Michael Moloney

Michael Moloney is the pseudonym of an acclaimed British writer. He served as altar boy and chorister while attending boarding schools in Ireland and England, where he faced abuse. With the Vatican decrying critics of the church as ‘Friends of the Devil,’ he thought back to his church schooldays.

In his new book he recalls the prayers of self-censure and remorse prescribed by a leading Church Father, St Augustine of Hippo. Augustine's grovelling penitential ritual is still practised in some British schools. Tracing his own religious background, the author sketches subtle pressures that colour the thinking of both followers and apostates.

Moloney explores the notion that childhood guilt and shame plays a role in the church’s current sexual abuse crisis. He suggests Augustine’s teaching on sinfulness and infantile lust influences how we relate to ourselves and each other, which contributed to his own vulnerability.