Deliver Us

Will the Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis ever end? That's a question everyone has been asking since the latest wave of news in 2018. In Deliver Us, host Maggi Van Dorn is a Catholic committed to healing the church from the inside. She wants to know: How did this happen? And what, if anything, can we do to help? Hear from experts, advocates, and survivors to learn what the church can do to move forward. Because you can’t fix something until you know how it’s broken.

Episodes

Deliver Us - Trailer

January 24, 2019 • 1 min

Mark as Played

How Can I Remain Catholic?

February 13, 2019 • 30 mins

On our debut episode of “Deliver Us,” Maggi Van Dorn asks: How can I stay in a church where so many children have been hurt? Not everyone does. Melinda Henneberger, a journalist for The Kansas City Star, tells Maggi why the latest wave of sex abuse news pushed her to leave the Catholic Church. In the hopes of understanding what the church’s future might look like, Maggi also talks to Brian Flanagan, a theologian who puts the sex ab...

Mark as Played

How’s Your Celibate Life Going?

February 21, 2019 • 34 mins

In our second episode of “Deliver Us,” we look at two suspected causes of the sex abuse crisis: celibacy and gay priests. Psychologist Thomas Plante has worked clinically and academically in the area of clerical sexual abuse for 30 years, and he describes the behaviors and traits that are common among abuser priests. Margaret Smith of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice gives us a deep dive on the data. She says that the stat...

Mark as Played

Is the Church Still Covering Up Abuse?

February 28, 2019 • 30 mins

In this episode of “Deliver Us” we ask: Is the cover-up history? We talk to journalist Jason Berry, who reported on an abuser priest in the ’80s for National Catholic Reporter, as well as members of The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team, who broke the news of the sex abuse crisis in 2002. We ask them: how did the church cover up abuse? Then, we fast-forward to today to see whether or not the church is still hiding sex abuse. What can ...

Mark as Played

Are the Reforms Working?

March 7, 2019 • 30 mins

In this episode, we look at the reforms the U.S. Catholic Bishops drafted after the sexual abuse crisis of 2002. How did these new rules change things for Catholics in parishes around the country? We look at the Dallas Charter for the Protection of Children—a set of policies that the bishops drafted to safeguard children from sex abuse. Governor Frank Keating of Oklahoma tells us what it was like to monitor compliance with anti-ab...

Mark as Played

Survivor Stories: David Clohessy

March 12, 2019 • 24 mins

We're stepping back from the investigations and the numbers and the theories to focus on what's most essential: Listening to survivors. This episode includes some advice on listening to survivors from the Rev. Dr. Serene Jones, the president of the Union Theological Seminary and the author of Trauma and Grace: Theology in a Ruptured World. Each victim story is different and that's why we want to give you the chance to hear severa...

Mark as Played

Survivor Stories: The Fortney Sisters

March 14, 2019 • 24 mins

In this episode, we feature the stories and voices of the Fortney sisters—5 women in Pennsylvania who were abused by the same priest. Four of the sisters, Carolyn, Teresa, Laura, and Patty talk about the trauma of the abuse, as well as the pain that came with sharing what had happened to them with one another, their parents, the church and the authorities. Most recently, the stories of the Fortney sisters were highlighted in the Pe...

Mark as Played

Survivor Stories: Marie Collins

March 19, 2019 • 12 mins

In this episode, we will share the story of Marie Collins, an Irish survivor who became an advocate for victims of sexual abuse and served on the pontifical commission for the Protection of minors at the Vatican. If you missed our previous survivor stories, please go back and listen to our interview with the Rev. Serene Jones, who talks about why it is both difficult and necessary to listen to survivor voices. Rev. Jones is presid...

Mark as Played

Survivor Stories: Michael Mack

March 21, 2019 • 20 mins

In the fourth and final episode of our mini-series with survivors, we are sharing the story of Michael Mack. Michael is the author of the one-man play: "Conversations with My Molester: A Journey of Faith." If you missed our previous survivor stories, please go back and listen to our interview with the Rev. Serene Jones, who talks about why it is both difficult and necessary to listen to survivor voices. Rev. Jones is president of ...

Mark as Played

Deliver Us Needs You

April 5, 2019 • 4 mins

We need your help to share Deliver Us. Please remember to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. For our final episode, we want to hear how you’ve been confronting the Catholic sexual abuse crisis in your own faith community. Perhaps you’ve joined a group at your parish, school or diocese. Or written to your bishop, attended a listening session, or dedicated time in prayer. Maybe you’ve taken to writing a blog or educational resour...

Mark as Played

What Does Justice Look Like for Survivors?

April 11, 2019 • 37 mins

In this episode of “Deliver Us,” we’re asking what justice looks like for survivors. What does the church need to do? What models of justice can we look to in this unique crisis? We look at the differences between criminal and financial justice, speaking to experts like Marci Hamilton, the founder and CEO of Child USA. We ask Marci how extending the statutes of limitations could help survivors, and we hear from Cardinal Dolan abou...

Mark as Played

What Can We Do to Hold Bishops Accountable?

April 18, 2019 • 36 mins

In this week's episode, we are looking at what the church can do to hold its bishops accountable. To better understand the problems and difficulties with holding bishops accountable, we will look at the case of Theodore McCarrick, a cardinal who was stripped of his title and office for abusing two minors in the '70s. How did such a high ranking church leader, one who even had a hand in drafting the church's reforms, avoid being h...

Mark as Played

How Can We Shift Power in the Church?

April 25, 2019 • 34 mins

This week’s episode takes on clericalism and the part it has played in the abuse crisis. What is clericalism and how can we recognize it when we see it? John Carr, director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University, talks to us about how he saw clericalism manifest in his conversations with the U.S. bishops. He talks about how the bishops are isolated, in part because of clericalism—and ...

Mark as Played

What’s Mine to Do and Not Somebody Else's?

May 2, 2019 • 41 mins

In the final episode of Deliver Us, we ask: What’s mine to do and not somebody else’s? What part of the church’s healing are we each responsible for? To grapple with these questions, we spoke to people who have responded to the sex abuse crisis in different ways. Geoff Boisi and Kerry Robinson talk about why they formed Leadership Roundtable, an organization which brings best business practices to church leaders and which has c...

Mark as Played

Introducing PLAGUE: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church

November 26, 2019 • 2 mins

In "Plague" journalist Michael O'Loughlin investigates stories of the AIDS epidemic and the Catholic Church. Mike is America’s national correspondent and he’s covered Catholicism for more than a decade. Mike is also gay and Catholic—and he’s curious how others manage this sometimes complex identity. No time in modern history has been more volatile for gay Catholics than the height of the AIDS epidemic. So he spent the last few yea...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark

My Favorite Murder is a true crime comedy podcast hosted by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. Each week, Karen and Georgia share compelling true crimes and hometown stories from friends and listeners. Since MFM launched in January of 2016, Karen and Georgia have shared their lifelong interest in true crime and have covered stories of infamous serial killers like the Night Stalker, mysterious cold cases, captivating cults, incredible survivor stories and important events from history like the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. My Favorite Murder is part of the Exactly Right podcast network that provides a platform for bold, creative voices to bring to life provocative, entertaining and relatable stories for audiences everywhere. The Exactly Right roster of podcasts covers a variety of topics including historic true crime, comedic interviews and news, science, pop culture and more. Podcasts on the network include Buried Bones with Kate Winkler Dawson and Paul Holes, That's Messed Up: An SVU Podcast, This Podcast Will Kill You, Bananas and more.

24/7 News: The Latest

The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Stuff You Should Know

If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

The Bobby Bones Show

Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

Advertise With Us

Deliver Us

Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Deliver Us - Trailer

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}How Can I Remain Catholic?

How’s Your Celibate Life Going?

Is the Church Still Covering Up Abuse?

Are the Reforms Working?

Survivor Stories: David Clohessy

Survivor Stories: The Fortney Sisters

Survivor Stories: Marie Collins

Survivor Stories: Michael Mack

Deliver Us Needs You

What Does Justice Look Like for Survivors?

What Can We Do to Hold Bishops Accountable?

How Can We Shift Power in the Church?

What’s Mine to Do and Not Somebody Else's?

Introducing PLAGUE: Untold Stories of AIDS and the Catholic Church

Popular Podcasts

Deliver Us - Trailer

How Can I Remain Catholic?