Yes and no. We’ve been known as a leading orthodox voice in the Church for nearly four decades. Bishop Edward Slattery of Tulsa, one of our episcopal advisors, put it this way a couple years ago:
“Proclaiming Christ to every generation is what CUF has been doing for the past 35 years. Loyal to the teachings of the Church and courageous in the face of opposition, CUF has been consistent in its witness to the unchanging truth of the Gospel and to her members’ steadfast belief that the fullness of that truth is to be found in the Church.”
This staunch fidelity has led to CUF’s active opposition to evils such as serious liturgical abuse, doctrinal dissent by those with the responsibility of teaching the faith, poor catechesis, and the agenda of the “culture of death.”
We are always clear, by the way, that we’re not Catholics against the Faithless, but Catholics for the Faith, so any such activism has as its goal the salvation of souls.
Are we activists? Well, those who advocate the above evils would certainly call us activists (and probably a few other things besides!). Those who want a quick fix, on the other hand, would not consider us activists. So I suppose to some extent it’s a matter of perception. Here’s the reality, though, as expressed by CUF founder Lyman Stebbins in CUF’s original membership brochure:
“Catholics United for the Faith believes so strongly in the primacy of the spiritual and the power of the supernatural that it is convinced it could do an enormous work even if its members’ only activities were study, prayer, fasting, and works of mercy and love toward our neighbor. We believe that these are, necessarily and objectively, prerequisites for the effectiveness of any Christian work. Thus, they are in no way opposed to action in itself; they are opposed only to impatient, self-assertive, or quarrelsome action. CUF is strongly in favor of any action which will really serve . . . to repair the dissent and disunity within the Church.”
This blog will become a place where people can voice their concerns about the Church, and even more it will be a place to come to find support as well as constructive suggestions for addressing such concerns as faithful sons and daughters of the Church.
At least as often, it will likely provide a setting to “cool off” lest we respond immediately to our concerns out of the passion of the moment without sufficient time for prayer and recollection. This site will relentlessly remind visitors that the first order of business is the renewal of our own hearts.
In addition to this blogsite, I’d also recommend joining or starting a CUF chapter as a means for faithful Catholics to join for prayer, formation in the faith, fellowship, and apostolic outreach. For more information on our chapter program, see http://www.cuf.org/Member/Chapters/index.asp
Consider this analogy. Imagine there’s a mishap on an airplane and the craft begins losing cabin pressure. In the face of such a calamity, most of us would want to be courageous and help as many of our fellow passengers as possible. Yet, if we don’t use our own air mask first, in a matter of seconds we’ll be of no use to anybody. We would be among the first casualties.
Similarly, our first responsibility as Christians is to open our own hearts to Christ each day, allowing Him to change us and work through us.
