Max Kuzma
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maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Max Kuzma
@maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
620 followers 270 following 1K posts
Transgender man, lifelong Catholic, Writer, Filmmaker, Creative guy living on a farm in rural ohio (with lots of animals) ☀️🐴 Typos my own

(For all my work) https://maxwellkuzma.com/
(For High Control Catholicism series) https://maxwellkuzma.substack.com/
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maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
My fall column for NCR about the harvest—every age has a feast and a famine:
The harvest is a moral covenant — it's also a reckoning OPINION / BY MAXWELL KUZMA The harvest still has to come from somewhere - from human bodies and finite earthly resources — even when the powerful pretend their wealth is born of genius rather than extraction. The harvest is also an act of memory - a way of telling the story of who we are and what sustains us. Every culture has gathered around a table to remember the hands that planted and the lives that were lost. But in America, that memory has been rewritten into myth. The "first meal" we call Thanksgiving remembers the abundance while forgetting the conquest and colonization it took to get there. The stories we tell about the harvest reveal what kind of people we wish to be: self-made or interdependent, grateful or entitled, honest about the cost of our plenty or eager to forget it.
November 25, 2025 at 2:35 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Queer saints aren’t a modern invention, they’ve always been part of our story. And knowing that can save lives. Medieval scholar @aspencerhall.bsky.social breaks it down on our latest episode:
November 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
When being ‘good’ is just about image, real accountability gets lost
Good Guy™ Armor A Fable for Catholic Masculinity in an Age of Heroes and Villains The 2 Archetypes "Good Guy" • Polite, helpful, "safe" • Praised for not being a Bad Guy • Avoids accountability, prioritizes image "Bad Guy" • Aggressive, dominant, "authentic" • Uses fear and chaos to gain power • Leverages morality and religion as a tool to manipulate others The Impact False binaries force everyone to perform for an audience. They block real growth, erode trust, and harm communities— especially women, trans people, queer people of color, and other vulnerable groups. The Takeaway • Real courage is living without armor • Bravery = vulnerability, responsibility, genuine accountability • Liberation requires listening to those without a platform
November 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Crusaders, knights, and warrior images are the face of a new brand of toxic masculinity. Just look at this example I found on threads—then listen to our podcast episode on Crusadercore to learn more
Screenshot from Threads josiahschluck wrote: Dormant Christians are reawakening. The time of pansy wimpy Christians is over. (He attached an AI generated video of knights stepping forward) ianpatrickmchugh replied saying “The meek shall inherit the earth”
November 19, 2025 at 7:55 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Join us Wednesday night for this futurechurch panel!
Flyer for a future church event titled "the spirit still speaks"
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
About those bishops
I'm just saying all of these headlines praising the US Catholic bishops for "historic statement on immigration" seem to completely ignore the fact that their boss told them to do that? And then they elected a president who has been allied with one of the most vocal critics of the last pope AND with big conservative catholic money (napa)? AND they banned gender affirming care in all us catholic hospitals... and even referrals??
November 17, 2025 at 12:57 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
As a trans Catholic, I know how life-saving this care is. Our bishops should be leading with compassion, not culture-war politics.
November 14, 2025 at 1:02 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Weaponized white male discontent is finding a foothold in some Catholic spaces. How do mythic ideals of masculinity distort faith—and reality? 🎧 New episode discussing this drops Monday 11/10
November 7, 2025 at 12:44 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Another Catholic is joining the daily wire. Should we be concerned? (yes)
November 4, 2025 at 2:57 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Beautiful rural biking sunday
Photo of Max crouched alongside his electric bike Scene of a gravel road with autumn trees all around photo looking down at fallen leaves
November 2, 2025 at 4:17 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Happy halloween! I’m a Nevermore Academy student from the magical high school on the new Netflix show about Wednesday Adams 🎃 Plus I have a new essay out today that Emma and I wrote about what Halloween means to the gay community and the importance and meaning of queer ancestors
Max dressed in the purple and black stripped jacket of a Nevermore student, holding the character “thing” from the show Wednesday
October 31, 2025 at 12:26 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
It’s giving Suzanne Collins
Republican Senators today listened to music and enjoyed a free meal at the White House rose garden after cashing their paychecks while they ignore the hundreds of thousands of federal workers who are not getting paid during this shutdown because they refuse to negotiate to protect your health insurance.
October 22, 2025 at 4:55 AM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
photo of one time when I was thinking about how a flowchart of Opus Dei hierarchy would work
Globally 40,000 members Opus Dei Spain Hierarchy 45 30,000 3,000 The Prelate -elected for life General Count (Men) Central Accene) Local Counals Director suborrector sectetan Priest menbership Numeranies Supernumeraves Assistant numeraves Associates Cooberaters Priestly Society of the holy Cross
October 22, 2025 at 2:00 AM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
So much of AI is about showing people what they want to see, creating a literal mirror image of themselves back at them. White people view AI as white. And we all know how the rest of the story goes.
Screenshot of a tweet that says "Can somebody explain to me why it's bad if immigrants take our jobs but it's good if AI does?"
October 17, 2025 at 2:04 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Just fringe catholics circling back to being evangelical again
Screenshot of a fringe publication that published the headline “Charlie and Erika Kirk Inspire a Revival; Leo Inspires Nothing”
September 22, 2025 at 4:35 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Speaking up = imagining a Church where everyone can thrive
September 9, 2025 at 6:14 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
New Episode Out Now 🎙️ We were honored to sit down with Gareth Gore, author of Opus, for a powerful conversation on the secrecy, control, and political influence of Opus Dei. This episode continues our series on High Control Catholicism—listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, & Substack. 🔗
Flyer for the podcast showing photos of guest Gareth Gore as well as hosts Max and Emma
August 18, 2025 at 5:44 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Great comment on my most recent essay “Two Errors Catholics Make About Gender”
Rhoda Vanderhart commented on your post: Yes!!! There are so many people who love you dearly, Max! It's one of the great joys of my life to see how you have been able to let God out of the box.......so many of us grew up with God confined to various boxes designed by small-minded (mostly) men. Not just Catholicism, but also evangelical fundamentalism as I experienced. One raised with such restriction only truly begins to live life fully when God is liberated from these chains. The world becomes place of wonder, beauty, spiritual richness, and possibility.
August 15, 2025 at 2:08 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Our cat Remi is critically ill & at Ohio State’s vet hospital for 24/7 care. Costs are already $6k. We’ve started a GoFundMe to help keep her alive while vets work to find answers. Every donation or share helps. ❤️
photo of Max with Remi on his shoulder photo of Remi looking out behind a fake plant
August 11, 2025 at 5:04 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Cooking fresh vegetables gifted by my neighbors from their garden
two sheet pans in the oven with diced potatoes and onions a pot full of corn that was boiled
August 11, 2025 at 12:22 AM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Big news: I’m now a columnist at National Catholic Reporter!
My first piece on DignityUSA was one of the most-read on the site for a week.
I’ll be writing regularly about queer and trans Catholics—our stories and the sacredness of our lives.
Read more: www.ncronline.org/authors/maxw...
Max at his desk, where he’s holding an NCR mug and in the background has three small flags: a trans flag, a vatican flag, and a rainbow flag
August 4, 2025 at 12:39 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
So are we post-Christian or is everyone becoming Catholic? 😂
Two youtube thumbnails, one from Fox news that says "More young Americans turning toward Catholicism" and one from Matt Fradd that says "Tyranny and the Post-Christian West with Rod Dreher"
August 1, 2025 at 12:27 AM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Today at NCR:

www.ncronline.org/opinion/drea...
Opinion — MAXWELL KUZMA Dreaming of a church where LGBTQ+ Catholics could participate fully
July 24, 2025 at 1:39 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Jubilee gave a platform to a self-proclaimed Catholic fascist. It should be obvious, but here’s why that’s dangerous.
July 23, 2025 at 9:38 PM
maxwellkuzma.bsky.social
Independent journalism is more important now than ever. That’s why we sat down with Heidi Schlumpf (formerly of NCR) to discuss her career reporting on power and influence in Catholic groups

open.substack.com/pub/maxwellk...
Screenshot of an article headline that reads “Follow the money: reporting on control, culture, and consequence in the church” Screenshot from article that reads: Our Conversation with Heidi Schlumpf For Catholics who work in Catholic media, the experience can be a tricky balancing act. You're holding on to your own faith while also telling hard truths about the Church you care about. Few people embody that tension as gracefully as Heidi Schlumpf. On this week's podcast, we sat down with Heidi to talk about what it's like to report on the far-right, high-control movements in Catholicism - and what she's learned along the way. Heidi Schlumpf has spent more than 30 years as a Catholic journalist, most recently as executive editor at National Catholic Reporter. Over the years, she's written about money in the Church, the sex abuse crisis, racism, politics, and the rise of far-right Catholic media groups like EWTN and investigated groups like FOCUS. Her work has also appeared in CNN Opinion, Sojourners, and HuffPost, and she's taught journalism at Aurora University. She studied theology at Notre Dame and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, where she learned from legendary feminist theologian Rosemary Radford Ruether. She is also the author of three books. Heidi lives
July 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM