For years, I believed that being a faithful Catholic meant abortion had to determine my vote. If a candidate claimed to be pro-life, every other political issue seemed secondary.

Eventually, I realized that isn't actually what the Catholic Church asks of voters.In this episode, I share my story of unlearning single-issue voting, the conversation with my mom that changed how I approached the ballot box, and what the U.S. Catholic bishops actually say in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.

I talk about abortion as a preeminent issue, President Trump, the dignity of already-born human beings, poverty, immigration, racism, war, healthcare, the environment, and why Catholic social teaching makes voting much more complicated than simply choosing the candidate with the “pro-life” label.

00:00 Why Politics Matter

01:24 Cradle Catholic Roots

03:28 Abortion Unit Impact

06:33 2016 Trump and Single Issue

08:10 Questioning Pro Life Claims

10:50 Mom Challenges Voting

13:51 Bishops on Many Issues

18:28 Not Single Issue Voters

21:51 Catholic Social Principles

23:33 Encouragement and Prayer

Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com.

Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠

#catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

Blessed Teresio Olivelli was a practicing Catholic who attended daily Mass, prayed the rosary, and supported Hitler and the Nazi movement.

Eventually, something changed. Teresio recognized the profound contradiction between the Catholic faith he professed and the political ideology he supported. He left Germany, fought against fascism, helped found the Catholic underground resistance newspaper Il Ribelle, and was eventually captured and sent to a concentration camp. At only 29 years old, he died after throwing himself over another prisoner to protect him from a guard's brutal beating.

In this episode of Fully Human, I explore Teresio's remarkable transformation from Nazi sympathizer to anti-fascist Catholic martyr, and what his life can teach us about cognitive dissonance, political tribalism, integrity, and the danger of assuming that outward religious practice necessarily means our beliefs and actions are aligned with Christ.

00:00 Nazi To Blessed

00:53 Saints And Politics

02:52 Early Life In Italy

03:33 Catholic Nazi Dissonance

06:05 Breaking With Nazism

07:07 Underground Paper Il Ribelle

08:32 Capture And Martyrdom

08:58 How Martyrs Are Formed

10:27 Prayer Lord Set Us Free

11:10 Reading The Prayer

14:16 Integrity And Survival

16:51 Warning And Benediction

Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com.

Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠

#catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching

AI data centers are becoming one of the strangest bipartisan issues in American politics, and I think Catholics should be paying attention.

In this episode of Fully Human, I look at the environmental and human costs of AI data centers, why opposition to them is bringing together people across the political spectrum, and what Catholic teaching actually says about caring for creation.

Drawing on Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI, Laudato Si’, and the Church’s critique of the “technocratic paradigm,” I argue that environmentalism shouldn’t be dismissed as a partisan or “woke” concern. Caring for our common home is deeply connected to human dignity, our responsibilities to future generations, and our obligations as Christians.

00:00 Bipartisan AI Backlash

01:39 Why Data Centers Harm

02:44 Catholic Duty to Creation

04:09 Election Politics and NIMBY

05:48 Walterboro Victory Story

06:59 Laudato Si Warning

08:16 Technocratic Paradigm Explained

09:43 Benedict and Stewardship

10:30 Imperfect Environmentalism

12:11 Practical Steps and AI Refusal

Fully Human exists thanks to the support of people like you. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend and consider becoming a paid subscriber for access to Eliza’s best writing: elizawritesthings.substack.com.

Eliza Monts on Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/elizawritesthings/⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Spotify: ⁠⁠https://open.spotify.com/show/7JQzX1pCVaXOhKuNIp3hzR⁠⁠

Eliza Monts on Apple Podcasts: ⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fully-human-with-eliza-monts/id6812877101⁠⁠

#catholicism #catholicchurch #catholicsocialteaching