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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—a community she had been a part of her whole life—last summer.

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 abuse crisis into historical perspective. The sex abuse crisis is a unique tragedy. But, it turns out, this isn’t the first time church leaders have let Catholics down. And it’s not the first time the church has had to figure out how to heal. Listen below:

Further reading:

Melinda Henneberger’s USA Today article on why she left the church

Stumbling in Holiness by Brian Flanagan

Find all of America’s coverage of the sex abuse crisis here.

You can find out more about the podcast here.

The theme music for Deliver Us is composed and produced by Kris McCormick. Additional music courtesy of APM.

Will the Catholic Church's sex abuse crisis ever end? 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. The season launches February 13, 2019 with new episodes premiering weekly through the spring.