Weaving words of hopeful stories

NEARLY one-hundred people attended a book launch of collected stories from family members of clergy abuse survivors recently.

The book titled Quilt of Hope was compiled by co-author Adrianne Moloney alongside her mother Carmel, who said it was “fantastic” to see the support for the people and their stories.

“It was beyond what mum and I could have imagined it would be. It was a beautiful event, emotional, full of joy and connection,” she said.

“It’s been overwhelming and humbling. I’d never put a book together before. You don’t know what the end result is going to be.

“One of the key comments I’ve been getting it’s a hard topic but an easy read and that’s really important. You don’t have to be from Ballarat to read this dark history.

“To see what I’ve been able to give back to people and how much they valued it, they’re truly moved.”

Launched at Invermay Bowling Club, presenters included Adrianne and Carmel alongside abuse survivor Paul Tatchell and former Catholic schoolteacher Ann Ryan.

Adrianne said the book serves as an accompaniment to the Quilt of Hope co-designed by Carmel for advocacy group Moving Towards Justice following revelations of institutional clergy abuse.

The quilt launched in Ballarat before being housed at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Canberra, which Adrianne said was a catalyst in creating the book.

“When the quilt was on display in Ballarat, mum thought it’d be a good idea at the time to have a pamphlet to go with it,” she said.

“When the quilt got moved, we couldn’t just drop pamphlets in anymore. We decided it was best to capture this oral history on paper while we could.

“There’s five fairly detailed key stories and then snippets of letters at the end that are broader indications of other stories. All the blocks from the quilt feature throughout the book.

“It’s one thing to have a quilt but we wanted to tell people the story behind it and what it’s all about.”

Quilt of Hope can be purchased by contacting [email protected] or 0407 478 678.