In what may be a first, a New Jersey diocese has decided to carve out its own corner of cyberspace:

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton recently launched a video-sharing Web site, www.dottube.org, to post video and audio produced by the diocese’s television and radio offices, and allow parishes, schools and church members to post their videos in the same fashion as Dottube’s secular cousin, YouTube.

“We see the Internet as a more powerful tool because it not only incorporates the other two mediums of radio and television, but more importantly facilitates dialogue and even allows people to contribute their own content,” diocesan spokeswoman Rayanne Bennett wrote in an e-mail. “With the explosion of Internet video, we thought it vital to have a place for people to see our Diocesan programs online.”

The two Web sites are similar in appearance and the user experience is practically the same, but the content is worlds apart.

Dottube’s top-viewed video is the half-hour long “Miraculous Feeding Stories in Mark’s Gospel,” which was an episode of “Catholic Corner” hosted by Monsignor Walter Nolan of St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Princeton. It had 1,289 views after it was posted for 87 days.

YouTube’s most viewed video is the six-minute long “The Evolution of Dance.” The one-camera video of Jud Laiply — a self-billed inspiration comedian — dancing to hits from the 1950s into the early years of the 21st century. It was viewed more than 121.8 million times since it was posted April 6, 2006.

Coming in second for the diocese is Cardinal Francis George’s 2 1/2-minute plea against federal law that would remove the “conscientious objector” protections from doctors and nurses who do not want to perform abortions. After 94 days, the Chicago archbishop was viewed 575 times.

The Dottube videos mostly are posted by diocesan offices, such as the Office for Vocations and the Respect Life Office. They tend to be much longer than videos available on YouTube, in some cases 500 percent longer.

Some of the Dottube videos have the homegrown feel that can be found on its secular cousin, such as a slide show of a pro-life Mass at St. Anthony Padua in Red Bank. But, for the most part, the Dottube videos are the productions of the diocese, which is one of the few Catholic dioceses in the United States that has a television and radio production office.

However, one Burlington County parish is taking to Dottube rapidly. St. Mary’s church in Bordentown has posted several videos, including an Easter Sunday homily.

“We’re trying get as much on the Web site as we can,” said Earl Alger, the St. Mary’s parish information-technology specialist. “If someone is away from the parish for whatever reason, we want them to be able to watch Sunday’s homily anywhere in the world.”

You can read more about it at the link, and check out dottube for yourself right here.