"Before accepting a project as incubating, the CDCF must determine whether its scope meets the requirements for a CDCF Project — respectful of human dignity, conducive to human flourishing, and of potential service to the Church at a wide level."
— Father John Romano D'Orazio, Vice Chair and Lead Developer, CDCF
A working repository for governance documentation supporting the Catholic Digital Commons Foundation (CDCF) vetting and project management processes.
🏛️ Catholic Digital Commons Foundation · Serving the universal Church through open, governed, and mission-aligned technology infrastructure.
This repository holds the policy frameworks, evaluation criteria, and research documentation that inform how the CDCF reviews, incubates, and graduates technology projects. It is modeled on established foundation governance (such as the Apache Software Foundation) but is uniquely grounded in Catholic Social Teaching and Canon Law.
The documentation is organized into a unified project governance framework (with domain-specific extensions for AI integrated inline), supplementary research memos, and standards for canonical data interoperability.
The core frameworks for any project seeking CDCF endorsement.
| Document | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| project-vetting-criteria.md | Policy | The foundational 8 criteria for any CDCF project, with AI domain extensions integrated inline. |
| lifecycle.md | Procedure | Definition of the stages from proposal through incubation, graduation, and retirement. |
| committees.md | Structure | Governance bodies: Board of Directors, TCSC, and PMCs. |
| project-types.md | Policy | Distinction between Foundation Projects and Community Projects. |
| definitions.md | Glossary | Shared vocabulary for CDCF governance and vetting. |
Supplementary research memos informing the design of the vetting criteria.
| Document | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| fragmented-catholic-digital-governance.md | Research memo | The urgency of shared digital governance standards. |
| governance-as-code-catholic-technology.md | Research memo | Machine-enforceable deployment governance architecture. |
| trusted-data-infrastructure-catholic-ministry.md | Research memo | Trusted data infrastructure for Catholic ministry. |
Every technology project submitted to the CDCF passes through two evaluation gates.
| Gate | Stage | What It Evaluates |
|---|---|---|
| Gate 1 | Incubation Acceptance | Mission alignment · Human accountability architecture · Transparency · Validation · Impact on vulnerable populations · Governance specification |
| Gate 2 | Graduation to Active Status | Documentation for independent deployment · Data stewardship · Maintenance and subsidiarity compatibility |
Shared standards enable Catholic software projects to be interoperable and rooted in Catholic tradition. Standards committees — composed of ecclesial authorities, academic experts, Catholic university CS departments, and practitioners — define canonical identifiers and data representations for the realities of Catholic life.
| Document | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| overview.md | Policy | Why standards matter, current and future standards, and the relationship between standards and projects. |
| committees.md | Procedure | Composition, formation, working process, and governance principles for standards committees. |
| Standard | Repository | Domain |
|---|---|---|
| CMDDR | CatholicOS/cmddr | Canonical identifiers for Magisterial documents |
| CRMETDR | CatholicOS/crmetdr | Canonical identifiers for Roman Missal editions |
| CLEDR | CatholicOS/cledr | Canonical identifiers for liturgical celebrations |
| Source | Issuing Body | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Antiqua et Nova: Note on the Relationship Between Artificial Intelligence and Human Intelligence | Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and Dicastery for Culture and Education | January 2025 |
| Joint Letter on Artificial Intelligence: Principles and Priorities | United States Conference of Catholic Bishops | June 2025 |
| Address on AI and Care for Our Common Home | Pope Leo XIV | December 2025 |
| Address to the Builders AI Forum | Pope Leo XIV | November 2025 |
| Rome Call for AI Ethics | Pontifical Academy of Life | 2020 |
| Mensuram Bonam: Faith-Based Measures for Catholic Investors | Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences | 2022 |
| Statement on the EU Artificial Intelligence Act | COMECE | 2024 |
| Inteligencia Artificial: Una mirada pastoral desde América Latina y el Caribe | CELAM | May 2025 |
All documents are working drafts under active development. Version numbers reflect public iteration. Contributions, challenges, and proposed revisions are welcome via pull request or issue.
💡 This repository is an open governance commons. The standards here belong to the Catholic community. Every diocese, health system, school, and ministry that contributes makes them stronger.
Please open an issue before submitting a significant revision so the community can discuss the proposed change before it is incorporated.
Catholic Digital Commons Foundation
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Serving the universal Church · Open by design · Governed by principle