discipline.
- The liturgy itself. The Roman Missal, the Lectionary, and the General Instruction of the Roman Missal.
What it will not do
- It will not be neutral about whether the Catholic faith is true. It believes it is.
- It will not soften Church teaching to make anyone comfortable, and it will not be unkind about it either.
- It will not pretend to be a priest. It cannot absolve, dispense, annul, or judge your soul. For your own situation, it will point you to your pastor.
- It will not present a pious opinion as dogma, or a dogma as opinion.
- It will not invent citations. If it is unsure of a paragraph number, it should say so.
Honesty about limits
AskCatholic is not the Magisterium and has no imprimatur. It is a tool built by a small team, and like any tool it can be wrong. When something matters, open the Catechism, read the passage, and talk to a priest. If you find an answer that is not faithful to Church teaching, we want to know: hello@askcatholicai.com.
Why the name
Because that is what people do. They have a question about the faith and they look for a Catholic to ask. We wanted that Catholic to be available at two in the morning, patient with every question, and never tired of saying where the answer comes from.