Catholic Charities & Catholic Identity: Who Do We Say We Are?

By Cynthia Colbert
Executive Director

Scriptures tell us that there was confusion, even disagreement among the followers of Jesus when he posed the question “Who do people say that I am?” After almost 2,000 years there would very likely be some confusion today if that same question were applied to Catholic Charities. There are those who would identify us with a particular service, such as the Angels of Hope Food Pantry or Immigration Legal Services. So they would be inclined to say that we are a basic needs agency, or an organization that serves immigrants. No doubt there are those that would describe us as a general social service agency or a network of ministries. But, that is not all that we are. We are a Catholic ministry and a nonprofit social service agency.

Catholic Charities of Central Texas is a ministry of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin. As such, we are a faith-based organization with a three-part mission of service, advocacy and collaboration. We exist to give witness to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. That message calls us to recognize Jesus is in every man, woman and child and that we are called to love Him through them. That call challenges us today in the same way Jesus challenged the people of His time to serve Him through our brothers and sisters and to exercise a preferential option for the poor. Our mission, our values and our strategic plan are rooted in the scriptures; we are guided by Church teachings, tradition and by the rich body of growing Catholic Social Teaching of our own day.

The populations we serve are culturally diverse and our work force is increasingly diverse as well, including Catholics and those of other faiths. Because of the diversity of our programs, our staff, our volunteers and our clients, it means that we must be intentional in maintaining our Catholic identity. We cannot be just another local social services agency. As a Catholic agency, we receive our authority to exist and to serve from the Bishop of our Diocese; we function faithfully within the mission and structures of the Diocese of Austin with a proper respect for the role of our Diocesan Bishop; and we operate under policies, procedures and practices that are faithful to our mission and values.

So what makes Catholic Charities “Catholic”? We are Catholic because everything we do is in response to God’s love for us and our love for Him. Our Holy Father said it best in his Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, “With regard to the personnel who carry out the Church's charitable activity on the practical level, the essential has already been said: they must not be inspired by ideologies aimed at improving the world, but should rather be guided by the faith which works through love (cf. Gal 5:6). Consequently, more than anything, they must be persons moved by Christ's love, persons whose hearts Christ has conquered with his love, awakening within them a love of neighbour.” Please pray for and support our ministry in 2010 as we continue to reach out ands serve the poor and vulnerable in our Diocese. God bless you and may you too, be “ awakened within for a renewed love neighbour.”

(This article is to be featured in the December 2009 issue of Catholic Spirit)