You are right. They don't use the word to defend their beliefs, even if I can't figure out for sure what "faith" is supposed to mean there. It seems still to play the role of a sort of stop-sign, with approximate meaning of "acceptance of Catholic dogma".

Still, I am not sure whether there is a concept behind "faith" distinct from "belief immune from scrutiny". I have found a Christian definition where they basically say that faith is a belief which is

• not based on factual evidence, but rather hearsay
• absolutely certain
• motivated by God's personal qualities
• a supernatural act

That seems to vindicate the naïve atheist view of faith as a belief firmly held in spite of evidence.