PODCAST · religion
Mezzo by Chris Damian
by Chris Damian
Mezzo is a space for the "in-between." For deconstructing and deconstructed Catholics, and those who want to learn with and from them. We coverCatholicism, intersectionality, dialogue, deconstruction, sexuality, race, creativity, healing, change, and much more!
Episodes
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Deconstructing FOCUS: Part Seven
This is the seventh episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million. In this episode, Christine reflects on her...
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Deconstructing FOCUS Catholic: part six
This is the sixth episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million. In this episode, we'll continue to explore…
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Deconstructing FOCUS Catholic: part five
This is the fifth episode on FOCUS Catholic, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. FOCUS a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million. In this episode, we explore how FOCUS didn’t...
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Deconstructing FOCUS Catholic: part four
This is the fourth episode on FOCUS Catholic, a ministry with more than 1000 young people based largely on college campuses around the United States and which last year had a revenue of $126 million. In this episode, we explore how the inside story of FOCUS is far messier than its public image.…
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Deconstructing FOCUS Catholic: Part Three
This is the third episode in the multi-part series on the Catholic ministry FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. In this episode, we’ll hear from both sets of panelists: Carol, Kelly, Mat, Christine, Anton, and Mary. They talk us through love-bombing on the part of missionaries,...
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Deconstructing FOCUS Ministries: Part Two
This is the second episode in the multi-part series on the Catholic ministry FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. In this episode, we welcome a second group of panelists: Christine Grote, Mary Forbes, and Anton Kallungal. They discuss how FOCUS promised purpose, belonging, and...
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Deconstructing FOCUS ministries: Part One
This is the first episode in the multi-part series on the Catholic ministry FOCUS, the Fellowship of Catholic University Students. In this episode, we explore how FOCUS built a culture of belonging, then quietly taught people to doubt themselves, their bodies, and their instincts. In this...
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A Girl Started SCREAMING During Eucharistic Adoration... Here's What I Think Happened
For my whole life, I've just accepted one of Catholicism's most unbelievable claims: that the Eucharist is truly the Body and Blood of Christ. In this episode of Mezzo, I revisit one unforgettable night at a Catholic youth retreat where a girl suddenly began screaming during Eucharistic…
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Black Natural Law & the Christian Response to Oppression, with Dr. Vincent Lloyd
Today, I’m joined on Mezzo by Dr. Vincent Lloyd, professor at Villanova University and author of Black Natural Law and co-author of Break Every Yoke: Break Every Yoke: Religion, Justice, and the Abolition of Prisons.We discuss natural law, suffering, Christianity, oppression, prisons, abolition,...
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What It's Like to Be a "DEI Hire": My Story as a Gay Catholic Lawyer
In today's Mezzo episode, I share a very personal story.Rather than debating DEI, merit, or politics in the abstract, I wanted to explain what these conversations have looked like in my own life. As a gay Catholic and lawyer, I've experienced both opportunities that were closed to me because of…
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Why Christian Stories Need More Honesty (Not More Arguments)
What happens when you stop trying to win arguments and start telling honest stories?In this conversation, I sit down with Simon, creator of the acclaimed Dear Alana podcast, to talk about the years-long journey of bringing Alana Chen's story to life. We discuss grief, creativity, Catholicism,...
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Does the Catholic Church Really Condemn Socialism?
Socialism is presently all over American news, with democratic socialist politicians currently competing for key roles in state and national leadership. These developments have elicited forceful commentary from Catholic leaders such as Bishop Robert Barron. Catholics are often told that the…
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From Youth Ministry to Mental Health: Faith, Fear, and Healing with Ashley Kieffer
Former youth minister–turned–therapist Ashley Kieffer joins Chris to talk about black-and-white Catholicism, youth ministry culture, and what happens when faith gets tangled up with OCD and scrupulosity. They unpack safety vs fear, confession as compulsion, sexuality and shame, and what it means…
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Why So Many Women Don’t Believe Women (From Someone on the Front Lines)
In today’s episode of Mezzo, I talk with Katherine Mitchell, therapy program director at Bridging Hope, a sexual assault crisis center in northeast Georgia. (You may also know her as the former manager of Reconstructing Catholicism.) Katherine oversees therapy for survivors whose trauma may have...
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Why I Protested: A Catholic Response to ICE in Minneapolis
Over the past year, I've watched my community in Minneapolis experience fear, grief, and incredible acts of courage. In this episode of Mezzo, I share my own experiences living through the recent ICE operations in the Twin Cities, how they affected my friends, my faith, and my understanding of…
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My Grandfather Was an "Illegal Immigrant": A Catholic Perspective
In this episode, I share some of my personal story about immigration, faith, and family. My grandfather once overstayed his visa and, for a time, was considered an "illegal immigrant." Looking at today's immigration debate, I can't help but wonder how differently my own family might have been...
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Why Catholic Arguments Against Transgender People Don't Work
In this episode, we explore why many Catholic arguments against transgender identities fail to persuade—even among people who are sympathetic to Catholic teaching.Drawing on the work of Catholic philosopher Elizabeth Anscombe, we examine how many Catholic discussions about transgender people…
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Can Gay Men Be Ordained Catholic Priests? Canon Lawyer Explains the Rules
Can Catholic seminaries admit gay men to holy orders? In this long, nerdy, and surprisingly hopeful conversation, I sit down with my friend Dan Quinan, a canon lawyer and Substack writer, to unpack what Church law actually says about “homosexual tendencies,” “gay culture,” and seminary...
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Do Gay Penguins Matter? Unpacking Catholicism and Natural Law
Today, natural law arguments about sexuality are often based on distorted understandings that risk dehumanizing and dismissing the profound complexity of human persons. What if the way natural law is currently used—objectivized, empiricist, and mechanistic—is actually a betrayal of Aristotle and...
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“Catholicism Is for Bad People”: James Alison on Faith, Forgiveness, and LGBTQ Catholics
When the Church’s most rigid teachings threaten your identity, the path to authentic faith often starts with a simple truth: You Can, If You Want To. James Allison, theologian and priest, unpacks how embracing God's love and forgiveness—not morality—can radically transform our understanding of...
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Coming Out as Civil Disobedience in the Church
In this episode, we explore why coming out in the Church can function as an act of moral agency and even civil disobedience. Drawing from the work of Martin Luther King Jr., Black Christian theology, and his own experience as a gay Catholic, Chris Damian discusses silence, disclosure, queer...
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Why put migrants and diversity at the center of an encyclical on AI?
Most of us are unprepared for the profound questions the digital age is forcing us to ask about humanity, justice, and the future. Which is partly why Pope Leo XIV has recently published Magnifica Humanitas, his encyclical on safeguarding humanity in the age of AI.He moves us to ask: What if AI...
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Navigating Niche Internet Fame as Gay & Ex-Catholic Creators
What happens when your “tiny” online platform suddenly follows you into real life—family dinners, gay bars, dating apps, and DMs from priests in crisis? In this episode, Chris Damian (lawyer, gay Catholic writer) and Cade (ex-Catholic atheist YouTuber) unpack the weird reality of hyper-niche…
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My Pastor Lied, the Diocese Covered It Up… and I Stayed Catholic
In this episode, I’m joined by Paul Fahey, a former parish catechist turned licensed counselor in Michigan who now works at the intersection of mental health, Catholic theology, and spiritual abuse. Paul shares his journey from homeschooled, Steubenville-era zeal and a full-time job in parish...
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Can Religious Schools Take Public Money and Still Discriminate?
The Catholic case at the Supreme Court: Can faith-based schools receive public funds while discriminating? This episode unpacks a pivotal legal battle shaping the future of Catholic education and religious liberties in America.The Supreme Court case St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy tests a...
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Bizarre Things My Conversion Therapist Told Me to Do
In this episode, Christopher Dowling-Magill and Danny Peterson return to share the bizarre and often shocking things their Catholic conversion therapists encouraged them to do in the name of “healing” same-sex attraction. From “non-erotic” group cuddling and “snuggle prayer” to Journey Into…
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The Pope Benedict XVI Argument For Gay Love
A deep, provocative conversation on how Christian communities confuse repression with asceticism—and how that confusion harms women, gay men, and anyone raised in purity culture. We explore the work of Alasdair McIntyre, Sarah Coakley Coakley, Augustine, Pope Benedict XVI, and the lived…
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Betrayed by Catholic Studies: My Story of Abuse and Institutional Failure
Content warning: This story includes discussions of suicide, sexual violence, assault and abuse, including clergy sexual abuse. If you're having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988.In September 2013, former chancellor Jennifer Haselberger went public with allegations that the Archdiocese of St....
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The Complete History of Conversion Therapy in the Catholic Church
This is a deep dive into conversion therapy—its philosophical underpinnings, psychological history, theories, and practices. Conversion therapy shows up in the Church in many ways today and has impacted just about every LGBTQ+ Catholic. If you stick around to the end, you'll learn how…
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Catholics discuss the Supreme Court's decision on conversion therapy
Last night, I hosted an impromptu discussion on the Supreme Court decision that was just released for the case Chiles v. Salazar. The Court held that conversion therapy bans such as that in Colorado must meet the exacting requirements of strict scrutiny review, putting conversion therapy bans...
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Blessed is She: a live discussion with Lindsay Shaw
Many women’s ministries are beacons of faith, community, and empowerment — but what happens when the internal culture turns controlling and toxic?Lindsay Shaw, who found herself deeply embedded in the world of the Catholic ministry Blessed Is She, pulls back the curtain on the spiritual abuse,...
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How a Catholic Women’s Ministry Betrayed Its Own Writers
Three former writers for Blessed Is She — Colleen, Patty, and Shannon — sit down to tell the inside story of a Catholic women’s ministry that went from a ragtag group of collaborators to a tightly controlled brand. We talk about the early days of genuine community, the slow creep of theological...
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Two Gay Catholics Talk Conservatism, Immigration, and the Church
In this episode, Chris sits down with lobbyist and longtime Hill staffer Dan Tilson to have the kind of conversation you almost never see online: a nuanced, honest look at conservatism from two gay Catholics who refuse to stay inside culture-war boxes. Dan shares his journey from Latin Mass...
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Does Catholicism Really Forbid LGBT People From Falling in Love?
In this episode, I step back from the culture war and ask a deeper question: what is erotic desire, and what does that mean for homosexuality and homoerotic love within Catholicism? Drawing on Plato, the Greek Fathers, John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and the Catechism, I argue that eros is far bigger...
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What ‘Traditional Marriage’ Actually Meant (It’s Not What You Think)
What does “traditional Christian marriage” actually mean? In today’s debates about same-sex marriage, Catholics and Christians often argue as if the tradition has always understood marriage as the highest form of friendship, intimacy, and personal fulfillment. But history tells a far more...
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Chastity Isn't What You Think: A Gay Catholic's Take
Is chastity merely a check-list of bad behaviors for Catholic singles to avoid, or is it something far more expansive—and more human? In this episode, we dive into the recent launch of the dating app Sacred Spark and its controversial "broken heart" badge for those who don’t "value chastity."…
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Queer Catholics on Faith, Deconstruction, and Rebuilding a Life
What does it look like when gay, queer, and trans people who were deeply formed by Catholicism sit down and speak honestly—without caricatures, slogans, or outrage?In this roundtable conversation, former and current Catholic insiders share their stories of faith, deconstruction, relationships,...
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Mental Health, Suicide, and Being LGBTQ in the Catholic Church
Content warning: This conversation includes discussions of suicide, mental health crises, and related topics. If you're struggling, call or text 988. I spent a weekend with a group of people who grew up in intense Catholic environments. We all ended up in different places. Some are in the Church,...
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LGBTQ Catholics in Conversation: Chastity, Integration, and Deconstruction
Content warning: This conversation includes discussions of purity culture, suicide, mental health struggles, and related topics. I spent a weekend with a group of people—former insiders who grew up in intense Catholic environments. We all ended up in different places today. Some are in the…
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Debunking Conversion Therapy: Why Nicolosi's Studies Don't Hold Up
Dr. Joseph Nicolosi Jr. inherited conversion therapy practices from his father and has considerable influence on the Catholic community. He's been promoted by Lila Rose, the Ruth Institute, Fresh Catholic Podcast, and EWTN. He recently submitted a legal brief about Colorado's conversion therapy...
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Minnesota Catholics respond to ICE occupation, with Laura Kelly Fanucci and Jacqui Skemp
Chris is joined by Laura Kelly Fanucci and Jacqui Skemp to discuss the intense presence of ICE's immigration enforcement in Minnesota and how they are responding and processing it as local Catholics. They share personal experiences and feelings of guilt, anxiety, and the struggle to balance...
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A Catholic Interviews An Immigration Attorney on Dairy Farms, Visas, and Trump-Era Policy
Immigration attorney Rachel Davis—self-proclaimed “Dairy Queen” and mom of a yogurt-obsessed 4-year-old—joins lawyer and gay Catholic writer Chris Damian to pull back the curtain on the hidden immigrant labor behind America’s food supply. They talk TN visas for animal breeders, how COVID border...
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How Catholic saints fought fascism and showed up in hard times - with Meg Hunter-Kilmer
draft Meg Hunter-Kilmer has become “the Catholic saints lady” for a reason. In this conversation, she joins Chris to talk about how the lives of the saints can anchor us in an anxious, polarized, and often unjust world—especially for immigrants, the undocumented, and those who feel like they…
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Catholicism and Conversion Therapy: The Dark Secret
The ex-gay movement never really went away—it just rebranded. From “reparative therapy” to “healing ministries,” Catholic leaders continue to promote the same discredited ideas about homosexuality under new names. In this episode, I dig into how these theories shape Catholic seminaries, influence...
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How Catholic Seminarians Are Subjected to Conversion Therapy
I’ve spent years digging into the Catholic Church’s approach to sexuality, and in this episode I take a hard look at the work of Dr. Bob Schuchts and the John Paul II Healing Center. From conferences costing up to $1,100 per week, to seminary workshops that push bizarre ex-gay theories, to...
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Leaving the Catholic Priesthood: Conversion Therapy and Finding Integration
Danny Peterson, ordained in 2016 in Newark and now a therapist in Salt Lake City, walks through the real mechanics of ex-gay culture inside Catholic spaces: chastity “support” groups that were conversion therapy / SOCE, Journey Into Manhood weekends, minor exorcisms, and diocesan referrals to...
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Four Ways Catholics Define Sexuality
The Catholic Church uses the word “sexuality” without ever clearly defining it. In this conversation, I explore four competing ways Catholics understand sexuality—from gendered complementarity to the erotic desire that fuels saints and mystics. What does it mean to live a flourishing sexual life…
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Can Therapy Be Catholic—and Ethical? A Priest Weighs In
Father Bryan is a Catholic priest and registered psychologist serving clergy and seminarians in Vancouver. He shares how depth psychology reshaped his ministry, why “start with behavior” backfires in sex conversations, and how evidence-based therapy, informed consent, and clear boundaries protect...
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Can Catholicism Evolve on LGBTQ+ Sexual Ethics?
Let's take a deep dive into the contradictions of modern Catholic sexual teaching. From Augustine’s negative views on sex to John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, Chris explains how straight Catholics are told they’ve entered a “new era” of sexual positivity while LGBTQ+ Catholics are left behind....
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The Dark Side of Conversion Therapy No One Talks About - Chiles v Salazar
Greg shares his powerful story of how he unknowingly entered conversion therapy through a Catholic counselor who blurred the lines between prayer, therapy, and friendship. In this conversation, we unpack how “Reintegrative Therapy” works, why it’s so dangerous, and how confusing boundaries can...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Mezzo is a space for the "in-between." For deconstructing and deconstructed Catholics, and those who want to learn with and from them. We coverCatholicism, intersectionality, dialogue, deconstruction, sexuality, race, creativity, healing, change, and much more!
HOSTED BY
Chris Damian
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Mezzo by Chris Damian have?
Mezzo by Chris Damian currently has 55 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Mezzo by Chris Damian about?
Mezzo is a space for the "in-between." For deconstructing and deconstructed Catholics, and those who want to learn with and from them. We coverCatholicism, intersectionality, dialogue, deconstruction, sexuality, race, creativity, healing, change, and much more!
How often does Mezzo by Chris Damian release new episodes?
Mezzo by Chris Damian has 55 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Mezzo by Chris Damian?
You can listen to Mezzo by Chris Damian on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Mezzo by Chris Damian?
Mezzo by Chris Damian is created and hosted by Chris Damian.
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