The Church in Australia: Key Elements for use at levels 4-6 with the New Religion Curriculum

YEAR 4: c 1788 CE -1850 CE:First Contacts

Timeline (Eras)1788-1850

(i) The Era of the Laity

SIGNIFICANT INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS AND EVENTS

IMPACTS ON SOCIETY AND IDENTITY AS AUSTRALIANS

Catholic Church “officially” began in Australia on 26th Jan 1788 when the first Catholics arrived as convicts on the first fleet.

These first Catholics- English, Scottish and Irish convicts were here by force and did not want to be here. Some practised their faith, some did not.

Catholicism existed as a religion of men and women “degraded, deserted and physically imprisoned”.

The Catholicism that had come with the Irish to Australia was a Catholicism of poverty and peasantry, violent, crude and ignorant with a priesthood largely sharing its passions and prejudices. The mass of Catholics in Australia were nominal, though may sought to return to the faith at their deathbeds.

1796: 800 Catholics in NSW. 25% of all convicts were Irish.

Regular shipping captains noted the only sign of religion in NSW were the Irish praying.

First priests- Frs Dixon and Harold, were transported after the Irish Rebellion of 1798. They both arrived in January 1800.

Harold was transferred to Norfolk island where

The Portuguese had maps of the East Coast of Australia from the Mendoza expedition of 1522. Fr. Matteo Ricci (1552 - 1610) while working in the court of the Chinese Emperor in 1602, drew up a map of the world. This included a map of Australia that can be identified as the northern section of this continent coming down the east coast as far as the town of St. Lawrence and the Sarina Range in Queensland. A copy of this map was sent to the Pope and is still in the Vatican archives.

Fernandez de Quiros, a Spanish Catholic, named our country "Australia del Espiritu Santo" (The Southern Land of the Holy Spirit) in 1606. He had actually discovered the New Hebrides.

Fr. Victorio Riccio, a Dominican priest from Manila in the Philippines, on 4th June 1676 wrote to the Cardinals at Propaganda Fide (now called the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples) in Rome. He suggested that the newly discovered "Southern Land" be made a Prefecture Apostolic to take in Australia, New Guinea and Antarctica, so that the peoples could be converted. The Cardinals discussed his request and approved it on 15th July 1681, but Fr. Riccio was dead.

As an English settlement, the old, bitter religious

As a Penal colony, any mission to NSW had to have the permission of British authorities and the governor.

1792 five lay Catholics petition Governor Phillip to appoint a Catholic priest

The early governors refused requests for Catholic clergy to minister publicly to Catholic convicts and free settlers due to suspicion of and antagonism towards the Irish.

This included the refusal for three transported convict priests to perform public ministry to Catholics.

Convicted priest Fr Dixon’s first Mass in 1803 was celebrated under strict regulations drafted by Governor King and with police surveillance. Permission was withdrawn the following year for fear it was encouraging sedition, including the Castle

he taught school and ministered privately. and Fr Dixon celebrated the first known public

Mass in 1803 in Sydney. After permission to publicly minister to Catholics was withdrawn in 1799, he and Fr Harold continued to minister privately to Catholics. There was not another public mass in NSW for another 16 years.

Between 1798 and 1808 three priests were transported to NSW: Frs Dixon, Harold and O’Neill. By 1808 all had returned to Ireland with pardons.

Catholic layman Michael Hayes continually harangued his brother Richard, a Franciscan in Rome, about the religious destitution of Australian Catholics.

Some early Catholic free settlers included: James Meehan, Michael Hayes; the Davis family; Roger Therry.

1806 Formal Catholic Education begins 1817 Fr Jeremiah O’Flynn arrives- appointed by

Rome, but without English permission. He began ministry to Catholics and celebrating Mass and the sacraments for 6 months until expelled in 1818.

O’Flynn left the Blessed Sacrament at the home of a Sydney stonemason James Dempsey, who held Sunday services until 1820.

1820 Formal petition for appointment of Catholic clergy

In 1820 the first official Catholic chaplains arrived: Frs Philip Connolly and John Joseph Therry.

Fr Connolly left for Tasmania in 1821. First Mass in Tasmania in a store owned by a

catholic First Catholic church in Australia was opened

in Harrington St Hobart in 1821-2 by Fr

and political animosity between Catholic and Protestant Christians transferred from Europe to Australia.

Chaplain to the fleet was an Anglican priest- Rev Richard Johnston.

Fr Thomas Walsh asked to come as chaplain to the estimated 300 Catholic convicts and marines, but his application to Lord Sydney, Secretary of State in London, went unanswered.

25th Jan 1788, Abbe Monges, chaplain to the La Peruse expedition, celebrates Mass in Sydney- for the French expedition.

Feb 17th 1788: Death of chaplain and botanist with La Peruse expedition. Pere Le Receveur, OFM was the second white man buried in Australia.

All convicts required to attend Sunday services. 1792 Fr Ambrose Pierson OSB and Fr Louis

Ventenat, French priest-explorers, land in Van Diemen’s Land to explore the Huon River and discover the Derwent River.

1793 A Spanish priest arrives as chaplain to an expedition to Sydney. Notes there is no place of worship in Sydney.

Catholics who refused to attend the Anglican services were flogged.

Irish (Catholic) convicts were both political and social prisoners and so hatred and suspicion between the Catholic convicts and their Anglican gaolers laid a foundation of Catholic/Protestant sectarianism which remained strong until the 1960’s and still exists in some form today.

There were two essential elements of civilisation in the colony: Protestant religion and British political and social institutions. The Irish were considered barbarians.

By the year 1803, a total of 2086 Irish convicts, nearly all of whom were Catholic, had been transported to Botany Bay. Estimates are that

Hill rebellion in 1804 led by an Irishman William Johnston.

1806 Governor Bligh allows Catholic schools to open.

In Britain, Lord Bathurst, Secretary of State for Colonies, was willing to accept a well-recommended Catholic clergyman for the colonies, but O’Flynn did not appear to meet his requirements.

Governor Macquarie challenged and then arrested and expelled the “illegal” and impractical Fr O’Flynn from the colony in 1818.

Macquarie was no lover of Catholics, especially of priests, but he suspected any religious who might act to disturb the peace and harmony of the colonies.

Macquarie’s actions added to growing severe criticism of the authoritarian regime of NSW government. In England, a more tolerant spirit had grown and it was considered that to give Australia catholic priests would quieten the catholic population.

The new Chaplains began a careful pursuit of the goodwill, or at least acceptance, of a non-Catholic society.

The governor prohibited any attempts at making converts and access to orphans- who were strictly an Anglican

Connolly. By 1828 there were 8000 Catholics in the

colony: 3000 convicts, 5000 free settlers, all but 500 of whom were emancipated convicts. A number of these were relatively prosperous.

Between 1820 and 1830 Fr Therry dominated the small world of Australian Catholicism

Therry would travel 250 km every Sunday to conduct Masses in Sydney, Liverpool and Parramatta.

1825 Therry dismissed as chaplain and his salary stopped.

Fr Daniel Power replaces Fr Therry as chaplain. Rivalry between the two resulted in division in the Sydney congregation.

Fr Christopher Dowling replaces Fr Power on his death in 1830. Bitter rivalry between him and Therry, especially over the St Mary’s project.

The 1829 Emancipation Act resulted in the arrival in the colonies of prominent Catholic laymen, including Roger Therry and John Plunkett as prominent legal officials.

about four-fifths of these were ordinary criminals and most of the remainder 'social rebels', those convicted of crimes of violence against property and landlords. Only a very small number could be regarded as genuine political rebels: about 600 in the entire history of transportation, and hardly any after 1803.

Rev Samuel Marsden, Anglican Chaplain, in 1806-7 identified Catholicism with rebellion. His solution was to repress Catholicism and it would die out in NSW.

Protestant ministers were appointed as magistrates and were invariably anti-Catholic, dispensing punishment in accordance with English law. This led to the intertwining of Irish nationalism and faith and itself helped keep Catholicism alive, though bitter and hateful of the Protestant establishment.

1815-1831: Anglican domination of schooling 1820 First Jewish worship service 1820 First celebration of Russian Orthodox Easter By 1820 Catholics were still reluctant to send their

children to school because they were staffed by Protestants who forced catholic children to follow the ceremonies of the “Established church”- the Church of England.

The new Chaplains began a careful pursuit of the goodwill, or at least acceptance, of a non-Catholic society.

Some Protestants supported the appeal to build the first Catholic chapel and a protestant, JT Campbell, was treasurer of the fund for many years.

From 1825 onwards, it seemed to Catholics that Anglicanism was to secure a privileged and oppressive place in the colony.

Anglican church officially funded by colonial land grants. Archdeacon Scott arrives to secure the

preserve. Macquarie saw the laying of the

foundation stone of St Mary’s chapel as a means of strengthening the loyalty of Catholics to the British crown.

1825 Governor Darling arrives, declaring he had no desire to see any more Catholic clergy in NSW.

After his dismissal as chaplain, Fr Therry was prevented from attendance to convicts or soldiers who sought his ministry. The medical Superintendent of Sydney hospital would not allow him access to dying Catholics.

1829 Emancipation Act in Britain emancipated Catholics, allowing them to hold government appointments.

official establishment of the Anglican religion. Archdeacon Scott led the pressure to dismiss Fr

Therry as chaplain in 1825. Until 1829, some Catholic free settlers unwilling to

publicly worship because of a fear of discrimination and social rejection

St Mary’s “chapel” foundation stone laid in 1821. 1826 First catholic school in Tasmania

1830’s

(ii) 1833:The Era of the Clergy begins

Fr John McEnroe was appointed as a second chaplain in 1832 and arrived with Plunkett.

Fr William Ullathorne, an English Benedictine priest, was appointed Vicar-General in 1833.

Ullathorne became aware of the degenerate state of the church in Tasmania under a broken Fr Connolly, who was engaged in bitter disputes with a strong Catholic laity. Many Catholics had fallen away from the faith.

Of the 16.000-18,000 Catholics in Sydney in 1832, less than a half ever saw a priest.

Churches still not built: masses held in magistrates courts.

In 1835 an English Benedictine, John Bede Polding, was appointed first Catholic bishop of 8 priests and 20,000 Catholics of NSW.

1836: first ordination in Australia- a Benedictine 1838 Caroline Chisholm arrives in Australia and

champions the cause of women and emigrants. 1838 The first religious arrive in Australia- 6

Sisters of Charity. Adult social work was their focus, especially among poor women.

The religious profession of Sister Xavier Williams, on 9 April 1839 at Parramatta was a “first” and made a great sensation among Catholics and others. Other young women asked to join the Sisters. The distinctive dress of the Sisters made them conspicuous and drew on them at times the hostility or bigotry. The good they did brought them support.

Fr Ullathorne attempted to remove the factions around Frs Therry and other priests in order to build better relationships in the colony.

All clergy given a wage; small grants to churches Bishop Polding’s attitude was to try to break

down the Irish connection with Australian Catholics, emphasising that Catholics were Australians, regardless of origin.

Archbishop Polding was especially concerned for the plight of Indigenous Australians and how their culture was being destroyed by white settlers.

1838 Myall Creek massacre of Aborigines. Prominent Catholics strive for justice for massacred Aboriginal people.

The arrival of Governor Bourke in 1831 represented a significant change in the attitude of authority towards Catholics.

His administration sought a Catholic ecclesiastical authority with whom it could deal.

1836 Governor Bourke proclaims the Church Act, giving equality to all religious denominations.

1839: 21, 898 Catholics in Australia out of a

population of 101,904. One bishop, 24 priests, 28 teachers, 11 Catholic schools.

1840’s 1840 Fr Geohagan became the first priest in Melbourne.

1841 Prominent lay people seek appointment of a Catholic priest to WA

1841 First priest in SA works as a carpenter to make a living.

In 1842 there were 24 catholic priests in NSW. Feb 28th 1842 Fr Geoghegan baptises Maria

Ellen (later St Mary of the Cross) MacKillop in Melbourne.

Religious Orders of priests began to arrive: Passionists and Christian Brothers (1843); Augustinians (1838); Jesuits (1848).

1842 Polding becomes Archbishop 1842 – establishment of Catholic Diocese of

Hobart Town and Diocese of Adelaide 1843-47 Christian Brothers arrive, but leave

again after a dispute with the Archbishop who tries to “Benedictinise” them.

1848 Benedictine nuns arrive. 1851 18,000 Catholics in Victoria. 1845 – establishment of Diocese of Perth with

a focus on evangelising the Aboriginal people and establishment of missions

1846 8 Sisters of Mercy arrive in Freemantle, led by Sr Ursula Frayne.

1846 – first priests sent to ‘Northern Territory’ ; establishment of mission for Aboriginal people (Port Essington)

1847 – establishment of mission for Aboriginal people at New Norcia

1847 – establishment of Dioceses of Melbourne, Maitland and Essington.

1843 A group of fanatical Wesleyans interrupt Mass in Geelong, Vic.

A movement began in NSW to make education “Free, Secular and Compulsory”, which was to challenge the Church’s attitude towards education and the schools it was setting up.

Attitudes towards the arrival of Religious in Australia reflected a change in Catholic/Protestant relations, with many Protestants welcoming and even providing for them as they arrived in towns to set up schools and teach cultural pursuits such as the piano.

Missions to Indigenous communities began with the Passionists on Stradbroke Island.(1843)

1845 – Parliamentary Committee on Aborigines attended by Bishop Polding; Polding condemned the ill-treatment of Aboriginal people

1848 - establishment of Diocese of Victoria (Northern Territory)

1848 only 306 Catholics in the impoverished Diocese of Perth.

SkillsSequence some key people and events (secular and religious) of early colonial Australia (c.1788 CE – c.1850 CE) and recognise their significance in bringing about change.Develop historical narratives about some key events and people’s experiences in the early Church in Australia (c.1788 CE –c.1850 CE) using appropriate historical terms.Identify different points of view towards Aboriginal people in early colonial Australia (e.g. squatters, missionaries, free settlers, convicts, clergy).Summary: First Catholics were lay and mainly Irish convicts

First Priests came without permissionFew people were able to access Catholic rituals and sacramentsThe vast majority were catholic by name, not practice

The first official clergy were few and vastly overworked.Some clashed and subverted each otherThe Irish clergy were not always co-operative with the English Benedictine ArchbishopThe formal structures of the Church began in the 1830’s with the arrival of priests, brothers and nuns.

Events and developments centred around Catholics being different from the rest of society, even free settlers. Most Catholic/official interactions were marked by:

Suspicion/Fear; Bigotry and hatred; Sectarianism; CompetitionFrom official points of view, decisions by colonial governors up to 1830 were marked by Suspicion and bigotry; Fear of rebellion and qualified support at best for Catholic clergy.Irish Catholics were judged as to whether they fitted “civilised” British society

Toleration grew with changes in Britain- e.g Catholic Emancipation ActCatholic clergy were supported by the stateThe presence of religious was seen as a civilising influenceEducation was critical for Catholics, but it also brought tension with state educationThe Church officially sought protection of the rights of Aboriginal people, but this was largely ignored by the peopleCatholics were gradually being accepted into all tiers of society.

Year 5: c 1850CE -1900 CE:Year Level Focus: Christianity in the Australian Colonies

1850’s

(i) Polding’s “Benedictine Dream” and his Irish Nightmares

(ii) An increasingly “Australian” church by the end of the century

The period 1850- 1900 was a time of significant growth and consolidation for the institutional Catholic Church and a period where the Catholic laity faced the dual and sometimes conflicting challenges of being loyal members of a more structured, hierarchical Church and being accepted as “ordinary” members of Australian society.

Archbishop Polding continued his quest to model the Church in the Australian colonies on Benedictine values and principles. In 1849, Dr Joseph Serra, a Spanish Benedictine, was consecrated Bishop of Port Victoria (Darwin) and Vicar Apostolic of the Northern Territory, but a month later was appointed coadjutor to Bishop Brady in Perth. Dr Salvado, another Benedictine, was ordained bishop of Port Victoria.

1850: Foundation stone laid for St Patrick’s church (later cathedral) Melbourne.

1850 Government grants for a catholic “temperance hall” in Hobart.

1850 Polding embarks on wide ranging tours of NSW; Goold sets out on a missionary journey up the Murray.

1851 Fr McEnroe petitions Rome to “Hibernicise” the church in Australia, due to the conflict between Irish clergy and Benedictine bishops.

1853: Bishop Willson was one of the Victorian

The Anglican prelate of Melbourne responded to the establishment of the Catholic diocese of Port Phillip in 1849 by attacking the Catholic church as “apostate and idolatrous”.

1851 Schism in Perth diocese between Bishop Brady and Bishop Serra.

1853 Bishop Salvado arrives in Perth with Spanish missionary artisans. 26 artisans at Aboriginal missions at New Norcia and 15 at Subiaco.

1853 Lyndhurst, Australia’s first Catholic secondary college, opens in Sydney with 35 students. Dr Polding, was keen to organise his Catholic community along Benedictine lines. To cater for the education of Catholic boys he established Lyndhurst College in Glebe, a suburb west of Sydney. From the outset there were difficulties about obtaining suitable staff from the English Province of the Order, and there was the constant worry of finance.

1857 St John’s College, University of Sydney, established.

1857 Polding, Goold and Willson issue a Pastoral Letter warning Catholic laymen acting as judges of the Bishops of the Church.

1857 “Children of Mary” first reception in Melbourne.

1857 St Vincent’s Hospital opens in Sydney. 1857 new parish of New England extends from

Armidale to Qld border and Pacific Ocean.

1854: Army storms Eureka Stockade. May Catholics involved. Peter Lalor hidden by priest and friends. Elected to Victorian Legislative Assembly in 1855.

1854 Governor of Victoria urges Bishop Goold to go to goldfields to help heal divisions.

1862 Bishop Willson praised in Melbourne Press for his advocacy for the insane in asylums in Victoria

1860 Bishop Goold issues a Pastoral Letter against anti-Catholic and Godless education.

1863 Abolition of state aid to NSW clergy.

1866 Bishop Quinn censured by Legislative Council of Qld for his “catastrophic” debts.

1868 Polding attends a Public education meeting at Cooma, NSW to criticise recently passed Public Schools Act as unfair to Catholics.

1868 Irish madman O’Farrell shoots at Duke of Edinburgh. Premier Parkes claims a Fenian plot. Some catholic bishops condemn Fenians and assure loyalty to British Crown.

1876 Archbishop Vaughan gives a lecture on the evils of Freemasonry

age’s most colourful and socially progressive clerics. He was one of the main campaigners for better conditions for convicts transported to Australia and it was partly because of his efforts that transportation to Tasmania was discontinued in 1853. Ill-treatment in penal colonies produced significant numbers of psychologically damaged people and Bishop Willson became one of the world’s leading mental health reformers — pioneering a more humane approach to mental patients.

1854 ordination of first Australian born priest Fr John Fitzgerald, in Rome.

Caroline Chisholm back in Australia to found Family Colonisation Society and helps settle 11,000 women migrants in Australia.

1856 Bishop Serra OSB claims Sisters of Mercy in Perth are stirring discontent against him among Irish Catholics. Sisters leave Perth for Melbourne in 1857.

1857 Sisters of the Good Samaritan founded to respond to social needs of colonial Australia.

“Friendly Brothers” (forerunner of SVDP) helped run orphanage opened in Melbourne in 1857.

1857 Fr McGinty of Ipswich travels to Grafton, ministering to isolated families on the way.

1859 James Quinn consecrated first Bishop of Brisbane in Dublin. Arrives in Brisbane 1860 with five priests, one brother and seven Sisters of Mercy including Mother Vincent Whitty.

1858 Polding visits Moreton Bay district in Qld. People of all denominations attend his confirmations at St Stephens.

Polding lays foundation of new church in Ipswich. 1859 Catholic William Archer appointed Registrar

General of Victoria.

with anti-Catholic repercussions. 1878 Opening of Xavier College, Kew

by Jesuits interpreted as an aspect of the “war” between Catholics and the secular government education system.

1888 Lord Carrington, Governor of NSW presides at a meeting of 12 bishops and 7 colonial governors to celebrate centenary of Australia and promote the completion of St Mary’s cathedral.

1898 Cardinal Moran addresses the Bathurst Convention on Federation. Alleges anti-Catholic bias in Australia.

1860’s 1864 Fr Therry, pioneering priest, dies. Fr Joseph Ah Lee, only Chinese priest in

Australia in 19th Century, arrives in Melbourne.

1866: First presentation Sisters (9) arrive in Hobart.

1867: Mother Mary of the Cross and Fr Julian Tenison Woods found Sisters of St Joseph of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Adelaide.

Sir John O’Shanassy three times Premier of Victoria receives Papal knighthood in 1867.

1868 Four Christian Brothers, led by Br Ambrose Treacy, arrive in Melbourne.

1863 Polding attempts to meet and minister to Ben Hall and other bushrangers.

1863 All Hallows school Brisbane opened. St Stephen’s Cathedral foundation stone laid, Brisbane.

1865: 6 catholic churches in Qld. 1000 children being taught by religious sisters and laity at Brisbane and Ipswich.

1865: St Mary’s Cathedral, Sydney, destroyed by fire.

1867: Catholic and Presbyterian leaders hold an ecumenical discussion in Melbourne to secure separate Catholic schools for Victoria.

1867 Formation of Catholic Association of NSW to protect Catholic Education.

1869 Provincial Council of Australian Church deplores the evils of “mixed schools”.

8 bishops sign Joint Pastoral Letter reflecting Polding’s concern for the education of Australian Aborigines and their rights to tribal lands.

1869 Australian bishops attend opening of First Vatican Council in Rome.

1870’s 1871 Three prominent Melbourne laymen receive Papal Knighthoods.

1874 Fr Julian Tenison Woods founds Sisters of Perpetual Adoration in Brisbane

1875 : Loreto Sisters arrive in Ballarat, Melbourne and Brisbane

1877 Death of Archbishop Polding in Sydney. 100,000 attend funeral.

1870: Brisbane diocese reports 30,000 Catholics, served by 40 priests and 30 nuns.

1875 Christian Brothers come to Brisbane. 1873 Sisters of Mercy build convents in

Rockhampton and Toowoomba. 1878: Sisters of Mercy arrive in Townsville.

1880’s 1881: Bishop James Quinn of Brisbane dies. 1882 Rockhampton Diocese established in Qld.

1882 Ursuline Sisters and Sacre Coeur Religious arrive in Australia

1884 Patrician Brothers, Little Sisters of the Poor; Poor Clares and Vincentian Fathers arrive in Australia.

1885 Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart arrive in Australia.

1885 Archbishop Moran created first Australian cardinal in Rome

1885 Carmelite Nuns, Little Company of Mary sisters arrive in Australia.

1889 St Patrick’s Seminary opened. 1886: Brigidine Sisters arrive in Australia 1889 Golden Jubilee of profession of

Mother Xavier Williams, (Sister of Charity) first religious sister professed in Australia. Dies in 1892.

Christian brothers open St Joseph’s Gregory Terrace (1880) Maryborough (1888), Nudgee (1890), Ipswich (1892), Brisbane (1893), Townsville (1895).

1889: Missionaries of the Sacred Heart found Annals magazine to publicise mission work.

1890’s 1892 Mother Vincent Whitty, who brought Sisters of Mercy to Qld, dies.

1897 First Australian born bishop: Patrick Vincent Dwyer consecrated.

1893: Aboriginal Mission at New Norcia faces collapse.

SkillsSequence some key people and events (religious and secular) in the Australian colonies (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE) and recognise their significance in bringing about change.Develop historical narratives and descriptions about some key events and people’s experiences in the Church in the Australian colonies (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE) using source materials and appropriate historical terms and concepts.Locate information about the contribution or significance of Catholics (laity, clergy, religious) to the shaping of particular communities, including Indigenous communities (c.1850 CE – c.1900 CE).Summary Tension between Irish clergy and

Polding’s Benedictine clergy First cardinal (Moran) Key Religious emerge: Mary MacKillop;

Ellen Whitty; Key Lay Catholics: Caroline Chisholm

Catholic life centres around establishment of parishes, schools, institutions

Access to Catholic life still very difficult for people outside metropolitan areas.

Catholics find a “normal” place in society. Positions in business, government, education, health.

In some ways, sectarianism abates, but at other times, it is re-ignited.

Rapid growth in numbers of religious running schools, institutions, missions

Few priests facing huge pastoral challenges- distance, lack of education, access to sacraments

By century’s end, a growing Australian religious and clergy seek distinction from an Irish Church.

Bishops decrees make life harder for Catholics to integrate into “ordinary” Australian society- on schooling, mixed marriages

Some statements by bishops revive old sectarian wounds

Bishops’ hard line on separate Catholic Education a major cause of sectarian sentiment.

Freemasonry a point of sectarian tension.

Yr 6: c 1900 CE –PresentYear Level focus: The Catholic Church in a developing Australian nation

1900-1920

(i) Federation and an Australian Church

1905: James Duhig Bishop of Rockhampton 1906: De La Salle brothers arrive in Australia 1907: Archbishop Daniel Murphy dies. Youngest

bishop in world when ordained a bishop in 1846; oldest bishop in world when died.

1908: Newman Society for tertiary Students begins in Melbourne.

1909 Mother Mary of the Cross dies in Sydney. 1909: Sacred Heart Teachers College, Ballarat. 1911: Death of Cardinal Moran. Dedicated more than

500 churches and 7 cathedrals. 200,000 walk in funeral procession.

1912 James Duhig appointed coadjutor bishop of Brisbane

1912: Dr Daniel Mannix consecrated coadjutor bishop of Melbourne

1913 Fr Edward McGrath founds Our Lady’s Nurses for the Poor to care for the sick in their own homes.

1914: Manly Union is founded at silver anniversary of St Patrick’s College manly to promote the growth of an Australian Priesthood and episcopate.

1914: Catholic Women’s League starts in Adelaide. Led by Lady Galway, wife of governor and Betty Leaworthy, a notable convert to Catholicism.

1914: First Apostolic Delegate appointed to Australia 1916 Catholic Women’s Guild established in

Melbourne. For professional women calling for change. 4,500 members by 1920.

1917: Archbishop Dunne of Brisbane dies. 1917 Anglican archbishop takes part in funeral

procession of Archbishop Carr of Melbourne.

1901: Pallotine Fathers establish a mission to Australian aborigines in Kimberly region of WA

1902: First Corpus Christi procession, Manly College

1904: Catholic Truth Society founded to inform people about Catholicism.

1906: Fr Francis Xavier Gsell MSC begins work in Darwin, especially among Aboriginal communities. Becomes famous as the Bishop with “150 wives” where he rescues hundreds of little girls from forced marriages to old men.

1906 MSC’s establish an Aboriginal Mission in Darwin

1907: Benedictines establish Aboriginal Mission in Kimberleys, WA.

1908 Christian Brothers open a novitiate in Strathfield, NSW

1909: Sisters of mercy Novitiate, Bathurst NSW.

1914: first of nearly 50 St Patrick’s day processions in Melbourne patronised by Dr Mannix.

1917 Mannix advocates the cause of an independent, free Ireland to a crowd of 100,000

1918 Mannix censured by Rome for the dangerous friction cause by his speeches.

1911: Catholic Federation begins in Melbourne to help the cause for justice for catholic parents with children in Catholic schools. Much political involvement by priests and laity.

1914 Archbishop Mannix preaches on Christian unity as a return of all Christians to Rome.

1916: First major press attack on Archbishop Mannix for his anti-conscription stance.

1917 Angry crowd at St Patrick’s day function in Sydney shouts down Archbishop Kelly’s pro-war views.

1917 Mannix draws accusations of disloyalty to Australia when Sinn Fein banners are used in St Patrick’s day procession.

1917 Robert Menzies describes Dr Mannix as a “great national menace”.

1918 Jesuits open Newman College, Melbourne as a focus for intellectual and social apostolate for catholic graduates.

1918 Theresian club, made up of working girls, formed to strengthen the faith of children of lapsed Catholic families.

1919 Knights of the Southern Cross founded by Patrick Minahan, member of Parliament, to counter Masonic influence and anti- catholic bias in the workplace.

1920’s 1920 Catholic women in the National Guild of Women pressured by Church authorities to resign from it.

1921 Holy Name Society founded by Dominicans in Adelaide. Encouraged men to publicly witness to the faith and receive communion monthly.

1928 Dr Leslie rumble, MSC begins radio talks about the Eucharist on commercial radio.

1929: James Scullin becomes first Catholic Prime Minister of Australia. Many Catholics in the ALP.

1924 Catholic Library established in Melbourne. Becomes centre of intellectual life for Catholics in Victoria.

Catholic Evidence Guild founded by Frank Sheed in Sydney for lay speakers to speak on street corners, the Domain and Newtown Bridge.

1926 Sancta Sophia college for women opened at University of Sydney.

1928 Eucharistic Congress, Randwick Racecourse, Sydney, attended by 150,000. Half a million line streets for Blessed Sacrament from Manly.

1920 14 VC winners lead St Patrick’s day procession in Melbourne to disprove charges of disloyalty.

1920 PM Hughes describes Mannix as an “enemy alien”.

Mannix “arrested” at sea and refused entry to Ireland by British.

1923: Mannix salutes Australian flag in a park in Launceston. Described by Hobart press as “beyond redemption”.

1927 Apostolic delegate represent church at Opening of Canberra by the Duke of York

1930’s 1930 Grey Sisters begin work in Melbourne. New initiatives in apostolate and lifestyle of Religious Sisters.

1931 Campion Society founded in Melbourne as basis for Catholic Action. Appealed to the zeal of young professional men, including Bob Santamaria.

1931: Archbishop Kelly founds Sydney congregation of Sisters of the Blessed virgin Mary for domestic care of seminaries and work among Australian Aborigines.

1931: Fr J Meany establishes first Catholic radio station, 2SM in Sydney. SM was named after his church, St Mark’s.

1931: Catholic Missions begins publication in Australia.

1933: Handbook of Catholic Action published by MSC’s.

1936: First issue of Catholic Worker in Melbourne to promote Catholic Social

1937: Anglican Bishops of Australia claim the Catholic school system is “ a grievous offence against the unity of the state”.

1931: Fr Ernest Worms begins work among aborigines in Broome, WA.

1931: Amy Richardson, Catholic nurse, recruits other nurses to start a medical mission in the Solomon Islands.

Fr Leslie rumble, MSC starts “radio replies” on 2SM and syndicated to Catholic newspapers.

1936: Apostolate for lay women “The Grail” established in Australia

1937: First Australian-born Archbishop of Sydney: Norman Gilroy.

1938 Holy Name society reports it has 52,000 members in 400 parishes.

1939 Death of Joseph Lyons, Catholic Prime Minister.

Teaching. 1939: The Grail movement of catholic

women begins six month residential courses for women.

1939 Catholic Rural Movement begins “Rural Life” to bring Catholic Social Principles to bear on decentralisation and the move back to the land.

1939 Anti-war Peace meeting in Adelaide.

1940’s 1942: “The Movement” established by 20 unionists in Melbourne as a secret society to oppose Communism in Unions.

1943: Catholic Bushwalking club founded in Sydney. 1945: Aquinas Academy established in Sydney for

Adult catholic education. 1945/6: Archbishop Gilroy named a cardinal.

1940: Australian Catholic bishops split over their social justice statement prepared by BA Santamaria.

1940: German Pallotine priests in Kimberleys jailed as “enemy aliens”. Released after personal intervention of PM Menzies.

1941: Diocese of Cairns established. 1944 Australian Catholic bishops appeal to

all belligerents in WWII to avoid damage to Rome.

1945: Bishops give 10,000 pounds a year to BA Santamaria’s “Movement”.

1950’s 1954 Only Australian order of Priests formed: Confraternity of Christ the Priest in Ayr, Qld.

1957:A model Christian rural community begins to operate at San Isidore near Wagga NSW.

1958 Pauline Association of Lay Missionaries (PALMS) formed by Cardinal Gilroy to promote lay apostolate through courses.

1951 Pius XII relaxes the fast for Eucharist from midnight. Evening Masses allowed.

1952 Catholic Migration Commission established to attract catholic migrants and help them settle in. 45,000 assisted.

1953 One Melbourne parish had 16 different national groups.

1952 Attempt by Tasmanian Labour Govt to give state aid to non-state schools thwarted by Upper House.1953 Concern by some chaplains of Catholic Action that it should be seen to be separate from “the Movement” and its political action.

1958 First Byzantine Rite Ukrainian Exarch appointed. 1959 Catholic Enquiry Centre set up in Sydney. Leads

to many conversions.

1954 Moves in Melbourne to establish a Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

1954 Mission to Aborigines set up by Daughters of Charity in Moree NSW.

1956: Mass celebrated for first time for Catholic athletes at Melbourne Olympics.

1958: Australian Columban fathers set up a mission in slums of Peru.

1954 Leader of ALP Dr Evatt attacks Catholic Social Studies Movement and BA Santamaria. Leads to a split in the ALP and division within Catholic hierarchy.1955 Sale of The Catholic Worker forbidden at Melbourne’s Cathedral.1955 Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter on The Menace of Communism supports Industrial groups fighting Communism. Catholics free to vote according to conscience but could to support parties which supported Communism.1955 Dr Mannix states that the division in the Episcopacy over Catholic Social Studies Movement cannot be bridged.1955 Opinion polls show 51% of population in favour of state aid to non-government schools. 1956: Catholic bishops divided

over reformation of “The Movement”.

1957 Tasmanian grants to non- state schools over-ridden by the Upper House.

1957 Rome decrees the political decisions of the Movement must be brought under the control of the hierarchy. Claims this is infringement of legitimate right of laity to form political groups. The Movement replaced by the National Civic Council.

1958 Mannix intervenes in Federal election saying a vote for Labour is a vote for Communists.

1959 Archbishop Duhig becomes first Australian Catholic prelate to be knighted by British monarch.

1960’s 1961 Catholic theologians publish world renowned books on theology and philosophy

1963: Death of Archbishop Mannix aged 100. 1963 Robert Menzies promises Federal Govt aid for

non-state schools. 1965 Archbishop Duhig dies after 60 years a bishop.

Known as James the Builder. 1966: An Australian, Rosemary Goldie, appointed by

Paul VI to Roman Curia. 1967 Fr Brosnan celebrates mass for Ronald Ryan,

last man hanged in Australia. 1969: First Australian married priest of the Latin

Rite ordained in Hobart. Fr Peter Rushton, former Anglican priest.

1960 Living Parish Hymnbook first published. 1 million copies sold in ten years.

Dialogue Masses( in Latin) instituted in Tasmania.

1962 Most of Australia’s bishops attend the opening of Vatican II in Rome.

1964 Australian Catholic Relief begins as a lay led movement for aid to third world.

1964 Evening Masses permitted and fasting reduced from three hours to one for reception of Holy Communion.

1966: St Paul’s seminary for late vocations opens in Sydney

1966: Project Compassion launched as the Lenten Appeal.

1967 Pastoral Councils set up in Sydney and Hobart to advise Archbishops of pastoral matters. Laity involved.

1967: First Tasmanian Liturgy Conference draws cream of Australia’s scripture and theology experts.

1967: Australian Council of Churches sets up a joint working group to explore theological ways to overcome disunity.

1967: 34 Australians attend the third World Congress of the Lay Apostolate in Rome.

1967 Survey finds 66% of Catholics in NSW, Vic and Tas attend Mass every week.

1967: First “Ecumenical” church in Australia at Snug, Tasmania. Owned by Archdiocese of Hobart, but any denomination allowed to use it.

1960 Dr Rumble reaffirms the right of Catholics to vote for labour Party with a clear conscience.

1961 Archbishop Simmonds claims Australian Catholics are bitterly divided and the Church split from top to bottom over politics rather than doctrine.

1962: Goulbourn school “strike” begins. Turning point for State Aid in Australia.

1963 National press pays tributes to Dr Mannix as a powerful and patriarchal figure in Australian Church and nation.

1966 Gough Whitlam criticises his party’s opposition to state aid for non-government schools.

1966 Cardinal Gilroy attends enthronement of Anglican Archbishop of Sydney.

1967: State Aid Bill passes both houses of Tasmanian Parliament.

1967: ABC Four Corners program on “the challenge to authority in the Catholic Church in Australia”.

1969: Australian bishops call on Govt to allow civilian service as an alternative to compulsory military service

1968 Permission for mass in the vernacular.

1968 Dec issue of the Annals has a special issue on the changing church which stirs controversy.

1969: 43,000 catholic migrants come to Australia in 1969 from Britain, Italy, Malta, Spain and Slavic countries.

1970’s 1970 Pope Paul Vi first papal visit to Australia 1971 Archbishop Young preaches at St David’s

Anglican Cathedral (Hobart): an Australian first 1971: Fr Hans Kung invited to Australia by Australian

Council of Churches. 1975 Fr Patrick Dodson first Aboriginal priest. 1978 Solo Parents Support group established Disciples of Jesus Covenant Community founded in

Sydney to evangelise Youth

1970: Bishops call on Catholics to give 1% of weekly income to Project Compassion.

1970:University chaplains express concern at erosion of faith of Catholics at University

1970 Loss of interest in Holy Name Society 1970 Catholic priests in some cities join

Vietnam Moratorium and incur disapproval of hierarchy.

1970: Bishops devise new rules for mixed marriages.

1971: New “Come Alive” catechetical aids published in Melbourne.

1971: seminary training reforms accepted by bishops

1973 International Eucharistic Congress. Ecumenical service attended by 100,000 people.

1973: 3 million Catholics in Australia; 3000 churches, 2000 clergy, 1400 religious priests, 2200 religious brothers and 13,000 religious sisters.

1973: Maronite Diocese created in Australia.

1974: Catholic Charismatic Renewal national conference in Melbourne. 2000 attend.

1977 Catholics and Lutherans respect each other’s baptisms.

1971: crisis in government funding in Tasmania leads to confrontation between church and government.1973: High Court writ issued challenging validity of state aid to schools

Ecumenical Action for World Development formed from 213 parishes of nine denominations in Brisbane.

1977 Bishops publicly support Aust Commission for Justice and Peace, under attack from conservative elements.

1980’s 1981: Presentations Sisters redefine their roles in Church.

1981: Shirley Smith: “MumShirl” publishes her autobiography on her life as an aboriginal Christian

Antioch movement for formation of young people comes to Australia

1983: Fr Raymond Brown, noted international biblical scholar tours Australia. Some conservatives report him to Rome.

1983: Sr Veronica Brady a member of ABC Board. 1984 Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche, visits Australia Sr Mary Doyle first religious Sister appointed full time

pastoral care of a priest-less parish in Tasmania. 1984 Columban priest Fr Brian Gore charged with

murder in Philippines. Aust Govt intervenes for his release.

1985 Dom Helda Camara visits Australia Sr Janet Mead of Adelaide gains worldwide attention

for her sung version of the Lord’s Prayer 1986 Pope JPII arrives in Alice Springs to give a stirring

address to Aborigines. 1987: Archbishop Tutu from South Africa visits

Australia to condemn apartheid as blasphemous, totally unchristian, irreligious and a heresy.

1987 Shroud of Turin tours Australia 1988 Vatican allows Pieta to be displayed at World

Expo 88 in Brisbane 1988 Death of Archbishop Sir Guilford Young of

Hobart. Visionary for reform and justice in the church. Archbishop Clancy fourth Australian Cardinal

1980: Catholics participate fully in World Council of Churches International conference in Melbourne

1980 Bishops strongly condemn abortion. 1 in 6 pregnancies ended in abortion.

1980: Catholic Committee on Refugees supports arrival of South East Asian Refugees

1981: One World Week with focus on Development begins.

1981: Social Justice Sunday observed by Catholics, Anglicans and Uniting parishes

1981: 332 refugee families from SE Asia welcomed in Sydney.

1981: Catholic mass attendance fallen from 55% in 1966 to 37%

1983 Shortage of priests becomes an issue for the church.

1983: Catholic Schools in Australia number nearly 1800, education over 500,000 students.

1983: catholic seminaries in Sydney join other Christian churches to form Sydney College of Divinity. Similar College of Theology established in Brisbane.

1985 Restoration of the RCIA program at Easter sees 1500 become Catholics.

1985 CCJP again under fire from conservatives over its paper “Work for a Just Peace”.

1985 CCJP and ACC issue a paper on Peace

1987 Church ethicists and bishops attack government legislation on prostitution, abortion, AIDS and IVF.

for the International Year of Peace. ACTS announces its closure 1985 19% of Australian children in catholic

schools. 1986: CCJP abolished by bishops, to be

replaced by a new body 1987: Synod of Bishops to include laity for

first time 1987 AIDS crisis a crisis for church also 1988 Leaders of Australian Churches issue

a joint statement on Indigenous Reconciliation

1988: Bishops inquiry into distribution of wealth in Australia

1989 Catholic Coalition for Justice and Peace criticises NSW Govt decision to abolish Aboriginal Land Councils

1990’s 1990: Brisbane Scripture Fr Bill O’Shea reported to

Rome for some of his responses to questions by Catholics over contraception.

1991 Bishop Belo of Dili, East Timor visits Australia to call on Australian Government to assist East Timor rid itself of Indonesian occupation.

1991 Fr Chris Riley seeks volunteers to assist Sydney’s growing street kid problem

1991 Fr Bob Maguire of Melbourne does similar work for street kids and the homeless

1991 Sr Irene McCormack RSJ murdered in Peru by rebels.

ABC broadcasts Brides of Christ purporting to be a portrayal of Australian Catholic life in the 70’s.

Death of Francis Rush, Archbishop of Brisbane 1991; John Bathersby announced as Archbishop of

Brisbane. 1992: Radio 2Sm is sold, ending the Church’s

involvement for 60 years. 1992: Mother Mary MacKillop declared “Venerable”,

1990: Vatican to send 20 observers to WCC Assembly in Canberra

1990 Priests assembly urges Vatican to change rules on celibacy of priests and priests who have married.

1990 Melbourne catholic newspaper, The Advocate, ceases publication

1990 more Catholics in Aust than Anglicans.

1991 Formation of Australian Catholic University

1991: Notre Dame Australia, a Catholic University, opened in Fremantle, WA.

1991: Sydney archdiocese faces severe shortage of priests. Lay people to be trained for leadership.

1991 Anglican bishop of Canberra Goulburn calls for full membership of the catholic Church in the WCC.

1991: Bishops call for action on Timor after

a stage in the process of canonisation. 1991 Opus Dei members go to Rome to celebrate the

beatification of their founder Josemaria Escriva. 1991: Jean Vanier (L’Arche) visits Australia again. 1991: James Foley becomes Bishop of Cairns 1991: Fr Laurence Freeman, Director of the

Worldwide Community for Christian Meditation, visits Australia to lead sessions on Christian meditation.

1992: The Leaving of Liverpool TV drama series calls attention to the abuse of child migrants

1992: High Court's Mabo decision on native title influenced by Catholic natural law theory

1995: Mary McKillop declared Blessed 1995: Closure of St Patrick's Seminary, Manly. 1996: Bishops establish "Towards Healing" process to

deal with complaints of abuse of minors by clergy 1996: William Deane appointed Governor-General; 1996: George Pell succeeds Frank Little as Archbishop

of Melbourne. 1998: Catholic spokesmen agree to thawing and

destruction of thousands of frozen embryos left over from IVF.

1999: Threat of Australian military action significant in the formation of Asia's second Christian nation, East Timor.

2000: Spires of St Mary's Cathedral completed, with generous State government assistance.

2001: George Pell appointed Archbishop of Sydney. 2004: Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ

released. 2006: University of Notre Dame Sydney campus

established; 2006: Campion College liberal arts college in Western

Sydney takes in first students; 2007: Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's Confronting Power

and Sex in the Catholic Church published. 2008: World Youth Day held in Sydney, with visit of

Pope Benedict XVI.

massacre. 1991: 155 Australian parishes take on

Passionist Family Group Movement for supporting families in parishes.

1992: Interfaith Dialogue is to be promoted by a new body: The Australian Council of Christians and Jews.

1991: Bishop Jim Cuskelly, Brisbane, elected first president of Queensland Churches Together.

1991: Christians in every capital city march to “Reclaim Easter”.

1991: Inclusive language to be used in Liturgies in Adelaide Diocese

1991: Townsville Diocese faces its future of a huge diocese with few priests with a Pastoral and Planning Commission.

1991: Deaneries return to dioceses as a way of structuring which responds to Priest shortages.

1991: Bishops release a statement, in collaboration with ATSI Catholic Council, for the International Year of Indigenous People.

1993 Archbishop Carroll of Canberra calls on people to commit themselves to a “new partnership” with Indigenous people of Australia.

Bishops set up a refugee Office to address Human Rights for Asylum seekers.

First Australian Edition of the new catechism of the Catholic Church published.

2010: Mary Mackillop canonised, the first Australian to be canonised.

SkillsSequence some key people and events (religious and secular) that contributed to the development of Australia as a nation (c.1900 CE to present).Locate information about the contribution or significance of Catholics to the shaping of the Church in Australia (c.1900 CE to present).Develop historical narratives and descriptions about some key events and people’s experiences in the Church in Australia after Federation using source materials and appropriate historical terms and concepts.Identify and describe some examples of significant change and continuity in Australian Catholic identity and relationships with the wider society (c. 1900 CE to present).

Summary:Key Figures:Archbishops Mannix and DuhigCardinal GilroyDr Leslie RumbleFR Pat DodsonSr Veronica BradySr Irene McCormackFr Brian GoreFr Bob McGuireFr Chris RileyArchbishop Sir Guilford Young

Laity:BA SantamariaJames ScullinJoseph Lyons

The MovementAustralian Catholic Truth SocietyHoly Name SocietyKnights of the Southern CrossCatholic Enquiry CentreAustralian Bishops Committee for Justice Peace and ReconciliationCatholic Social ActionAustralian Catholic UniversitiesEcumenism

ConscriptionCommunismLabour PartyState Aid for Non-Government schoolsAbortionContraceptionPornographyReconciliationAIDSIVF