UT University Catholic Center — Local services in Austin

If you sincerely want to pursue God, do not go to this church. The priest is overly arrogant, acting as if only he understands God. Every interaction with him made me very uncomfortable, because he was not genuinely trying to communicate with me or answer my questions, but rather to show his superiority. The first time I spoke with him, he said my words made him uncomfortable and that the church cannot take people like me. The last time we talked, he looked me up and down with contempt for more than a minute (I truly do not know what is wrong with him). Every time (I only had a handful of consultations with him, since I knew he was not capable of resolving my doubts) I shared my interaction with God, he would either dismiss me, show jealousy, or simply say: “It is a very normal thing.” So later, when I had the chance to meet the best professors of theology who are also devout Catholics, I asked them one by one: “Is this really a very normal thing?” And they replied: “No. You are lucky.” Another person I met in this church constantly boasted about how many children he had and how successful he was, behaving like he was pious, and that God only loved his children. I highly doubt Christ has anything to do with it. The priest is good with words, twisting them and using them to gain benefits; that man is good at performing, pretending to be devout in order to deceive Christ. The two are good friends based on my observation. Fortunately, later I went to other major cities in the U.S. and met many more priests and Catholics. They were far, far better than the people in this church. I met priests who were willing to listen to me, and help me. I met missionaries who decided not to have kids, instead seeing the people they evangelized as their own. See, how different! I argued with Christ a lot: why did you let me meet such disgusting people? After several rounds of argument, I understood—if I hadn’t, I would never have known the full picture: the Church is not perfect, the priests are not perfect. No one is Christ. Only Christ is perfect. We must pursue a close and private relationship with Christ. Believe in God and Him only, not some priest. So here is my advice: if you have any other option, do not go to this church. There is no need to be...

I greatly appreciated the UCC while at UT. It has many masses each weekend during the school year (including a late mass), with some variety of music at each one. It has events each week and plenty to get involved with as a student.

In 2020, the Bishop of Austin decided to assign diocesan priests to the UCC. (It was previously served by Paulist priests.) The chaplain who has been there since then is very hard-working, faithful, and reverent. He is friendly and welcoming, but does not shy away from any of the unfashionable truths of the Church, to which many might say, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” (John 6:60).

It is unfortunate that the most recent reviewer has been offended by an Instagram post celebrating the the end of Roe v. Wade, which included a comparison of the killing of unborn children with slavery. A follow-up was posted to move away from this comparison somewhat. Nonetheless, the UCC does affirm (with the universal Church) that the killing of millions of unborn children is an immense tragedy and an injustice of the highest degree.

(That reviewer also notes that the Law of Moses did not impose the death penalty for causing a woman to miscarry, which is an odd thing to note given that it also did not condemn slavery. E.g., Exodus 21:26. Christian morality has developed more fully since then. E.g., Luke 16:18 (Jesus rejecting remarriage after divorce); Acts 10:9-15 (God ending Kosher laws); Didache 2:2 (early Christian treatise rejecting abortion); Fratelli Tutti 263 (rejecting the death penalty); Evangelium Vitae 73 (rejecting legalized abortion).)

If, however, you do not wish to hear the occasional condemnation of legalized abortion, there is a nice Paulist parish down the street where you can hear very little...

My time at the University Catholic Center (UCC) at the University of Texas was marked by profound disappointment and growing concern. What should have been a space for faith, service, and authentic community turned into a disheartening experience filled with exploitation and inequality.

Students in leadership roles were consistently taken advantage of—expected to give enormous amounts of time and energy with little to no support. Rather than being mentored, many of us felt used. In several cases, there was a sense that resources and donations were mismanaged or improperly used, with students feeling misled or even stolen from, financially and emotionally.

The environment also revealed a clear and troubling bias: men were often favored for visibility, decision-making, and opportunities, while women were sidelined or expected to serve without recognition. This underlying sexism undermined the values of equality and dignity that Catholic teaching upholds.

Even more distressing was the UCC's inconsistent alignment with Catholic doctrine. Teachings were selectively emphasized, or ignored entirely, leaving many students spiritually adrift instead of strengthened in their faith.

If you are looking for a Catholic community that truly supports students, upholds Church teaching, and fosters leadership with integrity, I urge you to look elsewhere. The UCC, sadly, does not live up to the mission it claims...