/Terms of Use

Terms of Use

This agreement was last updated on February 6, 2015

The Archdiocese of Washington provides this website for information, inspiration, education, participation in Church life and spiritual growth. Please read this agreement carefully. By using this website, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by this agreement. If you do not accept the terms and conditions of this agreement or this website’s Privacy Policy, do not use the website.

 

How are users of this website expected to behave?

It is important to realize that your use of this site is not solely for your own private enrichment. Parts of this site may include interaction with other people. Users of this site are expected to maintain courteous and thoughtful discourse.

By visiting this site, users agree to adhere to certain standards of interactive conduct. These standards apply to use of interactive features including but not limited to discussion groups, chat, e-cards, calendar listings, news, blog comments, and e-mail to addresses contained in this site.

In any interaction with this site, visitors agree to refrain from:

  • using language that can reasonably be construed as offensive, derogatory, insulting, demeaning, or humiliating
  • “flaming,” or “spamming,” or any practice that floods an individual with unwanted and/or derogatory communication
  • comments, statements, or terminology that can reasonably be construed as disparaging towards another’s race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, or religious affiliation
  • “online shouting” (use of all caps in any message)
  • linking to offensive sites, including those that are pornographic or racist, that advocate violence or prejudice against any group or individuals, or that otherwise advocate beliefs or behaviors that conflict with Church teachings
  • disclosing private information about others
  • attacking or undermining another’s reputation or good name, that is, calumny, libel, or slander
  • use of copyrighted material without permission

This website exists solely to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ and to build the Kingdom of God. Therefore, the Archdiocese retains the right to remove and/or block communications that it determines, in its sole capacity, to be detrimental to that purpose, whether or not such communications violate the prohibitions enumerated above. Such action by the Archdiocese is not meant to disparage the intent, faith, character, or reputation of individual whose communications are removed or blocked.

If any user’s actions on this website indicate or suggest an intent or threat to break the law, the Archdiocese will report all available information about that user to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. Hackers who attempt to interfere with the operation of this website or obtain information from the site without permission, or spammers who attempt to harvest e-mail addresses from this site, are also subject to prosecution.

 

Who owns the content of this website, and how can it be used?

This website contains various types of content, such as software, code, text, graphics, and images. This content may be owned by the Archdiocese or may be provided to us through an arrangement we have with others. The content is protected by copyright under both United States and foreign/international laws. Unauthorized use of the content may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws, and is prohibited. You have no rights in or to the content except to the extent provided under this agreement. For any copy that applicable law permits you to make of the content, the copy must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original. You may not attempt to sell, transfer, assign, license, sublicense, or modify the content or reproduce, display, publicly perform, make a derivative version of, distribute, or otherwise use the content in any way for any public or commercial purpose. The use or posting of the content on any other website or in a networked computer environment is expressly prohibited unless authorized in writing by the Archdiocese of Washington.

The trademarks, service marks, and logos of the Archdiocese used and displayed on this website are registered and unregistered trademarks or service marks of the Archdiocese. Other Archdiocese, product, and service names located on the website may be trademarks or service marks owned by others. Nothing on this website grants, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark displayed on this website without the prior written permission of the Archdiocese specific for each such use. The trademarks displayed on this website may not be used to disparage the Archdiocese or the applicable third party or any of their products or services, or in any manner that, in our reasonable judgment, may damage any goodwill in the trademarks. Use of any trademark as part of a link to or from any site is prohibited unless establishment of such a link is approved in advance by the Archdiocese in writing. All goodwill generated from the use of any trademark belonging to the Archdiocese inures to our benefit.

This website contains links to third-party web sites. These links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by us of the content on such external sites. The content of such external sites is developed and provided by others. You should contact the site administrator or webmaster for those external sites if you have any concerns regarding such links or any content located on such external sites.

We are not responsible for the content of any linked external sites and do not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of materials on such external sites. You should take precautions when downloading files from all websites to protect your computer from viruses and other destructive programs. If you decide to access linked external sites, you do so at your own risk.

 

How do I report a claim of copyright or other intellectual property infringement?

We respect the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. We may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, disable and/or terminate the accounts of users who may be repeat infringers. If you believe that your work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide our General Counsel the following information:

(a) an electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright or other intellectual property interest;

(b) a description of the copyrighted work or other intellectual property that you claim has been infringed;

(c) a description of where the material that you claim is infringing is located on the site;

(d) your address, telephone number, and email address;

(e) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;

(f) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright or intellectual property owner or authorized to act on the copyright or intellectual property owner’s behalf.

Our Agent for Notice of claims of copyright or other intellectual property infringement may be reached as follows:

By mail:
Office of the General Counsel
Archdiocese of Washington
5001 Eastern Avenue
Hyattsville, MD 20876

By phone:
301-853-4495

By fax:
301-863-7662

By email:
[email protected]

 

What limitations of liability, warranties, and indemnification obligations apply to my use of this website?

THE ARCHDIOCESE, ITS AFFILIATES, THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, TRUSTEES, MEMBERS, REPRESENTATIVES, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, OR LICENSORS (COLLECTIVELY, THE “ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES”) MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THIS WEBSITE’S CONTENT, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ITS ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, COMPLETENESS, TIMELINESS, OR RELIABILITY. THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO LIABILITY FOR TRUTH, ACCURACY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY INFORMATION CONVEYED TO THE USER OR FOR ERRORS, MISTAKES OR OMISSIONS THEREIN OR FOR ANY DELAYS OR INTERRUPTIONS OF THE DATA OR INFORMATION STREAM FROM WHATEVER CAUSE. YOU AGREE THAT YOU USE THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT AT YOUR OWN RISK. The disclaimers and limitations above are of course not intended as an expression of doubt regarding the truth of the Gospel as proclaimed via this website.

THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT THIS WEBSITE, ITS SERVER, OR ITS CONTENT ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR SIMILAR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. IF YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR THE CONTENT RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, NO ARCHDIOCESE PARTY SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS.

THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES DO NOT WARRANT THAT TRANSMISSIONS OF INFORMATION MADE VIA THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ITS SERVER ARE FULLY SECURE. THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEFT OR MISAPPROPRIATION OF INFORMATION TRANSMITTED VIA THIS WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ITS SERVER (FOR EXAMPLE, “IDENTITY THEFT” OR CREDIT CARD FRAUD).

THE WEBSITE AND CONTENT ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES RIGHTS, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL ANY ARCHDIOCESE PARTY BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INCIDENTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) RESULTING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEBSITE AND THE CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF AN ARCHDIOCESE PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Some states do not allow exclusion of implied warranties or limitation of liability for incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. IN SUCH STATES, THE LIABILITY OF THE ARCHDIOCESE PARTIES SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Archdiocese Parties, from and against any claims, actions or demands, including, without limitation, reasonable legal and accounting fees, arising or resulting from your breach of this agreement or your access to, use or misuse of the website or its content. The Archdiocese shall provide notice to you of any such claim, suit, or proceeding and shall assist you, at your expense, in defending any such claim, suit or proceeding. The Archdiocese reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter that is subject to indemnification under this section. In such case, you agree to cooperate with any reasonable requests to assist the Archdiocese’s defense of such matter. You shall not, in any event, settle any matter that is subject to indemnification hereunder without the prior written consent of the Archdiocese.

 

Miscellaneous

The Archdiocese reserves the right to update or modify this agreement at any time and from time to time without notice to its users. Please review this agreement periodically. Your continued use of the website after any changes to this agreement shall indicate your agreement with the terms of the agreement.

This agreement is governed by the laws of the District of Columbia, without respect to its conflict of laws provisions. You expressly agree to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the local and federal courts of the District of Columbia. If any provision of this agreement is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect. Failure of the Archdiocese to act on or enforce any provision of the agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of that provision or any other provision in this agreement. No waiver shall be effective against the archdiocese unless made in writing, and no such waiver shall be construed as a waiver in any other or subsequent instance. Except as expressly agreed by the Archdiocese and you, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and the Archdiocese with respect to the subject matter, and supersedes all previous or contemporaneous agreements, whether written or oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter.