NEARLY one-hundred people attended a book launch of collected stories from family members of clergy abuse survivors recently.<\/p>\n
The book titled Quilt of Hope was compiled by co-author Adrianne Moloney alongside her mother Carmel, who said it was \u201cfantastic\u201d to see the support for the people and their stories.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was beyond what mum and I could have imagined it would be. It was a beautiful event, emotional, full of joy and connection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been overwhelming and humbling. I\u2019d never put a book together before. You don\u2019t know what the end result is going to be.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the key comments I\u2019ve been getting it\u2019s a hard topic but an easy read and that\u2019s really important. You don\u2019t have to be from Ballarat to read this dark history.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo see what I\u2019ve been able to give back to people and how much they valued it, they\u2019re truly moved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Launched at Invermay Bowling Club, presenters included Adrianne and Carmel alongside abuse survivor Paul Tatchell and former Catholic schoolteacher Ann Ryan.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the quilt was on display in Ballarat, mum thought it\u2019d be a good idea at the time to have a pamphlet to go with it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the quilt got moved, we couldn\u2019t just drop pamphlets in anymore. We decided it was best to capture this oral history on paper while we could.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to have a quilt but we wanted to tell people the story behind it and what it\u2019s all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quilt of Hope can be purchased by contacting brisbanevalleyprinting@gmail.com or 0407 478 678.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 \u201cfantastic\u201d to see the support for the people and their stories. \u201cIt was beyond what mum and […]<\/p>\n