Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of terms

By registering a parish, creating an account, or using the Platform, you agree to these terms. If you are agreeing on behalf of a parish, you confirm that you are authorised to bind that parish.

If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

2. Definitions

Platform means the Porta Fidei Digitalis software, website and related services.

Parish means the church community that holds the subscription.

Account user means a person given access to a parish's workspace, including parish administrators and ministry leaders.

Parishioner means an individual whose information a parish records in the Platform.

Parishioner data means information about parishioners that a parish enters into or collects through the Platform.

3. What the Platform does

The Platform provides parishioner registration, ministry volunteer applications and scheduling, and tiered parish communications, together with the administrative tools supporting them.

We may add, change or withdraw features. Where a change materially reduces functionality a parish relies on, we will give reasonable notice.

The Platform supports parish administration. It does not replace pastoral care, and nothing in it constitutes legal, financial or canonical advice.

4. Accounts and eligibility

A parish must give accurate registration information and keep it current.

The parish is responsible for who it grants access to, for assigning appropriate roles, for removing access when someone's role ends, and for all activity under its accounts.

Account users must keep credentials confidential and must not share them. Tell us promptly if you believe an account has been compromised.

Accounts are for people aged 18 or over.

5. Parish responsibilities for parishioner data

This section matters more than any other in these terms.

The parish is the controller of parishioner data. We are the processor. The parish decides what to collect, why, and for how long.

The parish is responsible for:

• •Having a lawful basis for collecting and using parishioner data
• •Informing parishioners how their information will be used, and by whom
• •Obtaining parental or guardian consent where information about minors is recorded and the law requires it
• •Keeping the information accurate and current
• •Responding to parishioner requests for access, correction or deletion
• •Ensuring that only appropriate people within the parish have access

We process parishioner data only on the parish's documented instructions, except where law requires otherwise. We will assist the parish, so far as reasonably practicable, in responding to parishioner requests and in meeting its own obligations.

6. Data ownership

Parishioner data belongs to the parish, not to us.

We will not use it for our own purposes, will not disclose it to another parish, and will not sell or licence it to anyone.

Each parish's data is isolated at the database level. Our staff access parish data only where necessary to provide support or maintain the service, and such access is restricted and logged.

7. Subscriptions, trials, billing and cancellation

Trial. New parishes receive a 30 day free trial. A payment card is required to start the trial and is billed automatically when the trial ends, unless the parish cancels first. The trial end date is shown in the parish's billing settings throughout the trial.

Billing. Paid plans are billed monthly in advance through Stripe. Prices are shown at the point of subscription. Applicable taxes are added where required.

Changes in plan. A parish may upgrade at any time, with the change taking effect immediately and the balance charged pro rata. A downgrade takes effect at the next renewal.

Price changes. We will give at least 30 days' notice before a price change affecting an existing subscription. A parish that does not accept the change may cancel before it takes effect.

Cancellation. A parish may cancel at any time from its billing settings. Access continues until the end of the paid period. We do not provide pro rata refunds for partial periods except where required by law.

Non-payment. If payment fails, we will attempt to contact the parish and retry. If payment remains outstanding after 14 days, we may suspend access. Data is retained during suspension in accordance with section 9.

8. Acceptable use

You may not use the Platform to:

• •Send unsolicited commercial messages, or messages to people who have not consented to hear from the parish
• •Upload information you have no lawful basis to hold
• •Harass, threaten, defraud or endanger anyone
• •Attempt to access another parish's data, probe or test the security of the Platform without written permission, or interfere with its operation
• •Reverse engineer, resell or sublicense the Platform
• •Upload malware, or content that is unlawful in the parish's jurisdiction

Communications specifically. Messages sent through the Platform must go only to recipients who have opted in to receive them. Every message must respect the recipient's stated preferences, and opt-out requests must be honoured. Ministry leaders may message only their own ministry group. A parish that uses the Platform for bulk unsolicited messaging may have communications features suspended immediately.

9. Data export, deletion and termination

A parish may export its data at any time in a portable format.

On cancellation or termination, data remains available for export for 30 days. After that it is deleted from live systems within 90 days and from backups within 180 days.

A parish may request earlier deletion at any time.

We may suspend or terminate access where a parish materially breaches these terms, where required by law, or where continued operation poses a security risk. Except where immediate action is needed, we will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to correct the problem, and an opportunity to export data before deletion.

10. Availability and support

We aim to keep the Platform available continuously, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted service. Planned maintenance will be notified in advance where practicable.

Support is provided by email, with a target first response within 2 business days.

11. Intellectual property

We own the Platform, its software, design, branding and documentation. These terms grant a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Platform during the subscription. No other rights are granted.

Parishes retain all rights in their own content, including parish name, logo, ministry descriptions and parishioner data. Parishes grant us only the limited right to host and process that content in order to provide the Platform.

We will not use a parish's name or logo publicly without written permission.

12. Limitation of liability

The Platform is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, goodwill or data.

Our total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Platform is limited to the amount paid by the parish in the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.

13. Indemnity

A parish agrees to indemnify us against claims arising from its use of the Platform in breach of these terms, from content it uploads, or from its failure to meet its own obligations as controller of parishioner data.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. Material changes will be notified to parish account holders by email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use after that date constitutes acceptance. A parish that does not accept a change may cancel before it takes effect.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law applicable in the jurisdiction where Yes Catholic Hangout is established, and disputes are subject to the jurisdiction of the competent courts there, except where mandatory consumer or data protection law in a parish's own country gives it rights it cannot be deprived of.

16. Contact

Yes Catholic Hangout.