Thanks Joe for posting. Good news.
Here is how the Holy See described the purpose of the .Catholic top level domain:
"18(a). Describe the mission/purpose of your proposed gTLD.
"MISSION⁄PURPOSE OF THE .CATHOLIC TLD
"The mission⁄purpose of the .catholic TLD is to share the teachings, message and values of the Catholic Church with its own members and with the wider global community, by creating a dedicated, authoritative online space for the exclusive use of the Catholic Church and its constituent institutions, including dioceses, religious orders, institutes of consecrated life and organizations affiliated to the Catholic Church, and for the benefit of its adherents globally. The .catholic TLD will serve as an important method of communication for the Church, by establishing a formal and official channel for online communications via the appropriate channels of the Catholic Church. This function of the TLD is consistent with the Church’s core activities, as communication is important in the life of the Church insofar as it facilitates the sharing of information and helps build a sense of community and belonging amongst its adherents. The .catholic TLD will complement the Church’s long established global network of communications activities including print and digital media, television and radio.
"The gTLD applicant (PCCS) was established in 1948 as a Dicastery (Department) of the Roman Curia, the central governing body of the Catholic Church and the administrative apparatus of the Holy See, to promote communication activities within the life of the Church. This organisational aim is detailed in the foundational basis of the PCCS, where it is stated (in Article 170 of the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia) that “the chief task of this Council is to encourage and support in a timely and suitable way the action of the Church and her members in the many forms of social communication.” The .catholic TLD will serve to give coherence and unity to the digital presence of the Catholic Church. In particular, the TLD will provide a direct form of identification and authentication for official Catholic institutions in the digital environment.
"All domain name registrations in the .catholic TLD will be registered to, and maintained by, the PCCS for the exclusive use of the PCCS and the constituent institutions of the Church. The PCCS will not sell, distribute or transfer control or use of any registration in the TLD to any third party that is not identified within the TLD Catholic Community. As such, individual adherents will not be eligible to register or be granted use of .catholic domain names. Dioceses, religious orders and institutions as found in the “Annuario Pontificio” (the official annual directory of all the institutions related to the Holy See) are recognised as members of the TLD Catholic Community, by virtue of their being formally recognised by the Catholic Church. This recognition is primarily, though not exclusively, evidenced by inclusion in the Annuario Pontificio. The PCCS will maintain a list of institutions formally recognised by the Holy See as falling within the Catholic Church.
“Each diocese, official religious order of the Catholic Church and Church-affiliated institution, may be granted use of an associated .catholic domain name to facilitate the establishment of formal and official channels of online communication for the Catholic Church, and promote the overall mission⁄purpose of the .catholic TLD. The use of the domain names by these institutions is subject to internal acceptable use policies.”
NOTE, the public portion of the application from which the above quote was taken can be found
Here.
They may have to choose something else. 