In France, a priest has launched a dating site for Catholics hoping to marry and start a family according to the strict rules of the Church.
It starts with the admission rules of the Navis Fidelis platform created by Abbot Laurent Spriet in Lyon.
You cannot register yourself, but only on the recommendation of a minister who certifies that you are a regular churchgoer and a good Catholic with serious intentions of marriage.
According to the platform's charter, members must go to confession regularly and strive for a celibate engagement period;
the minimum age is 26.
Simply select a desired partner online and tie them up via chat, that's not what the Navis Fidelis (in English: faithful ship) platform is intended for.
Rather, the members should organize meetings, for example to eat or do sports together, which should then enable participants to get to know each other informally.
"In France, 37 percent of adults live alone," the abbot told the Le Parisien newspaper on Monday.
In modern society there are fewer and fewer opportunities for encounters, people who are unintentionally single have a hard time.
"That's why we offer real opportunities to get to know each other and no online chat." Although there are already Christian dating platforms, says the abbot, they are not yet purely Catholic.
Around 1000 members have already registered – with priestly support.