Why We Need to Learn Black Catholic History with Alessandra Harris

Why We Need to Learn Black Catholic History with Alessandra Harris

For many Catholics, the story of racism and justice is often taught in fragments — as individual moments of prejudice rather than as part of a larger arc of history that continues to shape people’s lives today. Issues like policing, incarceration, housing, employment, and the criminalization of drug use are deeply connected to histories of racial inequality that have shaped the experiences of Black communities, including Black Catholics seeking to live out their faith in a society and Church that have not always fully recognized their dignity. In this conversation, I’m joined by Alessandra Harris to explore the importance of learning Black Catholic history as an essential part of understanding the Church itself. We talk about what it has meant for Black Catholics to navigate racism in society while also confronting the ways the Catholic Church has often been slow to respond to these realities, and why listening to these stories is necessary for anyone seeking a fuller understanding of the Catholic tradition. Learn more about Alessandra’s work: https://alessandraharris.net/ [https://alessandraharris.net/]

Growing Up White and Catholic: What I Didn’t Learn

What is missing from my understanding of the Black Catholic experience? In this episode, I reflect on what I’ve been learning about the history of Catholic involvement in slavery, the development of Black Catholic thought, and the ways Black Catholics have challenged the Church to more fully live into its teachings on justice and human dignity. This conversation draws from the work of Black Catholic journalists, including reporting from the Black Catholic Messenger, as well as historians and theologians such as Alessandra Harris, Fr. Bryan Massingale, and James H. Cone. This episode is not meant to speak for Black Catholics or provide a definitive account of Black Catholic history. Instead, it is a reflection on my own learning process as a white Catholic: the questions I’ve been asking, the gaps I’ve discovered in my own formation, and the history I’m continuing to learn. My next episode features a Black Catholic guest, Alessandra Harris, as we continue this conversation through her work and scholarship.

Fr. Mike Schmitz Encourages Scrupulosity in Gay Catholics

What kind of God is being presented to LGBTQ Catholics? In this episode, Max and Emma respond to Fr. Mike Schmitz and Kim Zember's recent EWTN video "Can You Be Gay and Catholic?" and argue that beneath the conversation lies a troubling image of God—one that encourages self-doubt, scrupulosity, and fear rather than dignity, relationship, and freedom. From purity culture and evangelical testimony narratives to same-sex weddings and Catholic teaching, they explore how theology shapes people's lives and ask a simple question: if the Gospel is good news, why does this message feel so bad?

A New Thing: Pride, Transness, and Liberation

This Pride Month, Max explores what Pride means through the lens of transgender identity, liberation, and faith. Beginning with the history of Stonewall and the central role that transgender and gender-nonconforming people played in the Gay Liberation movement, this episode examines why Pride remains both a celebration and a protest. Drawing on scripture, queer history, and contemporary reflections on trans life, Max argues that trans people are not merely part of the story of Pride—they help reveal a deeper truth about human freedom, transformation, and possibility. In a world that often fears change, transness offers a powerful reminder that, as the prophet Isaiah writes, God is always "doing a new thing." Sign up for Max's newsletter: https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/

If You Didn’t Read the Pope’s Encyclical, Here’s What You Missed

In this episode, I break down Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, offering both a clear overview of its main themes and a deeper reflection on what it means theologically and politically. The document engages artificial intelligence, modern warfare, labor, and global inequality through the lens of Catholic Social Doctrine, including striking moments like its critique of “just war” theory and its acknowledgment of the Church’s historical role in slavery. But beyond summary, I also explore what it feels like to read a text that is at once significant and limited—especially from the perspective of liberation theology and my own experience as a transgender Catholic formed at the margins of the Church. This episode asks what it means when institutional theology begins to name realities that marginalized communities have long been living and thinking through, and why that tension between excitement and frustration might actually be the most important part. Check out more of my work at: https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/