Deliver Us Podcast: The Best Resource I've Found For Becoming More Informed
If you follow In Spirit and Truth on Facebook, you’ve heard me talk about the Deliver Us podcast from America Media. However, I know some of my blog readers aren’t on Facebook or just haven’t followed yet (you can do that now by clicking here, so you don’t miss out in the future!). So, I wanted to make sure to tell everyone about this great resource.
I have done a LOT of reading and researching over the past eight months, so I’m always on the look-out for thoughtful, balanced, reliable sources that are willing to dig into the complexity of these issues. For a lay person who wants to be better informed about the history and the current situation in the Church, the Deliver Us podcast is the best resource I have found. The podcast has just wrapped up their first season of 12 episodes, and each one is really excellent. The show features interviews with many of the most prominent experts on this issue, and each episode offers solid information and analysis, often with a personal touch.
I have been in touch with Maggi Van Dorn, the host and writer for this podcast, and she is a generous, smart, faithful woman asking hard questions and seeking truth. In many ways, her journey since August has been much like my own, and I am so glad she has the opportunity to reach a broad audience as she searches for answers.
I am sharing the episode list below to pique your interest. I would recommend listening to all of the episodes in order, but if you want to pick just one, I would recommend Episode 5, which includes guidance for listening to the stories of survivors, followed by a firsthand account by clergy sexual abuse survivor David Clohessy.
Also, if you listen to the final episode, which is focused on lay people’s varying responses to the crisis, you might hear a familiar voice near the end. I only speak a few sentences, but I am honored to be included among so many awesome people who are all trying to doing their part to move our Church toward wholeness and healing.
Deliver Us Episode List (Click Here to Listen!)
1: How Can I Remain Catholic?
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.
2: How's Your Celibate Life Going?
In our second episode of “Deliver Us,” we look at two suspected causes of the sex abuse crisis: celibacy and gay priests.
3: Is the Church Still Covering Up Abuse?
In this episode of “Deliver Us” we ask: Is the church still covering up abuse?
4: Are the Reforms Working?
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?
5: Survivor Stories: David Clohessy
For the next two weeks, “Deliver Us” will feature four episodes where sex abuse survivors have a chance to tell their stories, in their own words. This episode shares the story of David Clohessy.
6: Survivor Stories: The Fortney Sisters
This episode shares the story of the Fortney Sisters.
7: Survivor Stories: Marie Collins
This episode shares the story of Marie Collins.
8: Survivor Stories: Michael Mack
This episode shares the story of Michael Mack.
9: What Does Justice Look Like for Survivors?
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?
10: What Can We Do to Hold Bishops Accountable?
In this week's episode, we are looking at what the church can do to hold its bishops accountable.
11: How Can We Shift Power in the Church?
What is clericalism and how can we recognize it when we see it?
12: What’s Mine to Do and Not Somebody Else’s?
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?
Holy Spirit, give us the courage to seek truth and the wisdom to discern our response to that truth.