Catholic Church In Australia Research Articles

Does Gender Matter?

Abstract Sociological and historical research into sexual violence against children has reported consistently that it is girls who have most often been the subject of sexual, psychological and physical violence in both familial and institutional settings in modernity. However, more recently, public inquiries have provided evidence that during the 20th century, boys were much more likely to be abused in particular kinds of religious settings. This has been substantiated in findings from inquiries in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the USA. This reverses the trend of child sexual abuse (CSA) demonstrated in family and community environments, where girls are more likely to be abused, although perpetrators are much more likely to be men across all settings (Dowling, Boxall, et al. 2021). The question of gender in relation to the experience and management of CSA therefore requires further examination. In this article we investigate whether gender is a specific dimension of CSA in religious institutions, and specifically the Roman Catholic Church, by two methods. We begin by firstly examining the literature that addresses gender representation, religion and CSA in relation to three central evidence-based indicators: prevalence, disclosure and trauma impacts. Secondly, we link this discussion to a case study of the Catholic Church in Australia, where we identify specific patterns of gendered child violence and we ask the question: are such gendered forms of violence related to Catholic socialisation processes and if so by which specific mechanisms does Catholic culture produce the conditions that facilitate the sexual abuse of children? This article will explore these questions by looking at the ways CSA in Catholic institutions are gendered and how this produced particular forms of knowledge and truth. We argue that gender is a central organising principle in Catholic bureaucracy, culture and theology. The analysis identifies five central factors underpinning the reproduction of a discourse of power and knowledge normalizing gendered patterns of CSA and addresses a gap in current research by addressing gender representation as the central factor in the prevalence, disclosure and trauma of religiously based CSA.

Does Gender Matter?

Abstract Sociological and historical research into sexual violence against children has reported consistently that it is girls who have most often been the subject of sexual, psychological and physical violence in both familial and institutional settings in modernity. However, more recently, public inquiries have provided evidence that during the 20th century, boys were much more likely to be abused in particular kinds of religious settings. This has been substantiated in findings from inquiries in Australia, Ireland, the UK and the USA. This reverses the trend of child sexual abuse (CSA) demonstrated in family and community environments, where girls are more likely to be abused, although perpetrators are much more likely to be men across all settings (Dowling, Boxall, et al. 2021). The question of gender in relation to the experience and management of CSA therefore requires further examination. In this article we investigate whether gender is a specific dimension of CSA in religious institutions, and specifically the Roman Catholic Church, by two methods. We begin by firstly examining the literature that addresses gender representation, religion and CSA in relation to three central evidence-based indicators: prevalence, disclosure and trauma impacts. Secondly, we link this discussion to a case study of the Catholic Church in Australia, where we identify specific patterns of gendered child violence and we ask the question: are such gendered forms of violence related to Catholic socialisation processes and if so by which specific mechanisms does Catholic culture produce the conditions that facilitate the sexual abuse of children? This article will explore these questions by looking at the ways CSA in Catholic institutions are gendered and how this produced particular forms of knowledge and truth. We argue that gender is a central organising principle in Catholic bureaucracy, culture and theology. The analysis identifies five central factors underpinning the reproduction of a discourse of power and knowledge normalizing gendered patterns of CSA and addresses a gap in current research by addressing gender representation as the central factor in the prevalence, disclosure and trauma of religiously based CSA.

The Faith We Left Behind? The Order of Saint Charbel, Roman Catholic Traditionalism, and the Conservative Reaction to Vatican II in Australia

The Order of Saint Charbel, and its founding prophet William Kamm (b. 1950), also known as “The Little Pebble,” has been a marginal presence on the fringes of the Roman Catholic Church in Australia since the 1980s. While a series of bishops from the Diocese of Wollongong (and other dioceses) have issued official statements taking issue with the beliefs and practices of the group and publicly distancing the group from normative Catholicism, little systematic analysis of its beliefs has been undertaken which situate these within a wider historical Roman Catholic context. This article offers a preliminary analysis of some key themes occurring in the “private revelations” which form a key aspect of the Order of Saint Charbel’s religious repertoire and their relationship with the broader theological positions of Catholic traditionalists. This article suggests that the Order of Saint Charbel, while sharing some concerns with traditionalist and other groups across the spectrum of conservative reactions to Vatican II, is best classified as a “devotionally traditionalist” lay movement exhibiting a kind of popular theology that can only be properly understood when viewed against the wider backdrop of traditional vernacular Catholic devotional practices, many of which have either declined or become marginalized since Vatican II.

Synodality and the Australian Plenary Council: Listening to and Looking at those who are Living in the Spirit

In response to Pope Francis’s call for greater synodality in the Church, the Catholic Church in Australia has been preparing for a plenary council. Both Pope Francis and those preparing for the council have especially stressed the need to listen to the Holy Spirit through listening to each other. It is the burden of this article that while such ‘listening’ is necessary it is not sufficient. Using the plenary council as an example, and engaging with the work of the International Theological Commission and Ormond Rush on the sensus fidelium and synodality, it will be argued that although ‘listening’ is an essential prerequisite for success, for true synodality to occur we must also be ‘looking’ in order to see what the Holy Spirit is already ‘doing’ in the Church. This argument will be supported by examining the biblical meaning of koinonia (communion) and homothumadon (of one accord). These are essential for discerning what the Spirit wishes to say at this time to the Church.

Stewardship and renewal of catholic places of worship in Australia

The National Liturgical Architecture and Art Council (NLAAC) is an advisory body to the Bishops’ Commission for Liturgy of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, mandated to provide advice in the areas of liturgical architecture, art and heritage. The Council has prepared guidelines for use throughout the Catholic Church in Australia. The most recent of these documents, Fit for Sacred Use: Stewardship and Renewal of Places of Worship (2018) focusses on existing church buildings with particular reference to cultural heritage, and is the subject of this paper. Vatican II sought the full and active liturgical participation of all the people and so existing churches were reordered to foster inclusion. It is timely to consider questions around what constitutes our heritage and how it is valued. Fit for Sacred Use sets out the liturgical and heritage principles which are fundamental to conserving, renovating and reordering a church building. Its holistic approach considers how we renew our churches while honouring our heritage.

Negotiating Social Inclusion: The Catholic Church in Australia and the Public Sphere

This paper argues that for religion, social inclusion is not certain once gained, but needs to be constantly renegotiated in response to continued challenges, even for mainstream religious organisations such as the Catholic Church. The paper will analyse the Catholic Church’s involvement in the Australian public sphere, and after a brief overview of the history of Catholicism’s struggle for equal status in Australia, will consider its response to recent challenges to maintain its position of inclusion and relevance in Australian society. This will include an examination of its handling of sexual abuse allegations brought forward by the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, and its attempts to promote its vision of ethics and morals in the face of calls for marriage equality and other social issues in a society of greater religious diversity.

Evaluating Towards Healing as an Alternative to Litigation as Redress for Survivors of Clerical Child Sexual Abuse

Towards Healing was adopted by the Catholic Church in Australia as a mechanism to receive and respond to disclosures of clerical child sexual abuse. Parkinson (2014:131) describes the protocol as a ‘radical and proactive step’ in the effective provision of redress for survivors of sexual abuse by clerics within the Catholic Church. This comment questions both the necessity and viability of this scheme, as posited by Parkinson, in light of the experiences of survivors brought before the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

Social work and faith-based agencies in Sweden and Australia

The roles which faith-based agencies play in social work provision vary between countries. This article provides an overview of social work provision by the Church of Sweden in Sweden and the Catholic Church in Australia and explores how different relationships between faith-based organizations and professional social work practice have emerged in different countries. The article concludes with questions about the role of faith-based agencies which readers can reflect upon in their own contexts.

“Australianizing” the Local Catholic Church: Polding to Gilroy

The Catholic Church in Australia until around the 1940s has commonly been described as “Irish” and “Roman”. Historians cite the high proportion of Irish clergy and bishops, the latter often educated in in Rome. While the above pattern is accepted, there is evidence of earlier “Australianization.” This article examines such evidence in the foundational Archdiocese of Sydney and focuses on two archbishops, John Bede Polding and Norman Thomas Gilroy. Polding (archbishop 1842–1877) contributed to Australianization by initiating the Australian hierarchy, establishing a local seminary, seeking leaders experienced in Australia, and founding the local Sisters of the Good Samaritan. Gilroy's episcopate (1940–1971) saw the consolidation of the Australianizing trend. Witness to the Anzac landings, the first native‐born archbishop of Sydney and cardinal, Gilroy led the archdiocese as the Australian episcopate and clergy became further Australianized. On his retirement, after being named “Australian of the Year,” the Catholic Church in Australia could best be termed “Australian” and “Roman.”

The Resilience of Pastoral Care in Australian Catholic Aged Care Services

The majority of regulated residential aged care in Australia is provided by faith-based providers, with the Catholic Church in Australia providing one in ten of all such services. Despite challenges caused by the decline in active involvement of clergy and religious and government regulatory and financial constraints, pastoral care in Catholic residential aged care is present, evolving, and thriving. Fostering a holistic pastoral environment is also essential to the viability and effectiveness of pastoral care in aged care. A new approach to government funding is needed to foster innovation and a holistic response to the needs of older Australians.

Saint Patrick’s Cathedral dari Sudut Pandang Konsep Perancangan

The Catholic diocese of Parramatta is well-known as the first established Catholic Church in Australia. It is the most recently completed Cathedral in Australia, designed by Romaldo Giurgola. As a foreigner, he was successfully applied the historical values and symbols of Catholic tradition shown on the design’s elements and forms throughout the Cathedral. This paper explores the design of the Cathedral Church of the Catholic diocese of Parramatta which is influenced by works of other architects such as Utzon and Van Eyck. The use of natural light and different materials’ quality in the interior and exterior of building are few of the design’s elements applied in the Saint Patrick Cathedral.

Catholic Religious Identity and Social Integration in Interwar New Zealand

Comparing the history of the Catholic Church in Australia and the United States, John Tracy Ellis noted, both communities an environment unfriendly to their religious faith nurtured a separatist spirit which varied according to time and place but which in general bred a so-called mentality.1 The Catholic ghetto was sustained to a considerable extent by the establishment of denominationally-based organizations and institutions which reinforced the Catholic worldview and reduced the need for Catholics to associate with non-Catholics in their daily lives. Moreover, as Martin Marty has pointed out, it was not only Catholics who developed intellectual ghettos and denominational institutions which distinguished them from the dominant culture of the United States= Similar patterns developed in central and north-western Europe, finding their most extreme expression in the pillarization (verzuiling) of Belgium and the Netherlands. From the later nineteenth century until the 1960's, Catholics, Protestants, and Socialists developed more or less self sufficient parallel societies orpillars. Each pillar maintained its own cultural associations, sports clubs, educational institutions, social security organizations, trade unions, political parties, newspapers, and broadcasting networks. Collectively, the pillars were thought of as supporting the nation, and governments encouraged their development (for example, by subsidizing denominational schools) because it was assumed that minimizing the contact between antagonistic communities like Catholics and Calvinists was necessary to avoid social conflict.3 New Zealand Catholics, as a minority group, needed to maintain their religious integrity without unduly antagonizing the Protestant majority At 164,133 in 1921 and 195,261 in 1936, Catholics made up just over thirteen percent of the non-Maori population of interwar New Zealand. In 1921 seventy-six per cent of the population were either Anglicans, Presbyterians, or Methodists.4 Catholics' religious beliefs and practices, based on the evolving patterns of contemporary European (and North American) Catholic spirituality, marked them out as quite different from Protestants, including Anglicans whose church was overwhelmingly evangelical in tone. Moreover, the Catholic population as a whole was neither wealthy nor well-educated although some Catholics achieved prominence in business or politics, including Sir Joseph Ward (Prime Minister, 1906-1912, 1928-1930) and Michael Joseph Savage (Prime Minister, 1935-1940), who died in office, having recently returned to the faith of his childhood. As in other countries, the maintenance of Catholic identity by means of numerous lay organizations and religious institutions, especially during the interwar years, constitutes a prima-facie case for supposing that there was at least a Catholic in New Zealand. Catholics in Timaru, for example, had a particularly well-organized parish of 2,350 souls in 1926.5 Lay organizations listed in 1928 included the Children of Mary, the Sacred Heart Sodality (for women), St. Anne's Guild (a women's charitable society), an Altar Society, the Hibernian Australasian Catholic Benefit Society, a Girls' Club for former pupils of the school, a choir, and the Catholic Club. Affiliated to the latter were St. John's Tennis Club, the Celtic Cricket and Football Club, St. Patrick's Rifle Club, the Catholic Choral Society the Literary and Debating Club, the Dramatic Club, and the Swimming Club.6 A review by B. J. Barnao of Catholic organizations in Wellington in 1936-when the Catholic population was 22,679'-discussed a number of pious and charitable associations: the Holy Name Society, the Children of Mary Sodality, the Sacred Heart Sodality for women at St. Joseph's parish, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Seamen's Institute, the Third Order of St. Francis, and the Third Order of Mary. Barnao also referred to Catholic Scouting, the Hibernian Benefit Society, the Catholic Readers' Club, the Catholic Sociology classes, and the Catholic Students' Guild. …

The Irish Diaspora

The fifth volume in Patrick O’Sullivan’s ground-breaking series The Irish World Wide (1996) is devoted to Irish religion. In his choice of contributors and contributions, the editor has achieved a careful balance between Catholic and Protestant, the latter being a category often too ill-researched to appear in such collections. O’Sullivan’s introduction opens with a retelling of the tale of a confused sixteenth-century Irish Catholic lad who conformed to Protestantism in England, became a sailor and fell victim to the Mexican Inquisition. The introduction concludes with another American tale, also told in Janice Tranter's essay on the Sisters of St Jospeh in Australia, of a Sister from the order who was executed by Shining Path guerillas in Peru. Yet another moving narrative is Anne-Maree (sic) Whitaker’s story of the Irish convict priests and rebels who founded the Catholic Church in Australia.

Religion in Australia: Sociological Perspectives

Introduction - recent studies in the sociology of religion in Australia, Alan W.Black the social construction of the Catholic Church in Australia, Rowan Ireland and Paul Rule Anglicanism and gender in Australian society, Ruth Sturmey conflicting discourses - attitudes to the ordination of women in the Anglican Church in Australia, Barbara L.Field inequality, belonging and religion in a rural community, Ken Dempsey social factors and individual preferences for images of God, Tricia Blombery types of faith and the decline of mainline churches, Philip J.Hughese Australian Pentecostalism in comparative perspective, Alan W.Black by what authority? an analysis of the locus of ultimate authority in ecclesiastical organizations, Gary D.Bouma radical subjectivity in self-religions and the problem of authority, Rachael Kohn Aboriginal religions in time and space, Tony Swain religious conflict and integration among some ethnic Christian groups, Jim McKay and Frank Lewis Islam immigrants and the state religion and cultural politics in Australia, Michael Humphrey.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:Nahmana Avigadh: Hebrew Bullae from the Time of Jeremiah:‐ Remnants of a Burnt ArchiveMartin Goodman: The Ruling Class of Judaea: The Origins of the Jewish Revolt Against Rome, A.D. 66–70. CambridgeJoseph P. Lynch: Godparents and Kinship in Early Medieval EuropeMichael Mullett: Popular Culture and Popular Protest in Late Medieval and Early Modern EuropeCarol Zaleski: Otherworld Journeys: Accounts of Near‐Death Experience in Medieval and Modern Times orna Jane Abray: The People's Reformation: Magistrates, Clergy, and Commons in Strasbourg, 1500–1598J. Denny Weaver: Becoming AnabaptistRonald B. Bond: Certain Sermons or Homilies (1547) and A Homily against Disobedience and Wilful Rebellion (1570): A Critical EditionG. J. R. Parry: Protestant Vision: William Harrison and the Reformation of the Elizabethan ChurchDavid Berman: A History of Atheism in Britain: From Hobbes to RussellStephen Judd and Kenneth Cable: Sydney Anglicans: A History of the DioceseAlan P. F. Sell: Defending and Declaring the Faith: Some Scottish Examples, 1860–1920Jill Roe: Beyond Belief Theosophy in Australia 1879–1939J. B. Gribble: Dark Deeds in a Sunny LandMichael Hogan: The Sectarian Strand: Religion in Australian SocietyPatrick P. Ford: The Socialist Trend in the Catholic Church in Australia and New Zealand, Melbourne, John XXIII Fellowship Co‐opW. D. Rubinstein (ed.): Jews in the Sixth Continent, Sydney, Allen and UnwinArvind Sharma (ed.): Women in World Religions

Reviews

Book reviews in this Article:Hans von Campenhausen: Tradition and Life in the ChurchRobert Meredith: The Politics of the Universe: Edward Beecher, Abolition and Orthodoxy.Bertram Wyatt‐Brown: Lewis Tappan and the Evangelical War against Slavery.Patrick O'Farrell: The Catholic Church in Australia: A Short History, 1788‐1967.Lillian G. Keys: Philip Viard, Bishop of Wellington.Peter G. Gowing: Islands Under the Cross, The Story of the Church in the Philippines.Kalman H. Silvert (Ed.): Churches and States: The Religious Institution and Modernization.

Catholic church history

Patrick O'Farrell: The Catholic Church in Australia, A Short History: 1788–1967, Nelson, Sydney, 1968, pp. 294, $1.75.

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:THE ROYAL POLICY OF RICHARD II: Absolutism in the Later Middle Ages. By Richard H. Jones,REVOLUTION POLITICKS: The Career of Daniel Finch, Second Earl of Nottingham, 1647–1730 By Henry Horwitz.THE ABERDEEN COALITION 1852–1855: A Study in Mid‐Nineteenth Century Politics. By J. B. Conacher.COMMUNISM IN EUROPE: Continuity, Change and the Sino‐Soviet Dispute. Edited by William E. GriffithPOLLBOOKS: How Victorians Voted. By J. R. Vincent.BRITAIN AND THE BALANCE OF POWER IN NORTH AMERICA 1815–1908. By Kenneth Bourne.AMERICA IN THE TWENTIETH CENTURY: A Study of the United States since 1917. By D. K. Adams.CHURCH WEALTH IN MEXICO: A Study of the ‘Juzgado de Capellanias’ in the Archbishoprics of Mexico 1800–1856. By Michael P. Costeloe,THE DYNAMIC OF MEXICAN NATIONALISM. By Frederick C. Turner.ASIAN FRONTIERS: Studies in a Continuing Problem. By Alastair Lamb.THE FIRST AFGHAN WAR 1838–1842. By J. A. Norris.AFGHANISTAN 1900–1923: A Diplomatic History. By Ludwig W. Adamec.SOUNDINGS IN MODERN SOUTH ASIAN HISTORY. Edited by D. A. Low. Canberra,JAPAN'S RADIO WAR ON AUSTRALIA 1941–1945. By L. D. Meo. Melbourne,BRITISH SHIPPING AND AUSTRALIA 1920–1939. By Kevin Burley.THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AUSTRALIA: A Short History 1788–1967. By Patrick O'Farrell.SQUATTER, SELECTOR AND STOREKEEPER: A History of the Darling Downs 1859–1893. By D. B. Waterson.THE COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA: Origins and Early History. By Robin Gollan.THE BATTLE FOR THE BANKS. By A. L. May. Sydney,CONSCRIPTION IN AUSTRALIA. Edited by Roy Forward and Bob Reece.PROFESSOR OF DEMOCRACY: The Life of Charies Henry Pearson 1830–1894. Oxford Don and Australian Radical. By John Tregenza.A HANDBOOK OF AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS 1890–1964. Edited by C. A. Hughes and B. D. Graham.SPECIALISTS AND GENERALISTS: A Comparative Study of the Professional Civil Servant at Home and Abroad. Edited by F. F. Ridley.

Reviews

Australia. By Anthony Trollope. Edited by P. D. Edwards and R. B. Joyce. Queensland University Press, 1968. Pp. 792. Illustrated. $15. Martov. A Political Biography of a Russian Social Democrat. By Israel Getzler. Melbourne University Press 1967. Pp. viii + 246. $8.50. The Catholic Church in Australia. A Short History: 1788–1967. By Patrick O'Farrell. Nelson, Melbourne and Sydney, 1968. PP. x + 294. Illustrated. $1.75. Charles Perry, Bishop of Melbourne: The Challenges of a Colonial Episcopate, 1847–76. By A. de Q. Robin. University of Western Australia Press 1968. Pp. 229, illustrations and maps. $6.90. Russell Grimwade. By J. R. Poynter. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne 1967. Pp. xiv + 321. $8.35. ’The Eye and Ear’. The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital Centenary History. By Lyndsay Gardiner. Robertson and Mullens 1968. Pp. 114. Illustrated. $3.75. The Dawn of Australian Psychiatry. By John Bostock. Mervyn Archdall Medical Monograph Number 4. Australasian Medical Publishing Company, Sydney 1968. Pp. 219. $4.50. They Came for Sandalwood: A Study of the Sandalwood Trade in the South‐west Pacific 1830–1865. By Dorothy Shineberg. Melbourne University Press 1967. Pp. xiv + 299. $7.50. The Journal and Letters of Captain Charles Bishop on the North‐West Coast of America, in the Pacific and in New South Wales 1794–1799. Edited by Michael Roe. Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society 1967. Pp. lvi + 342, frontispiece, maps. 42s. stg. Squatter, Selector and Storekeeper. A History of the Darling Downs 1859–93. By D. B. Waterson, Sydney University Press 1968. Pp. 310. $7.00. The Australian Dream. By Ian Turner. Sun Books, Melbourne 1968. Pp. xx + 358. $2.50. The Colonial and Imperial Conferences, 1887–1911. A Study in Imperial Organization. By John Edward Kendle. Longmans, for the Royal Commonwealth Society, London 1967. Pp. xi + 264. 36s. stg. The Stock Exchange of Melbourne and the Victorian Economy 1852–1900. By A. R. Hall. Australian National University Press, Canberra 1968. Pp. xiii + 267. $7.95. Australians and the Gold Rush. California and Down Under 1849–1854. By Jay Monaghan. University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles 1966. Pp. 317. $ U.S.6.50. ’Per Quale Iddio’: Machiavelli's Second Thoughts. By R. M. Crawford. Sydney University Press for the Australian Humanities Research Council, Sydney 1967. Pp. 24. 75c. Australia Since Federation: A Narrative and Critical Analysis. By Fred Alexander. Nelson, Melbourne 1967. Pp. xi + 352, illustrated. $4.95. Conscription in Australia. Edited by Roy Forward and Bob Reece. University of Queensland Press 1869. Pp. xii + 284, 24 tables. $4.50. The End of Sukarno: A Coup That Failed: A Purge That Ran Wild. By John Hughes. Angus and Robertson (U.K.), London 1968, Pp. x + 304. $4.95. The Tasmanians. The Story of a Doomed Race. By Robert Travers. Cassell, Melbourne 1968. Pp. 244. $4.50.