26. Justin Telthorst (Catholic, Empty Chairs) - A Gay Catholic on Faith, the Pope, and the Empty Seats in the Church

26. Justin Telthorst (Catholic, Empty Chairs) - A Gay Catholic on Faith, the Pope, and the Empty Seats in the ChurchAlexis sits down with Justin Telthorst, a gay Catholic, speaker, and creator of Empty Chairs @emptychairshome for a moving conversation about faith, identity, church hurt, and belonging inside the Catholic tradition.Justin shares his story of growing up Catholic, surviving conversion therapy, wrestling with conscience and church teaching, and finding his way back to a relationship with God rooted in honesty, love, and truth. Together, Alexis and Justin explore what it means to stay connected to Jesus when institutions wound, and why LGBTQ Christians are still showing up, still praying, and still making room for hope.💬 In This Episode• Growing up Catholic and falling in love with the Church• When faith and identity begin to feel in conflict• The harm of conversion therapy• Reclaiming a relationship with God after church hurt• The meaning behind Empty Chairs• Why LGBTQ Catholics are still showing up• Gatekeeping, conscience, belonging, and love of neighbor• How parents can respond when their child comes out• Catholics, Protestants, communion, and the tensions we inherit👥 People/Resources Mentioned• Justin Telthorst / Empty Chairs: @emptychairshome• The Pope: @pontifex• Brené Brown: @brenebrown• 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture: @1946themovie• Colby Martin / UnClobbered: @colbymartin• Church Clarity: churchclarity.org• Father James Martin: @jamesmartinsj• Outreach: @outrchcatholic• Father James Alison• Theology for the Unwanted: @theounwanted• GayExTrad: @gayextrad• New Ways Ministry: @newwaysministry• Fortunate Families: fortunatefamilies.com• Honoring the Gift• Equip / Pieter Valk• Building Catholic Futures: @buildingcatholicorg• Eve Tushnet: @eve_tushnet• Without Exception / David Palmieri: see outreach.faith and newwaysministry.org• Dr. Julia Sadusky: @drsadusky#Catholicism #Christianity #deconstruction #reconstruction #LGBTQChristianity #GayCatholic #ProgressiveChristianity #QueerTheology #ChurchHurt #Catholic #1946TheMovie #LGBT #LGBTQ #emptychairsSupport the showAbout The Sacred SlopeWhere the slippery slope becomes sacred ground.For the spiritually tender—raised in or rooted in Christianity.Come explore our global, diverse, inclusive Christian faith, deconstruction, and spiritual identity in a rapidly changing world. Through conversations with clergy, scholars, and cultural voices, the show creates space for people navigating faith after certainty, church harm, or political co-option of religion.🎧 WATCH: YouTube / Spotify     LISTEN: Apple Podcasts + everywhere     FOLLOW: @thesacredslope (IG, FB, Threads, TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky)🔗 Connect🎧 Explore episodes & community: linktr.ee/TheSacredSlope 🎙 Hosted by Alexis Rice 🎵 Music by Brett Rutledge, Eddie Irvin & Sean Spence 📬 Nominate a guest: [email protected]🌿 Community Guidelines 🌿Fruit of the Spirit:  ❤️ love • 💫 joy • ☮️ peace • 🕊 patience • 💝 kindness • 🌿 goodness • 🙏 faithfulness • 🤲 gentleness • 💪 self-control