Grant Hartley

What About Chiles V. Salazar? (Interview with Dr. Julia Sadusky) On Laws Banning Conversion Therapy for Minors

Confused about laws banning conversion therapy for minors? This week on the Substack, I ask Dr. Julia Sadusky to share her thoughts on Chiles V. Salazar, the soon-to-be-heard Supreme Court case on the constitutionality of banning conversion therapy for minors. Tolle lege!

It would be one thing if his legacy and negative influence suddenly disappeared without a trace—but that is not what an assassination does. His legacy and influence have been cemented in many ways because of it, not erased.

The message should not be that political violence is bad because it targeted a good guy who was “practicing politics the right way” (which Kirk definitely was not). Political violence is bad because it inherently corrodes the democratic polity, because it makes democracy impossible.

It should go without saying, but if our President wants to prevent further political violence in our country (rather than simply take advantage of it to further his own interests), it behooves him to rein in his own deeply violent rhetoric and policy decisions.

Mourning does not have to entail the canonization of the deceased, and profound disagreement does not have to entail rejoicing in their death.

It is not wrong or hypocritical to be horrified by the violent death of a political enemy, even if they said horrific things themselves.

it is wild to me how many people think that absolutely everything about being gay is rated R

Why would Catholics *not* want LGBTQ+ people to take part in a pilgrimage to pass through the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica for the Jubilee Year?

I don’t need to be “included” in the Church as a gay person so much as I need to be taken seriously as a missionary disciple and recognized as an essential member of the Church already

Do people really *choose* their beliefs? Or do we rather just find certain idea logical or illogical, and make choices to live in light of those ideas or not?

Tell me more!

How do y’all feel about armed security outside churches?

A desire for (note: not a certainty of) universal reconciliation just seems so close to the heart of the gospel for me. God loved us while we were enemies, and his love made us friends!

Would you not rejoice if God saved all people?

Okay y’all: if I started a Substack series on theological questions people are too afraid to ask, because they worry they might sound silly, what questions would be helpful to address? I’m thinking questions like, “is the Eucharist magic?” or “is God more of a boy than a girl?”

What are some things that draw LGBTQ+ people to the Catholic Church? I know there are plenty things that push us away. But what, in your experience, are the things that can attract us?

“It would be one thing if you were wrong—that I could take. But you are four distinct kinds of wrong, all mixed together into some kind of terrible Wrong Gumbo.”

how, HOW do people care this much about Cracker Barrel

trying to tell my shy, reserved baby gay friend who has never been to a gay club that he would be quite popular there, without flirting with him: “you’re attractive, tiny, and you look like an accountant—be prepared”

you know, I just love the way gay men run—the running gayt, if you will

the sound of fussy babies and squirmy children is a sign of a healthy church community

yeah okay, being earnest isn’t very cool but 1) being cool isn’t very important and 2) being known and loved and knowing and loving in return *is*

What is gossip?

For those who view gossip as sinful, what is helpful for you in striving to avoid gossip?

omg the Lunk Alarm™️ just went off, I thought that was fake lol

What is the most persuasive case you have heard for restricting the priesthood to men? No need to actually believe the case you put forward! Just looking for the strongest argument.

was talking with a few friends about whether or not a mutual acquaintance was going to end up pursuing the priesthood, and one of them offhandedly called the sense that someone will pursue religious life “praydar”

Okay, like: in my experience, saying “f*g” feels more hateful and less positive/subversive to me than the full “f*ggot”.

Potentially triggering socio-linguistic question for LGBTQ+ folks only: what are the things (tone, context, etc.) that indicate the word “f*ggot” is being used subversively, not hatefully? I’m thinking of things *outside* the sexual identity of the speaker.

Poverty allows us to more fully experience the spiritual riches given to us in Christ Jesus.

Chastity allows us to give ourselves to God, others, and ourselves, and to love deeply.

Obedience is a pathway to greater freedom—the freedom from our stubborn self-will.

Hey fellow Catholics, pay attention during the first reading at Mass this week and next—it is important for understanding the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and why it is about inhospitality, not gay people!