National Catholic Reporter - October 26, 2024

Meeting the pope as my true self: A transgender man's encounter with Pope Francis

On October 23, Maxwell Kuzma met Pope Francis after a general audience as part of a group of transgender Catholic men gathered through Outreach. Being able to meet Pope Francis as his true self, with no mask or false persona, was a grace.

“My transition to a male identity was a miracle in every sense of the word, an extraordinary spiritual metamorphosis that put me deeper in touch with my Catholic faith and closer to God than I'd ever felt.” 

National Catholic Reporter - August 9, 2024

Holy scars and divine welcome: A transgender Catholic flourishes at Outreach 2024

God's love for the LGBTQ community is abundantly visible at a place like the Outreach conference. It's a place where the word ‘welcome’ really means welcome.

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New Ways Ministry - August 8, 2024

Recognizing the Face of God in the Other: A View from the Imago Dei Conference

The doctrine of the Catholic Church may take years to acknowledge or encounter what LGBTQ people have known for longer than 50 years: the LGBTQ community can strive for holiness just like anyone else. Conferences like this offer an opportunity to celebrate queer people on the journey together.  Recognizing this joy is vital, as we are healed and sanctified when we encounter it, and in this joy, we see the face of Christ.

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New Ways Ministry - June 28, 2024

Beyond the Binary: Queer Visibility in Pride Month—And All Year

From the moment we are born, people in our lives immediately begin categorizing us especially by gender, sorting us into a binary system that determines much about our quality of life, opportunities, and even our legal rights.

Yet, this immediate sorting is not based on any intuitive, deep truth about our unique and individual selves. Rather, it is designed to ensure the gendered systems in place continue to function.

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Outreach - April 10, 2024

As a transgender Catholic, I don’t see gender diversity as a threat to our faith

My personal faith journey has shown me that LGBTQ identities are a gift from God, one that helps the entire community grow in openness and love.

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National Catholic Reporter - Mar 29, 2024

Way of the cross is way of embodiment, something queer Catholics know well

When we look deeply at the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, we begin to see there is an ultimate oneness in Jesus' life. Trans Catholics like Max Kuzma have experienced a oneness in their lives as well.

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Outreach - Mar 2, 2024

I lost many Catholic friends during my gender transition. This is how I healed.

Sometimes when I’m anxious at the doctor’s office, I count the ceiling tiles. Or the number of planks on a hardwood floor or the number of chairs in the waiting room. I don’t remember when I started doing this, but as soon as I think of counting at the doctor’s office, I can visualize many specific and distinct locations. But the strongest memory that comes up for me is my 2020 visit to an endocrinologist’s office.

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Outreach - Dec 8, 2023

What my aunt taught me about Catholic love and transgender acceptance

In July, my 73-year-old aunt Dorothy Kuzma died. When I came out as transgender in late 2019, she sent me a Christmas card that read, “I am happy to have another nephew.” Part of what made my aunt’s support so significant for me was that I lost many people during my transition—particularly Catholics. I was living alone at the time and clung to any small feeling of local community and friends that I could find. But it wasn’t enough. I needed my family, and Dorothy was one of the people who fulfilled that role of love and support for me.

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National Catholic Reporter - Nov 10, 2023

Trans Catholics exist, and we deserve to participate in church life

Some in the church found this statement outrageous for suggesting that transgender individuals should have the opportunity to participate in these ways, but that is precisely why a document like this is important. Transgender Catholics are here. We exist. We face all kinds of discrimination and prejudice in society; shouldn’t church be a place where we get to experience the love of Christ, just like our neighbor? Shouldn't it be a place where we get to participate as equals, just like everyone else?

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New Ways Ministry - June 24, 2023

Finding God and Self by Bicycle During the Pandemic

It’s Pride Month of 2020,and the weather is hot and sticky in Mobile, Alabama, where I live. I am still a “baby trans” (someone who is early in their transition), still in the first awkward stages of second puberty, still feeling a sense of disconnect between what I see in the mirror everyday and who I know myself to be. And my faith, while still deeply important to me, is also something I am wrestling with in an awkward stage of transition: with so many negative reactions to my gender transition from other Catholics and Christians, will I be able to hold on to faith?

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National Catholic Reporter - June 16, 2023

LGBTQ+ Catholics have a spiritual legacy to take pride in

Watching current events as a transgender person and a Catholic is enough to make my head spin these days. When Target stores began carrying new LGBTQ+ clothing in preparation for the month of June — including a line made and designed by an LGBTQ+ creator — radical conservatives went into some stores and destroyed the displays.

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National Catholic Reporter - April 6, 2023

What Holy Thursday foot washing can teach us about inclusivity and love

Sometimes society doesn't know what to do with us. But without hesitation, I know Jesus prefers us to be both present and visible. He would absolutely seek to spend time with transgender people.

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New Ways Ministry - March 31, 2023

For Trans Day of Visibility, A Telling of “The Parable of the White Sneakers.

My gender was never something that other people controlled: it was always God given. A big part of my journey was learning to tune out the voices of often well-meaning Christians and instead tune in through discernment to God’s will. When I did that, I found an endless font of love, and knew that God is LGBTQ affirming.

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National Catholic Reporter - Dec 22, 2022

For this transgender Catholic, Advent's wait mirrors the wait for embodiment.

Growing up as a young LGBTQ person of faith in the Catholic Church, I was familiar with two things: uncertainty and waiting.

National Catholic Reporter - June 15, 2024

Carl Siciliano tells his story of 'Making Room' for homeless LGBTQ youth

Carl Siciliano is an inspiration, but his book Making Room is not a fairytale where the knight in shining armor rides in to vanquish what threatens the village. As Carl learns, the hero of this story is the community.

National Catholic Reporter - June 25, 2022

'Outlove' tells how LGBTQ+ people do belong in the church

Outlove is the biographical survival story of Julie Rodgers, who grew up fiercely evangelical and passionately in love with Jesus with one small problem: She was attracted to other women.

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National Catholic Reporter - Feb 24, 2024

'Carol & The End of the World' asks viewers to consider how they want to live

When you walk into any given Catholic church, you will see subtle variations. There might be stone, wood or marble. There might be a modern sound system or crackling, outdated speakers. There may or may not be stained glass windows depicting saints or a scene from the Bible. However, one constant you will always see, no matter the church, is a crucifix. 

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National Catholic Reporter - Aug 05, 2022

'Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey' documents one man's idea of heaven on Earth

It is clear that Warren Jeffs used a position of power and authority to manipulate and control people for his own ends. But for the members of his congregation, it was not that simple.

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