BBC OS (Outside Source), April 21, 2025

Pope Francis leaves behind a complex legacy on LGBTQ+ issues—one marked by both pastoral openness and institutional limitations. He welcomed LGBTQ+ people more than any pope before him, famously asking “Who am I to judge?” in 2013, allowing transgender godparents in 2023, and approving blessings for same-sex couples. Yet, he also made missteps, including allegedly using a slur in 2024, prompting critiques that his efforts didn’t go far enough.

In a BBC OS segment following his death, Max Kuzma, Emma Cieslik, and Simon Kent Fung reflected on how Francis opened space for queer Catholics to exist within the Church. Max, who met Francis in 2024, described him as a true ally. Emma emphasized how the pope’s actions gave many hope for a future in the Church. Simon noted that Francis moved the Church beyond culture wars, making room for lived LGBTQ+ experiences to inform theology.

The trio also spoke to the urgent need for continued progress amid rising anti-LGBTQ+ hostility, particularly in the U.S. They expressed hope that Francis’s gestures—though modest—planted seeds for a more inclusive and just Church.

NBC News - April 21, 2025

Pope Francis created a ‘seismic shift’ toward acceptance, LGBTQ Catholics say
LGBTQ Catholics and theologians said the late pontiff’s legacy teaches that change can happen when leaders are willing to listen

Max Kuzma, a lifelong Catholic and transgender advocate, said he was also struck by Francis’ pastoral presence and compassion when he met the pontiff last year. Kuzma said he introduced himself to Francis, in Spanish, as a transgender man. It was a busy moment, Kuzma said, and Francis was being pushed along in his wheelchair, so he didn’t respond verbally.

“But it was his expression and the way that he grasped my hand,” Kuzma said. “I really felt that moment of acceptance and love and support, a very pastoral feeling when you look in the eyes of the pope.” 

[…]

Francis’ statements regarding LGBTQ people also haven’t been entirely positive and have often been contradictory. For example, at the start of the pandemic, Francis began meeting with trans women, many of them sex workers, at the Vatican. In 2023, he also said trans people can be baptized and can become godparents. However, in March 2024, he called “gender ideology” the “ugliest danger” of our time. 

Kuzma said that statement, combined with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops praising President Donald Trump’s executive order barring trans women and girls from competing in female sports, makes him nervous about the future if the next pope is hostile toward trans people. 

“That unhelpfully fed into some of the culture war stuff,” Kuzma said, especially in more conservative Catholic spaces, which Kuzma said he used to be a part of. 

Still, Kuzma said he believes that if Francis had lived longer, he would’ve formed friendships with trans people in the way he formed a friendship with Juan Carlos Cruz, a survivor of clerical sexual abuse. In 2018, regarding Cruz being gay, Francis famously told him, “God made you like this.” In 2021, he appointed Cruz to a commission for protecting minors. Kuzma said such friendships would’ve likely changed Francis’ mind.

Global News (CA), February 28, 2025

Pope Francis’ health brings ‘anxiety and concern’ about Catholic Church’s future

"It felt like, no. We want you to actually be here." Max Kuzma met the pope last year as part of a group of transgender Catholics. "To be able to meet the person who is at the top of the of the organization as your true self, that in and of itself, I think, was probably one of the most meaningful things to me." But he fears the pope's progress could all be undone.

"A lot of anxiety and concern about what happens to the Catholic church, should Pope Francis pass away, especially, like, really in light of the political situation in The United States."

This is a video interview you can watch here.

The Guardian UK, January 31, 2025

The Fight to Protect LGBTQ+ Rights from Trump

In this interview with The Guardian, Max shared his journey of transitioning amidst the politically charged climate of Trump’s second inauguration. Raised in a conservative Catholic family, Max’s transition in 2019 marked a profound shift in his personal and political identity. The backlash from his family and community was very dificult. Max reflected on the painful escalation of anti-trans rhetoric during the Trump administration and its real-world consequences, such as policies limiting gender recognition on official documents. Despite his fears about future legal and social challenges, Max finds hope in the resilience of the LGBTQ community, emphasizing solidarity and mutual aid as sources of strength in the face of adversity.

This is an audio conversation available on Spotify.

The Guardian US, January 22, 2025

‘A twist of the knife’: trans Americans respond to Trump’s executive order

Right after Donald Trump won the election, Max Kuzma set to work. As a trans man living just outside of Columbus, Ohio, he knew he needed to get his documentation in order. He considers himself lucky that he already legally changed his name, but rushed to make sure his passport and other documents reflected that. Like so many other trans Americans, Kuzma worried Trump would make good on his promise to roll back LGBTQ+ rights and threaten trans healthcare and the overall safety of the queer community. “I was anticipating an attack,” Kuzma said. Still, watching Trump sign an executive order that rolled back trans and non-binary people’s rights felt like “a twist of the knife”.

For Kuzma, the order reads as a dark first step in what he sees as the administration’s attempts to erase trans and non-binary identities from public life.

“As I kept reading each additional point in that executive order, I started feeling more and more sick to my stomach,” he said.

Kuzma began his transition in 2019. He feels lucky that he’s had a few years to live openly in his identity. But he worries for trans and non-binary youth who are coming of age in a hostile era. “I’ve had the opportunity to live through many big milestones,” he said. “I’ve been on testosterone, and I’ve had my top surgery. There’s a feeling of survivor’s guilt that I made it through in the knick of time.”

Associated Press, November 15, 2024

Transgender-rights advocates say the election of Trump and his allies marks a major setback

Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender man working as a film editor and writer in rural Ohio, said he was “worn out” by the relentless targeting of trans people, and blamed Trump for perpetuating it.

Looking ahead, he said life as a trans person “has forced me to learn a resiliency that I will lean on as I continue to speak out against prejudice and discrimination.”

US Catholic, October 21, 2024

Younger Catholics’ response to the Harris candidacy reflects shifting values

Max Kuzma, 33, is a transgender Catholic writer who lives on a farm in Ohio. Kuzma points to the political shift some younger Catholics have experienced. Having grown up with the internet, Millennials and Gen Zers have had access to and connections to various perspectives and experiences in a way that past generations haven’t.

Kuzma believes that this evolving worldview has arisen from and further prompted deeper empathy among young Catholics. He is encouraged that Harris seems responsive to young people’s concerns, even when she conveys her interest through “silly” gestures, such as engaging in meme culture and jokes. Kuzma also expressed optimism with regard to Harris’s character, indicating that she has represented herself as someone who is willing to adapt and grow in areas where she might lack.

Kuzma is frustrated by the “myopic” way Catholic voters have narrowed in on abortion, seemingly ignoring other aspects of human dignity.  “Diversity is better for us, and thinking in that way of, ‘it’s only black and white,’ or ‘it is one issue,’ that is a mistake,” Kuzma says. “Being able to broaden the way you look at something and see things in a more complex way is better.”

National Catholic Reporter, August 1, 2024

With papal blessing, Outreach conference works to build community for LGBTQ Catholics

After attending the 2023 conference as a participant, this year transgender Catholic writer Maxwell Kuzma will be a panelist on "Transgender Catholics and the Church," moderated by NCR staff reporter Katie Collins Scott. Kuzma said that over recent years, he has observed a troubling rise in anti-transgender sentiment in the church, which has increasingly entered mainstream discourse, especially on social media. Kuzma attributed this shift to the sudden visibility of transgender individuals, who, after years of being largely overlooked, are now in the spotlight in light of recent Vatican documents and right-wing political activism.

The sense of community and inclusiveness at the 2023 Outreach conference represented a deeply moving time for Kuzma, who anticipated that one of his priorities at this year's conference will be "celebrating queer theology and trans joy." These aspects, Kuzma noted, are often missing from mainstream conversations about transgender issues, as was the case in the Vatican's April 2024 document Dignitas Infinita, which condemns "gender theory."

Beyond the Habit Podcast, June 4, 2024

An interview with Max Kuzma on Beyond the Habit Podcast

”In our final episode of Season Four, Sisters Erin and Colleen interview Max Kuzma, a transgender man who writes about the intersection of queerness and faith. They talk about finding the beauty in messiness, the importance of seeking out voices from marginalized groups, and the gift of diversity. Listen today!”

New Ways Ministry - April 10, 2024

What Transgender Catholics and Their Allies Are Saying About “Dignitas Infinita”

“Maxwell Kuzma is a transgender man living on a farm in rural Ohio who writes and speaks about affirming the dignity of LGBTQ+ people in all areas of life, but particularly within the Catholic church:

My greatest concern with this document is its dangerous implication that medical experts contest the importance of recognizing the transgender people’s lived reality and the evidence-based benefits of social and medical transition. Many of the  largely self-appointed “experts” who contest trans-positive perspectives  have only conducted biased studies that generate false data. I am also deeply concerned about the way intersex conditions were considered to be “resolved,” an expression that reveals a lack of engagement by the Vatican with actual intersex people.

My hope lies with the lived example of Pope Francis, who has demonstrated a welcoming care and support of transgender people. My hope is that the whole church will learn by his example how to extend that same respect, love, and support to the transgender people in our individual communities.

I am a transgender man and lifelong Catholic, and I know that my identity is a beautiful gift from God. The natural world reveals how much God loves diversity, and human diversity in particular is a uniquely precious gift that goes beyond any gender binary to reveal the beautiful wholeness of creation through Divine Love.”

The Associated Press - April 4, 2024

Transgender Catholics say new Vatican document shows no understanding of their lives

“A document like this is very hurtful to the larger LGBTQ+ community but especially to the trans community,” said Maxwell Kuzma, 32, a lifelong Catholic transgender man working as a film editor and writer in rural Ohio.

“We have seen the care and love Pope Francis has personally extended to the trans community in his personal interactions, yet this document fails to extend that same respect, love, and support,” Kuzma said via email.

(…)

Kuzma, the Ohio-based film editor and writer, said his dismay over the Vatican document was coupled with continued optimism.

“Currently we have a spotlight on us, yet we have existed throughout human history and have often been given special roles in cultures that recognized our unique gifts,” he said.

“The Catholic Church moves slowly, but my hope is that one day, the Vatican will truly recognize the beautiful and important gifts transgender people have to share with the church and the world.”

The New York Times - November 9, 2023

Vatican Says Transgender People Can Be Baptized and Become Godparents

Maxwell Kuzma, a Catholic who runs a farm outside Columbus, Ohio, said the document was "a very good sign of, yes, we want transgender people to be involved in the life of the church."

He said he was especially touched by the section that said transgender people could be witnesses at weddings. In 2019, he was asked to be the maid of honor at his younger sister's wedding, which coincided with his decision to come out and began transitioning, he said. But the wedding organizers told him, he said, they wanted only a female maid of honor and disinvited him from the wedding party.

Mr. Kuzma said many transgender Catholics hid their identities to participate in their church communities, "and that's just not a very good way to live."

The National Catholic Reporter - October 7, 2023

New Iowa guidelines praised as a 'milestone' by LGBTQ Catholics and advocates

Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender Catholic from Ohio who has criticized Favale's writings on gender identity, said the Davenport guidelines were "amazing to see coming from a Catholic bishop in 2023." 

"So often in Catholic spaces there’s an asterisk after the words 'all are welcome.' "

The National Catholic Reporter - October 2, 2023

LGBTQ+ Catholics express cautious hope for change as Synod of Bishops starts

"The way that question is worded shows you that what's really needed in a lot of ways is a big perspective shift," where church leaders model welcoming attitudes, said Maxwell Kuzma, a transgender Catholic from Ohio. To address the judgment that makes LGBTQ+ Catholics feel judged "you can't just create a program to make that go away," he said.

While Kuzma said changing doctrine would show "care and concern" for LGBTQ+ issues, he said the core issue is that, even with present doctrine, many Catholic leaders and employers appear to crack down more harshly on LGBTQ+ people in relationships than heterosexual people living in situations contrary to official church teaching, such as cohabiting together before marriage.

Kuzma said he hopes the synod will lead to "increased familiarity and comfort" with LGBTQ+ people that leads to more "unity." Kuzma would like to see people willing to engage in conversations about LGBTQ+ issues instead of being "outright disrespectful" or "dismissive."