Conference Lodging Information

Posted on July 23, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

guest_room_1 Catholics United for the Faith has made a number of room block reservations at area hotels. Because Franciscan University of Steubenville will be hosting an event on the same weekend, hotel rooms in the area will be in high demand. Therefore, we highly recommend that CUF Conference participants book their hotel accommodations before August 1, 2018. Block reservations have been made at the following hotels for your convenience:

AFC, Bloomingdale OH (740) 942-1161
Book accommodations when registering for the conference
DaysInn, Cadiz OH (740) 942-4044
Group rate guaranteed until September 5th, request the CUF block
Reference number: 822-655451
Microtel, Cadiz OH (740) 942-1161
Rate guaranteed until October 5th, request the CUF block
Super 8, Steubenville OH (740) 610-0827
Rate guaranteed until September 5th, request the CUF block
To reserve call (877) 361-2508 and reference itinerary number 5136B41039531
Microtel, Steubenville OH (740) 282-1800
Rate guaranteed until September 14th, request the CUF block
Hampton Inn, Steubenville OH (740) 282-9800
Rate guaranteed until October 4th, request the CUF block
Use confirmation number: 82579802 or 85726202 or 83629338
Comfort Inn, Weirton WV (304) 723-0050
Rates guaranteed until September 5th, request the CUF block
Fairfield Inn & Suites, Weirton WV (304) 723-0088
Rate guaranteed until September 5th, request the CUF block
Itinerary number: 5136B40854502
DaysInn, Carrollton OH (330) 627-9314
Rate guaranteed until September 28th, request the CUF block

The below hotels are not able to offer block reservations but offer accommodations near the conference.

Lincoln Inn, Cadiz OH (740) 491-0641
The Honking Goose Inn, Amsterdam OH (740) 543-4283
Reserve over the phone for the CUF group rate
Bayberry House Bed & Breakfast, Steubenville OH (740) 632-2899
Call for rates
Holiday Inn, Weirton WV (304) 723-5522
Group Code: CUF

Again, we highly recommend that CUF Conference participants book their hotel accommodations before August 1st.

Special Conference Highlights

Posted on July 9, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

Revitalize your Faith! Fall back in love with the Church! Refresh your heart and renew your spirit during this one of a kind weekend experience. Help us celebrate 50 years of apostolic service, and join us for beautiful Masses, a Eucharistic procession and adoration, enriching talks, and uplifting fellowship!

Special Conference Feature: Explore the CUF Archives

Posted on July 6, 2018July 9, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

We are excited to announce that we will be opening the CUF Archives to our conference guests!

Explore CUF’s rich history and view rarely seen letters by H. Lyman Stebbins. Composed of letters, photographs, early Lay Witnesses and more, the CUF Archives provide a glance into the past work carried out by members of Catholics United for the Faith.

Speaker Biography: Right Reverend Philip Anderson, o.s.b.

Posted on June 22, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

Right Reverend Philip Anderson, o.s.b.
Abbot
Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey

Speaking On: Bond of Common Worship

Abbot Philip Anderson, o.s.b. — Abbot Philip Anderson, O.S.B.

Abbot Philip Anderson (born in 1953) is the Superior of the Benedictine monastery, Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey, located in Hulbert, Oklahoma, in the foothills of the Ozarks. He grew up in Prairie Village, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City, and attended the University of Kansas, where he was part of an experimental course of studies for undergraduates called the Pearson Integrated Humanities Program (1971-1973). In association with this particular university program, there was a wave of conversions to the Catholic Church. He was one of these converts, as was Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska. Archbishop Paul Coakley of Oklahoma City, although a “cradle Catholic” and not a convert, was part of the program as well.

After serving a two-year enlistment in the United States Marines Corps (1973-1975), he joined some other graduates of the Pearson Program at the University of Kansas, who had entered a contemplative Benedictine monastery in France, Notre Dame de Fontgombault Abbey. After completing his formation and being ordained to the priesthood in 1984, Father Anderson was sent with others to start a new monastery in southern France, Notre Dame de Triors. He served there as Prior, Novice-Master, and Lecturer of Moral Theology—not to mention working in the chicken-coop and the vegetable garden.

In 1999, Father Anderson was sent back to America along with twelve other monks, including eight Americans, to found Clear Creek Monastery in the diocese of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which has since developed into a thriving community of fifty monks. A number of families have moved in around the abbey, forming the beginnings of a Catholic village. The monastery was raised to the status of abbey in 2010, when Father Anderson was blessed as first abbot of Our Lady of Clear Creek.

Speaker Biography: James Likoudis

Posted on June 14, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

James Likoudis:
President Emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith

Speaking on The Bond of Apostolic Succession

James Likoudis is a former College Instructor in History and Government with 20 years of teaching experience in public and private education. A nationally known writer and lecturer on Catechetics, Sex Education and Liturgy, he has published many articles on these and other subjects of interest to the Catholic Laity. He was a co-founder and leader of “Credo of Buffalo”, which became a Chapter of Catholics United for the Faith.

Author of many articles on Liturgy problems following the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, he co-authored The Pope, the Council and the Mass which was hailed as an outstanding defense of Pope Paul VI’s “Ordo Missae” and the genuine liturgical reforms envisaged by the Second Vatican Council. Mr. Likoudis has gone on to author several other books including:

Ending the Byzantine Greek Schism
The Divine Primacy of the Bishop of Rome and Modern Eastern Orthodoxy: Letters to a Greek Orthodox on the Unity of the Church
Eastern Orthodoxy and the See of Peter: A Journey Toward Full Communion
Heralds of a Catholic Russia: Twelve Spiritual Pilgrims from Byzantium to Rome

Reconciled to the Catholic Church from Eastern Orthodoxy in 1952, Mr. Likoudis has devoted a great deal of his efforts to foster the reunion of the separated Eastern Orthodox Churches with the Catholic Church.

Mr. Likoudis has lectured extensively in the U.S., Canada, England, Australia, New Zealand, India, and Estonia to parents’ groups, CUF Chapters, and other Catholic Associations on issues affecting education, family life, and the role of the laity in the Church.

He was the 2002 recipient of the Blessed Frederick Ozanam Award for Catholic Social Action presented at the October 18, 2002 Annual Meeting of the Society for Catholic Social Scientists.

Married and the father of 6 and grandfather of 35 children and great-grandfather of 23 children, James Likoudis has been a president-emeritus of Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) formerly headquartered in New Rochelle, NY, and Steubenville, OH. He and his gracious wife Ruth live in the beautiful village of Montour Falls, New York, and recently celebrated their 66th wedding anniversary.

Speaker Biography: Philip C. L. Gray

Posted on June 4, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

Philip C. L. Gray:
President of Catholics United for the Faith

Speaking on: The Call to Apostolic Action

Philip has been married to Emily for 30 years. The couple has six children and one grandchild. Philip obtained his undergraduate degree in Theology and Mental Health/Human Services from the University of Steubenville (1987), and his licentiate in Canon Law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada (1994). He obtained his mandate to teach the sacred sciences from the Bishop of Steubenville in 1998.

Philip has a varied work experience that includes social work and counseling in state, county and private institutions. After obtaining his licentiate in Canon Law, he served as Associate Director of the Diocese of Little Rock Tribunal. While there, he held the ecclesiastical offices of Defender of the Bond and Promoter of Justice.

In January 1998, Philip became the Director of Information Services for Catholics United for the Faith (CUF) and led the department in conducting almost 20,000 specific points of research on Catholic doctrine and discipline. During his tenure, Information Services answered an average of 800 questions per month. In 2000, he was elected a Vice President of CUF.

Philip had maintained a private practice in Canon Law since October 1996 and opened his full-time practice in January 2002. He served as a consulter to The Saint Joseph Foundation (SJF) since 1996, as a member of its Board of Directors since 2009. In January 2014, he was elected President of SJF to replace its retiring founder, Mr. Charles Wilson. In February 2017, CUF affiliated to SJF, and Philip became President of CUF. In 1998, Philip became an adjunct professor at Franciscan University of Steubenville and continues to teach there part-time. Classes Philip has taught include Christian Moral Principles, Christian Marriage, Canon Law, and Catholic Social Doctrine.

In 2014, Philip and Emily acquired a small herd of yaks, and in their spare time they run the North Texas Yak Ranch in Hopedale, Ohio, where they make their home.

For more information please see our 2018 Conference page.

Uniting the Faithful Conference Registration is Now Open

Posted on May 31, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

Conference Registration for our 50th Anniversary Conference is now open!

Conference Registration is Available by Phone or Online:
Online Registration: Please click here to register online. Please note that online registration is hosted by the AFC. For online registration questions contact the AFC at 800-773-2645

Phone Registration & Conference Questions: If you would like to register by phone or have questions about the conference, please call Catholics United for the Faith at 740-283-2484.

Conference Accommodations:
Please see the block list of local accommodations. Please book soon before the rooms are gone!
To request a conference information packet please contact us.

For more information please see our 2018 Conference page.

Conference Talks: The Bonds of Unity

Posted on May 29, 2018May 29, 2018 by Catholics United for the Faith

For CUF’s 50th Anniversary we want to refocus on our mission:
“to unite the faithful”

Above all, charity “binds everything together in perfect harmony.”²⁶⁵ But the unity of the pilgrim Church is also assured by visible bonds of communion:

profession of one faith received from the Apostles;

common celebration of divine worship, especially of the sacraments;

apostolic succession through the sacrament of Holy Orders, maintaining the fraternal concord of God’s family.

(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 815)

“from all walks of life”

From the beginning, this one Church has been marked by a great diversity which comes from both the variety of God’s gifts and the diversity of those who receive them. Within the unity of the People of God, a multiplicity of peoples and cultures is gathered together. Among the Church’s members, there are different gifts, offices, conditions, and ways of life. “Holding a rightful place in the communion of the Church there are also particular Churches that retain their own traditions.” The great richness of such diversity is not opposed to the Church’s unity. Yet sin and the burden of its consequences constantly threaten the gift of unity. And so the Apostle has to exhort Christians to “maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 814)

“in order to support, defend and advance the efforts of the teaching Church”.

This begins first by our own personal sanctification. It involves our recognition that we possess the Holy Spirit by virtue of our Baptism and Confirmation. We are baptized in the Power of God. If we have faith in that Power, we will cast mountains into the sea [Mt. 21:21].
(Lay Witness 36:1)

We invite you to join us for Catholics United for the Faith 50^th Anniversary Conference on October 5^th – 7^th. It is sure to be a weekend of authentic spiritual renewal that you won’t want to miss.

For More Information, Please Visit Our 2018 Conference Page.

Stay tuned to this blog to learn about our Conference Speakers.

Right Reverend Philip Anderson, o.s.b. Abbot Our Lady of Clear Creek Abbey