June is Pride month, which often invites extra attention and conversation in the Catholic Church about the Church's official teaching on matters of sexuality and gender.

While the areas of LGBTQ+ Catholic study and ministry have expanded over the decades, the Church’s teaching has remained relatively consistent: That only those sexual acts that are both unitive and procreative, between one man and one woman, are rightly ordered. Discussions of these topics still often center what is believed to be "natural,” but contemporary science and social progression reveal to us more and more how physical bodies and gendered expression both occur in natural diversity.

And it’s not just LGBTQ+ people implicated in the church’s sexual ethic! People with hormonal disorders, disabilities, and other chronic conditions can also find themselves excluded.

In this episode, we tell some of these stories.

Our guest Madeline Marlett is a writer, speaker, and LGBTQ+ activist. She shares generously about growing up Catholic and coming to embrace her body and identity as a trans woman.

Bernardin Scholar Teresa Thompson, who you'll remember from our episode on civil disobedience and nonviolent activism, shares in this episode about her current pregnancy and how loving women echoes in her life the love of God.

Media Fellow Madison Chastain rounds out this episode’s story sharing with insights into her own embodied experience with PCOS, infertility, and gender identity. Three different women, three different bodies, three different perspectives on how belief, life, and love intersect with the Church’s ethics.

On May 8th, 2025 the world was introduced to Pope Leo XIV.

Imagine our surprise, here at Catholic Theological Union, when the red curtains parted to reveal a familiar face. That’s right, the Pope went to CTU.

It’s only been a week and already much has been made of the first US-born Pope. The first Pope for whom English is the first language. A Pope born in Chicago.

Not only this, but we have a young Pope. A Pope who has a smartphone in his pocket, who knows how Twitter works. This Pope plays Wordle.

Social media has been abuzz with memes, jokes, and speculations. Even before the Pope’s election, many were calling this “the TikTok conclave.” What do we make of this? How might this media saturation come to impact or even characterize this new papacy? And how might the legacy of Francis, who revolutionized the accessibility of the Vicar of Christ, continue or transform under Leo’s leadership?

For this episode of The Department of Nuance podcast, we’re pleased to welcome Katie Prejean McGrady - podcast regular, Sirius XM radio host, and frequent commentator at CNN - who has been intimately involved in the media coverage of the conclave. Co-hosting this episode is Bernardin Scholar Paul Jarzembowski, whom you’ll remember from our episode on synodality and jubilee.

You can learn more about CTU by CLICKING HERE

Ecumenical dialogue is one of the core values shared by Catholic Theological Union and our namesake, Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. Interdenominational relationships between Christian groups are a key part of community-building, peacemaking, and a robust theological education.

When modern life keeps us siloed in all sorts of ways, including religiously, it can be easy to forget how much we have in common with each other as Christians

Today, we’re kicking off what we hope to be a multi-part series exploring the topic of ecumenism.

This particular episode focuses on Catholic education as a critical place for ecumenical dialogue to occur. Our guest, Dr. Kris Veldheer, is currently the Director of the Paul Bechtold Library at CTU and is also an Episcopalian deacon awaiting ordination to the priesthood. Co-hosting this episode is Sara Conneely, Bernardin Scholar and high school religion teacher. Between the two of them, not only do we get two perspectives on CTU’s Doctor of Ministry program, but listeners will also hear two perspectives on ecumenism in Catholic education with different age groups: Teenagers and graduate students.

Together, we reach a fascinating conclusion: That the various and beautiful diversity of religious order charisms on display within Catholic education - and especially prominent at CTU, given our 20+ corporate religious order sponsors - is itself a microcosm of the different Christian denominations. There are many ways to be Christian, and the more we’re exposed to the unique practices and cultures of each, the better we become.

Learn more about CTU by CLICKING HERE

We've seen some frightening things in the news recently, particularly here in the United States. Many people are asking themselves, "What do I do? How can I respond? What strategies are most effective?"

In times of hopelessness, it can be easy to fall into the trap of believing that only violence adequately responds to violence, and it can be hard to differentiate nonviolent activism from careless passivity.

Just as easily, we can get complacent. It behooves us all to think critically about the differences between legality and justice.

In Episode 8 of the Department of Nuance, Media Fellow Madison Chastain and Bernardin Scholar Teresa Thompson are joined by Marie Dennis, Director of the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative from Pax Christi International, who shares the story of her entry into global peace activism work. This episode provides numerous examples of places and faces that listeners can turn to for inspiration on how to actively respond to signs of dictatorship, subjugation, and violence as they appear around the world.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Pax Christi, International

CLICK HERE to learn about the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Meta Peace Team

CLICK HERE to learn more about Pace Bene

It should go without saying that we find ourselves in a church, country, and world rife with conflict. But what is the difference between simply resolving disagreements and instead having conflict resilience? Now more than ever, we need to learn how to have difficult conversations with each other in ways that are rehumanizing, nuanced, and healthy.

In this episode, Bernardin Scholar Peter Denio is back to dialogue with longtime friend of the Bernardin Center, internationally recognized negotiation professional Bob Bordone. Bob provides real-life examples - at the personal, local, and global levels - of how we can be more resilient and courageous in the face of deeply-felt conflicts.

CLICK HERE to preorder Bob's book Conflict Resilience: Negotiating Disagreement Without Giving Up or Giving In, releasing March 18.

Welcome back to the Department of Nuance podcast. It's officially 2025! Pope Francis has named this year one of Jubilee... but what does that mean? And how does it relate to the Synod on Synodality we've just undergone as a global Church?

In this episode, two Bernardin Scholars - Matthew Kresich and Paul Jarzembowski - who both attended the Synod in Rome and who work in various Church ministries, will together guide us through the importance and connection of synodality and jubilee. Far beyond being mere church jargon, these concepts offer key insight into how we are to relate to each other with mercy and hope for the future.

Ahead of the 2024 United States Presidential Election, we're pleased to share an exclusive conversation between Bernardin Scholar Peter Denio and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark.

For this episode, Cardinal Tobin shares with listeners a human glimpse into the role of Bishop in promoting unity, and the scriptural basis for a unified - while still diversified - Catholic Church.

In this month's episode, listeners hear from Jason Steidl-Jack, theologian and author of LGBTQ+ Catholic Ministry: Past and Present, and Bernardin Scholar Mark Neuhengen, Director of Evangelization at St. Teresa of Avila parish in Chicago. Both come to this conversation with various experiences ministering to and with LGBTQ+ Catholics.

Mentioned in the episode:

Jason's book: LGBTQ+ Catholic Ministry

Jesus the Liberator by Jon Sobrino

Queer Theology: Beyond Apologetics by Linn Marie Tonstad

Hidden Mercy by Michael O'Laughlin

Flora X. Tang

Brian Flanagan

Building a Bridge by Fr. James Martin, SJ

Dignity USA

For episode 3, Madison sits down with Russ Testa, Co-Director of the Office for Social Evangelization and Engagement with the Franciscans Friars in the United States, and Bernardin Scholar Matthew Kresich for a conversation marking 10 years of Pope Francis' historical encyclical on Care for God's Creation: Laudato Si.

Mentioned in the episode:

CARA Georgetown

Ashlee Piper's Give a Sh*t

Just Roots

Repair Cafes

In this episode, we hear from not one, but two(!) Bernardin Scholar alumni: David Gayes and Kate Williams. David is a disability theologian and activist who has cerebral palsy, and Kate is Vice President of Sacred Music at GIA Publications. Not only are David and Kate former colleagues, but they also share a commitment to center disabled, chronically ill, and mentally ill voices in their ministries. Alongside series cohost Madison Chastain - who herself is a disability theologian and writer - this episode's guests share stories and recommendations for how listeners can embrace all kinds of bodies and learn from the wisdom of Christ's broken body.

Mentioned in the episode:

The Disabled God by Nancy Eiesland

My Body is Not a Prayer Request by Amy Kenny

Disability and the Way of Jesus by Bethany McKinney Fox

L'Arche

SPRED

David's writing for GIA's blog: GIA Soundboard (giamusic.com)

A Healing Homiletic by Kathy Black

Loving Our Own Bones by Julia Watts Belser

Crip Camp

Disability Visibility Project

Copious Hosting by Jennie Weiss Block

Feminist, Queer, Crip by Alison Kafer

Speechless