John Ayliffe breaks 25-year silence on church abuse cover-up
An advertising executive kept silent about Catholic Church abuse for 25 years until a royal commission made him feel safe to speak.
In 1989, a Marist Brother told advertising executive John Ayliffe that the church was committing abuse. Ayliffe ran campaigns for the NSW Child Protection Council.
Ayliffe urged the brother to go to police. The church refused.
When Ayliffe sought legal advice about whistleblowing, a lawyer warned him the church would destroy him. Ayliffe stayed quiet for the next 25 years.
In 2012, former prime minister Julia Gillard announced the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. Ayliffe finally felt safe to speak.
Now 83, he has written a book called Betrayal. It documents stories of survivors including Ian Lawther, whose son was abused by a priest.
Ayliffe shows how the church concealed the abuse and its impact on families.
- 1989
- Year of disclosure
- 25 years
- Length of silence
- 2012 royal commission announced
- Breaking point
- 83
- Ayliffe's age now
Why it mattersHis testimony shows how institutional power silences witnesses and why survivors need protection before they can speak the truth.
