In 1989, a high-ranking Catholic church official approached J.S. Ayliffe with an unimaginable request: assist in concealing the systematic abuse of children by clergy. That secret lay dormant for a quarter-century, until the 2014 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse pulled back the curtain. Betrayal — A Personal Story is an unflinching and deeply personal memoir-investigation of this institution’s failings: the callous denial, the betrayal of trust, the suffering of survivors and the wider cost to community and faith. Ayliffe chronicles his own role, wrestles with conscience, and interweaves the testimonies of survivors such as Chrissie Foster and Ian Lawther, whose lives were forever changed. Yet this is not simply a tale of wrongdoing. It also tracks the Church’s evolving response: amid outrage and crisis, efforts to rebuild integrity, promote transparency and pursue social justice have begun. The book invites readers to wrestle with complex questions of power, faith, redemption and the cost of silence. Ultimately, it offers hope that through honesty and reform, institutions — and individuals — can do better.
J.S. Ayliffe has been a full-time writer for more than 30 years. Like many before him, he cut his teeth in advertising in both London and Sydney. He lives on Sydneys Northern Beaches with his wife, Helen. They have four sons. Cathy Wilcox has been drawing cartoons since she was old enough to scratch the furniture. She honed her skills in the margins of school textbooks — always an eye out for squarish blank spaces. She earned her letters at Art College. This was followed by a fermentation period of a few years in the cultural petri-dish of Paris. Eventually the Sydney Morning Herald took pity on her and gave her her own blank spaces to fill. And here she is, churning out cartoons almost daily since 1989, pausing only to procreate, make cups of tea and collect cartooning awards. She has cocked her skeptical eyebrow and poked her inky nib at pretty much any subject you care to name.
* A rare first-hand insider account of how an ecclesiastical institution attempted to cover up child-abuse, shedding unique light on a major public scandal.
* Brings important voices: survivors such as Chrissie Foster and Ian Lawther give personal testimony to the consequences of institutional betrayal.
* Timely and relevant: though the events began decades ago, the issues of trust, power and institutional accountability remain urgent.
* Written by someone personally involved and implicated — offering authenticity, reflection and moral grappling rather than purely external reportage.
* Suitable for readers interested in faith & religion, ethics, institutional reform, survivors’ stories, modern history, social justice.
* Also valuable as a discussion text: for book-clubs, church groups, tertiary studies in theology, ethics, sociology.
Publicity:
* Manly Writers Festival.
