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#21
General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...
Last post by Geremia - July 08, 2026, 06:19:45 PMQuote from: tom on July 08, 2026, 08:09:50 AMWhat do you think about this game plan?Sounds good. 👍
- UI/backend to submit a tutoring application and find tutors
- LLM integration with a chat interface to find or submit tutor applications
- Implement custom video conferencing or evaluate industry solutions like teams, hangouts, zoom, adobe connect, etc.
- Implement payment processing.
#22
General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...
Last post by tom - July 08, 2026, 08:09:50 AMQuoteI taught for Varsity Tutors for 6 years ... I also taught for https://queenofheavenacademy.org/Your experience here will be super helpful!
QuoteDo any of them do live tutoring?Not sure.
What do you think about this game plan?
- UI/backend to submit a tutoring application and find tutors
- LLM integration with a chat interface to find or submit tutor applications
- Implement custom video conferencing or evaluate industry solutions like teams, hangouts, zoom, adobe connect, etc.
- Implement payment processing.
#23
General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...
Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 10:11:40 PMQuote from: tom on July 07, 2026, 08:33:41 AMwhy do we need a Catholic branded service when all these other services can offer Catholic tutoring?I think we could do something better, faster, and more streamlined. Varsity Tutors has an "instant" option, but still the on-boarding for tutors and students is laborious. I envision a sort of market:
CTI's main page could have a prompt that says: "Student or Tutor?"
For students, a prompt: "What do you need help with?" And students would type in something like: "I need help understanding how to convert a Form 2 syllogism to a Form 1 one."
For tutors, a prompt: "What can you teach? What is your experience?" A tutor could type: "I have experience teaching introductory formal logic... etc."
And the system could detect that this tutor and student could be paired.
Each student and tutor would have rating statistics, so that the higher rated ones could charge more than the lower-rated ones. Students would be given the option to select a lesser expensive tutor, wait for a better tutor to become available, pay more to get a better tutor faster, or pay less to schedule days in advance.
#24
Dogma & Doctrine / Re: Ecumenism... prohibited in...
Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 08:40:35 PMEcumenical means universal. An ecumenical council is a council of the entire Church, not just a particular region.
#25
Dogma & Doctrine / Re: Ecumenism... prohibited in...
Last post by justjeff - July 07, 2026, 08:38:19 PMQuote from: Geremia on July 07, 2026, 04:29:25 AM"Ecumenism" doesn't seem to predate 1920:
Thank you. That would explain why "ecumenism' is not mentioned in magisterial documents before then or even shortly thereafter.
QuoteEcumenism (also spelled oecumenism) is the movement promoting unity, cooperation, and mutual understanding among different Christian denominations and churches. Derived from the Greek word oikoumene, meaning "the inhabited world," the term originally referred to the entire Christian church or the Roman Empire before evolving in the 20th century to describe interdenominational efforts to heal historical schisms.
Historical Evolution
The concept traces back to the early church's Ecumenical Councils (4th–7th centuries), which defined universal doctrine for the global church. The modern ecumenical movement gained momentum following the 1910 Edinburgh Missionary Conference, which united Protestant missionary forces, and was significantly advanced by the World Council of Churches (founded in 1948) and the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), which formally engaged the Roman Catholic Church in dialogue with other Christian traditions.
Core Goals and Examples
The primary objective is to achieve visible unity and full communion among Christians, rooted in Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one" (John 17:21). Key initiatives include:
* Dialogue: Theological conversations between Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant leaders.
* Joint Worship: The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and shared service projects.
* Organizations: The World Council of Churches and local ecumenical councils that foster collaboration on social justice and missionary work.
AI-generated answer. Please verify critical facts.
It is rather ironic that ecumenism was instituted to heal schisms and promote unity, but is now at least a partial cause of what the Vatican has proclaimed as a new schism in the Church.
#26
General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...
Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 01:07:39 PMQuote from: tom on July 07, 2026, 08:33:41 AMCan you let me know your thoughts regarding some "competitors" I see in the space?I taught for Varsity Tutors for 6 years (2014-2020), so I'm very familiar with their platform and how it improved over time. They had a team of about a dozen developers back then.
I'm not familiar with any of the others you mention, not even the Catholic ones. Thanks for alerting me to these. Do any of them do live tutoring?
Is there a FOSS alternative to Heritage Web? I tried it, and their site is buggy. 🐛
https://lyceum.institute/ does live seminars, too. I'm not sure what platform they use.
I also taught for https://queenofheavenacademy.org/ (similar to https://www.kolbe.org/); they use Adobe Connect and other non-FOSS, which was expensive. Keeping it FOSS would keep the costs down.
I look forward to seeing your POC. I don't know much about React at all, but the others you mention I'm more familiar with; I'm old-school (PHP).
#27
General Discussion / Re: Catholic Tutoring Institut...
Last post by tom - July 07, 2026, 08:33:41 AMI would like to take a lead role. I am a big fan of open-source software and think you laid a good foundation. For the initial tech stack I would prefer the front end framework to be React and the back end language to be Node.Js, Python, or Go. I am proficient in these languages, and would not want to pick up a new language for a POC atm.
Can you let me know your thoughts regarding some "competitors" I see in the space?
General tutoring sites
These services are easy to find and have built up trust throughout the years. Most people looking for a religious tutor would probably use these services first. Also, it would be hard to match their resources like video conferencing (especially Varsity Tutors live learning platform). My main question is, why do we need a Catholic branded service when all these other services can offer Catholic tutoring?
Christian tutoring sites
Not really impressed with any of these services, but wondering if capturing SEO market share here could be difficult.
Catholic tutoring sites
Not necessarily looking for a response here, I just think findcatholictutors.com is an interesting technique, as Heritage Web has over 350 services like this such as jewishtherapists.com.
Can you let me know your thoughts regarding some "competitors" I see in the space?
General tutoring sites
These services are easy to find and have built up trust throughout the years. Most people looking for a religious tutor would probably use these services first. Also, it would be hard to match their resources like video conferencing (especially Varsity Tutors live learning platform). My main question is, why do we need a Catholic branded service when all these other services can offer Catholic tutoring?
Christian tutoring sites
Not really impressed with any of these services, but wondering if capturing SEO market share here could be difficult.
Catholic tutoring sites
Not necessarily looking for a response here, I just think findcatholictutors.com is an interesting technique, as Heritage Web has over 350 services like this such as jewishtherapists.com.
#28
Catholic Resources / Re: Eucharistic Miracles
Last post by tom - July 07, 2026, 06:18:41 AMYeah, St. Carlo did all the heavy lifting and has inspired me to use my software development skills to help the mission of the Catholic Church. I just updated the UI, all the content comes from https://www.miracolieucaristici.org/. I admire what you are doing here!
#29
Dogma & Doctrine / Mortalium animos
Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 04:34:04 AMQuote from: justjeff on July 07, 2026, 02:29:43 AMMortalium animos (6 January 1928)This encyclical by Pius XI is the standard encyclical contra ecumenism. §2 condemns Assisi-esque prayer gatherings:
Quote2. [...] conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission. Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. [...]
#30
Dogma & Doctrine / "ecumenism" in English n-gram ...
Last post by Geremia - July 07, 2026, 04:29:25 AM"Ecumenism" doesn't seem to predate 1920:
