fbpx
Wikipedia

Catholic Church in Australia

The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See. From origins as a suppressed, mainly Irish minority in early colonial times, the church has grown to be the largest Christian denomination in Australia, with a culturally diverse membership of around 5,075,907 people, representing about 20% of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 ABS Census data.[1]


Catholic Church in Australia
TypeNational polity
ClassificationCatholic
OrientationLatin
ScriptureBible
TheologyCatholic theology
PolityEpiscopal
GovernanceAustralian Catholic Bishops' Conference
PopePope Francis
President of ACBCTimothy Costelloe SDB
RegionAustralia
LanguageEnglish, Latin
Origin1788
Sydney, New South Wales
Number of followers5,886,980 (2021)
Official websitecatholic.org.au
People who identify as Catholic as a percentage of the total population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area, as of the 2011 census
Mary MacKillop, co-founder of the Josephite Sisters became Australia's first canonised saint in October 2010.

The church is the largest non-government provider of welfare and education services in Australia.[2] Catholic Social Services Australia aids some 450,000 people annually, while the St Vincent de Paul Society's 40,000 members form the largest volunteer welfare network in the country. In 2016, the church had some 760,000 students in more than 1,700 schools.[3][4][5]

The church in Australia has five provinces: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. It has 35 dioceses, comprising geographic areas as well as the military diocese and dioceses for the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite and Ukrainian rites.[6] The national assembly of bishops is the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC).[7] There are a further 175 Catholic religious orders operating in Australia, affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia.[6][7] One Australian has been recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church: Mary MacKillop, who co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart ("Josephite") religious institute in the 19th century.[8]

Demographics Edit

 
Major religious affiliations in Australia by census year[9]

Since the 1980s, Catholicism has been largest Christian denomination in Australia constituting around one quarter of the overall population becoming slightly larger than the Anglican and Uniting churches combined. Up until the 2016 census, adherents had been recorded as growing both numerically and as a percentage of the population, however the 2016 census found a fall in both overall numbers and the percentage of Catholics as a proportion of Australia: with 5,291,839 Australian Catholics (around 22.6% of the population) in 2016 down from 5,439,257 in the 2011 census (25.3% of the population).[10][11] This was repeated again in 2021, with the numbers dropping to 5,075,907 people, representing about 18.9% of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 ABS Census data.[1]

Until the 1986 census, Australia's most populous Christian church was the Anglican Church of Australia. Since then Catholics have outnumbered Anglicans by an increasing margin. The change is partly explained by changes in immigration patterns.[12][13] Before the Second World War, the majority of immigrants to Australia came from the United Kingdom and most Catholic immigrants came from Ireland. After the war, Australia's immigration diversified and more than 6.5 million migrants arrived in the following 60 years, including more than a million Catholics from Italy, Malta, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Croatia and Hungary.[13]

At the 2016 Census, the ancestries that Australian Catholics most identified with were English (1.49 million), Australian (1.12 million), Irish (577,000), Italian (567,000) and Filipino (181,000).

Despite a growing population of Catholics, weekly Mass attendance has declined from an estimated 74% in the mid-'50s to around 14% in 2006.[14][15]

There are seven archdioceses and 32 dioceses, with an estimated 3,000 priests and 9,000 men and women in institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, including six dioceses which cover the whole country: one each for those who belong to the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite, Syro-Malabar and Ukrainian rites and one for those serving in the Australian Defence Forces. There is also a personal ordinariate for former Anglicans which has a similar status to a diocese.[16][17]

State/Territory[18] % 2016 % 2011 % 2006 % 2001
Australian Capital Territory 22.3 26.1 28.0 29.1
New South Wales 24.7 27.5 28.2 28.9
Northern Territory 19.9 21.6 21.1 22.2
Queensland 21.7 23.8 24.0 24.8
South Australia 18.0 19.9 20.2 20.8
Tasmania 15.6 17.9 18.4 19.3
Total 22.6 25.3 25.8 26.6
Victoria 23.2 26.7 27.5 28.4
Western Australia 21.4 23.6 23.7 24.7

History Edit

Arrival and suppression Edit

Since time immemorial, indigenous people in Australia had performed the rites and rituals of the animist religions of the Dreamtime. Among the first Catholics known to have sighted Australia were the crew of a Spanish expedition of 1605–6. In 1606, the expedition's leader, Pedro Fernandez de Quiros landed in the New Hebrides, believing it to be the fabled southern continent. He named the land Austrialis del Espiritu Santo Southern Land of the Holy Spirit.[19][20] Later that year, his deputy Luís Vaz de Torres sailed through the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea.[21]

The permanent presence of Catholicism in Australia came rather with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788. One-tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic, and at least half of them were born in Ireland.[13] A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic.

Just as the British were setting up the new colony, French captain Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse arrived off Botany Bay with two ships.[22][23][24] La Pérouse was 6 weeks in Botany Bay, where the French, besides other things, held Catholic Masses.[25] The crew conducted the first Catholic burial, that of Father Louis Receveur, a Franciscan friar who died while the ships were at anchor at Botany Bay.[26]

Some of the Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland, so the authorities were suspicious of Catholicism for the first three decades of settlement.[27]

Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans.[28] The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 – James Harold,[29] James Dixon and Peter O'Neill, who had been convicted for "complicity" in the Irish 1798 Rebellion. Fr Dixon was conditionally emancipated and permitted to celebrate Mass.[30] On 15 May 1803, in vestments made from curtains and with a chalice made of tin, he conducted the first Catholic Mass in "New South Wales".[28] The Irish-led Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and Dixon's permission to celebrate Mass was revoked. Fr Jeremiah O' Flinn,[31] an Irish Cistercian monk, was appointed as Prefect Apostolic of New Holland and set out from Britain for the colony, uninvited. Watched by authorities, Flynn secretly performed priestly duties before being arrested and deported to London. Reaction to the affair in Britain led to two further priests being allowed to travel to the colony in 1820 – John Joseph Therry and Philip Conolly.[27] The foundation stone for the first St Mary's Church, was laid on 29 October 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie.

The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities of Catholics in Britain and the difficult position of Ireland within the British Empire. The government therefore endorsed the English Benedictine monks to lead the early church in the colony.[32] The Reverend William Bernard Ullathorne (1806–1889) was instrumental in influencing Pope Gregory XVI to establish the hierarchy in Australia. Ullathorne was in Australia from 1833 to 1836 as vicar-general to Bishop William Morris of Mauritius, whose jurisdiction extended over the Australian missions.

Emancipation and growth Edit

 
Catholic humanitarian Caroline Chisholm.

The Church of England was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales by the Church Act of 1836, which also provided equal funding of Protestant and Catholic churches.[33] Drafted by the Catholic attorney-general John Plunkett, the Act established legal equality for Anglicans, Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists. Nevertheless, social attitudes were slow to change. A laywoman, Caroline Chisholm (1808–1877), faced discouragements and anti-Catholic feeling when she sought to establish a migrant women's shelter, and worked for women's welfare in the colonies in the 1840s, though her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony.[34]

 
St Aloysius Church, Sevenhill, South Australia. The Jesuits were the first order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory – Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east.
 
St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne

The church's most prominent early leader was John Bede Polding, a Benedictine monk who was Sydney's first bishop (and then archbishop) from 1835 to 1877. Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in 1838. While tensions arose between the English Benedictine hierarchy and the Irish, Ignatian-tradition religious institute from the start, the sisters set about pastoral care in a women's prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women. In 1847, two sisters transferred to Hobart and established a school.[35] The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states, beginning with St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in 1857 as a free hospital for all people, but especially for the poor.[36]

At Polding's request, the Christian Brothers arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools. Again jurisdictional tensions arose and the brothers returned to Ireland. In 1857, Polding founded an Australian religious institute in the Benedictine tradition – the Sisters of the Good Samaritan – to work in education and social work.[37] While Polding was in office, construction began on the ambitious Gothic Revival designs for St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, and the final St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney.

Establishing themselves first at Sevenhill, in the newly established colony of South Australia in 1848, the Jesuits were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and the Northern Territory – Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east. The goldrush saw an increase in the population and prosperity of the colonies and called for an increase in the number of episcopal sees. When gold was discovered in late 1851, there were an estimated 9,000 Catholics in the Colony of Victoria, increasing to 100,000 by the time the Jesuits arrived 14 years later. While the Austrian priests traversed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools, the Irish priests arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools of Xavier College in Melbourne and in Sydney St Aloysius' College and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview – which each survive to the present.[38]

Despite anti-Irish lobbying by English Catholic bishops and the British government, Irish cleric Patrick Francis Moran won the favour of Pope Leo XIII and was appointed Archbishop of Sydney in 1884, arriving in New South Wales on 8 September. A prominent figure in Australian Catholic history, he became Australia's first cardinal the following year after being summoned back to Rome, and presided over Plenary Councils of Australasia in 1885, 1895 and 1905 which laid the foundations for Church structure in the 20th century.[39] The Australian colonies had hitherto relied heavily on immigrant clergy. In 1889, Moran founded St Patrick's College, Manly, intended to provide priests for all the colonies. Moran believed that Catholics' political and civil rights were threatened in Australia and, in 1896, saw deliberate discrimination in a situation where "no office of first, or even second, rate importance is held by a Catholic".[40]

In Rome in 1884, Moran had met the Venerable Mary Potter and invited her to send a group of her newly established Little Company of Mary sisters to Australia in order to establish a local congregation. Six pioneering sisters arrived in Sydney in November 1885, commencing work caring for the sick and dying. Establishing a convent at Lewishman, they had nearly fifty members within just five years. In 1889 they opened a small hospital at Lewisham. Under the leadership of Mother Mary Xavier Lynch from 1899, the hospital would grow to be one of Sydney's leading general hospitals and nursing schools.[41] Mother Mary Xavier established a new hospital at Adelaide in 1900 and Wagga Wagga in 1926, and despatched sisters to found hospitals in New Zealand and South Africa.[41] In 1922 she became the order's first provincial of Australasia, and is remembered as one of Australia's most noted hospital and nursing administrators.[42]

The Catholic Church also became involved in mission work among the Aboriginal people of Australia during the 19th century as Europeans came to control much of the continent.[43] According to Aboriginal anthropologist Kathleen Butler-McIlwraith, there were many occasions when the Catholic Church attempted to advocate for Aboriginal rights, but the missionaries were also "functionaries of the Protection and Assimilation policies" of the government and so "directly contributed to the current disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians".[44][45] The missionaries themselves argued that they protected children from dysfunctional aspects of indigenous culture.[46]

With the withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880, the Catholic Church, unlike other Australian churches, put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education. It was largely staffed by sisters, brothers and priests of religious institutes, such as the Christian Brothers (who had returned to Australia in 1868); the Sisters of Mercy (who had arrived in Perth in 1846); Marist Brothers, who came from France in 1872; and the Sisters of St Joseph, founded in Australia by Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods in 1867.[47][48][49] MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia and established schools, convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the institute rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite religious institute. MacKillop administered the Josephites as a national religious institute at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies. She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010.[50] Catholic schools flourished in Australia and by 1900 there were 115 Christian Brothers teaching in Australia. By 1910 there were 5000 religious sisters teaching in schools.[27]

Federation Edit

 
Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran was an advocate for Federation
 
James Scullin of the Australian Labor Party was the first Catholic to become a Prime Minister of Australia
 
United Australia Party prime minister Joseph Lyons pictured with wife Enid Lyons, both of whom were important figures in the foundation of modern Australian conservatism

The Australian Constitution of 1901 guaranteed Freedom of Religion and the separation of church and state throughout Australia. Australia's first Catholic cardinal, Patrick Francis Moran (1830–1911), had been a proponent of Australian Federation but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England. He was criticised in The Bulletin for speaking against racist immigration laws and he alarmed Catholic conservatives by supporting Trade Unionism and the newly formed Australian Labor Party.[51]

The Catholic Church was rooted in the working class Irish communities. Moran, the Archbishop of Sydney from 1884 to 1911, believed that Catholicism would flourish with the emergence of the new nation through Federation in 1901, provided that his people rejected "contamination" from foreign influences such as anarchism, socialism, modernism and secularism. Moran distinguished between European socialism as an atheistic movement and those Australians calling themselves "socialists"; he approved of the objectives of the latter while feeling that the European model was not a real danger in Australia. Moran's outlook reflected his wholehearted acceptance of Australian democracy and his belief in the country as different and freer than the old societies from which its people had come.[52] Moran thus welcomed the Labor Party and the Catholic Church stood with it in opposing conscription in the referendums of 1916 and 1917.[53] The hierarchy had close ties to Rome, which encouraged the bishops to support the British Empire and emphasize Marian piety.[54]

Between the Wars Edit

Another Irish cleric, Archbishop Daniel Mannix (1864–1963) of Melbourne, was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British Empire policy in Ireland. He was also a fervent critic of contraception. In 1920, the Royal Navy prevented him landing in his Irish homeland.[55] Yet despite early 20th century sectarian feeling, Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, James Scullin, of the Australian Labor Party in 1929 – decades before the Protestant majority of the United States would elect John F. Kennedy as its first Catholic president.[56] His successor, Joseph Lyons, a devout Irish Catholic, split from Labor to form the fiscally conservative United Australia Party – predecessor to the modern Liberal Party of Australia. His wife, Dame Enid Lyons, a Catholic convert, became the first female member of the Australian House of Representatives and later first female member of cabinet in the Menzies Government.[57] With the place of Catholics in the British Empire still complicated by the recent Irish War of Independence and centuries of imperial rivalry with Catholic European nations, as prime minister, Lyons travelled to London in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee celebrations of King George V and faced anti-Catholic demonstrations in Edinburgh, then visited his ancestral homeland of Ireland and also had an audience with the Pope in Rome.[58]

The Australian congregation known as Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor was founded by Melbourne born mystic Eileen Rosaline O'Connor and Fr Edward McGrath in a rented home at Coogee in 1913. The deeply religious youth had suffered a damaged spine when she was three years old and lived in a wheelchair with a painful disability. The parish priest of Coogee Fr Edward McGrath had found accommodation for her widowed mother and family, and been impressed by her courage. O'Connor told McGrath that she had experienced a visitation from Mary, and McGrath shared with her his hope to establish a congregation of nurse to serve the poor. Eventually, a group of seven lay-women gathered around O'Connor and elected her as their first superior. Directed by the largely bed-ridden O'Connor, they visited the sick poor and nursed the frail aged. O'Connor died in 1921 of chronic tuberculosis of the spine and exhaustion. She was 28.[59] Initially a lay-group, the Our Lady's Nurses for the Poor later formed themselves into a religious community of sisters under vows, and their work continues in Sydney, Newcastle, and Macquarie Fields. In 2018, Australia's bishops voted to initiate her cause for sainthood, and the Holy See granted her the title Servant of God.[60]

In October 1916, the Catholic Women's Social Guild (now Catholic Women's League) was formed in Fitzroy, Victoria, and Dr Mary Glowrey became the inaugural president.[61] Dr Glowrey was one of the first women to study medicine at Melbourne University, and later went to India to become a missionary nun, founding the largest non-government healthcare system in that country. She was accorded the title Servant of God in 2013, and her cause for sainthood is underway.[62]

The Australian Army Chaplains Department was promulgated in 1913, and 86 Catholic chaplains went on to serve in the army during World War One. As well as conducting church parades and religious services, chaplains organised activities to improve the morale and welfare of the troops. Fr John Fahey from Perth was the longest-serving front-line chaplain of the conflict. Assigned to the 11th battalion, he was the first chaplain ashore on Gallipoli, after disregarding orders to stay on the ship.[63]

During the Second World War, the Australian administered Territory of New Guinea was invaded by Japanese forces. Some 333 Martyrs of New Guinea are remembered from all denominations during WW2, including 197 Catholics.[64] On Rabaul, Australians and Europeans found refuge at the Vunapope Catholic Mission, until the Japanese overwhelmed the island and took them prisoner in 1942. The local Bishop Leo Scharmach, a Pole, convinced the Japanese that he was German and to spare the internees. A group of indigenous Daughters of Mary Immaculate (FMI Sisters) then refused to give up their faith or abandon the Australians and are credited with keeping hundreds of internees alive for three and half years by growing food and delivering it to them over gruelling distances. Some of the Sisters were tortured by the Japanese and gave evidence during war crimes trials after the war.[65] Indigenous Rabaul man Peter To Rot found himself in charge of the Mission at Rakunai after the internment of the Europeans. He took on their work of teaching the faith, presiding over baptisms, prayer and marriages and caring for the sick and POWs. When the Japanese outlawed these practices, he continued them in secret, was exposed by a collaborator, and sent to labour camp where he was executed. Pope John Paul II declared him a martyr in 1993 and beatified him in 1995.[66]

Post War Immigration: A more diverse Church Edit

Until about 1950, the Catholic Church in Australia was overwhelmingly Irish in its ethos. Most Catholics were descendants of Irish immigrants and the church was mostly led by Irish-born priests and bishops.[67] A number of rural areas had high proportions of Irish and a strongly Catholic culture.[68] From 1950 the ethnic composition of the church began to change, with the assimilation of Irish Australians and the arrival of Eastern European Displaced Persons from 1948[69] and more than one million Catholics from countries such as Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Germany, Croatia and Hungary, and later Filipinos, Vietnamese, Lebanese and Poles around the 1980s. There are now also strong Chinese, Korean and Hispanic Catholic communities.[13][70]

For a long time, Irish-Australians had a close political association with the Labor Party.[71] The changing ethnic composition of Australian Catholicism and shifting political allegiances of Australian Catholics saw Catholic layman B.A. Santamaria, the son of Italian immigrants, lead a movement of working class Catholics against Communism in Australia and the formation of his Democratic Labor Party (DLP) in 1955. The DLP was formed over concerns of Communist influence over the trade unions and Labor Party. The movement was not approved by the Vatican, but it siphoned a proportion of the Catholic vote away from the Labor Party, contributing to the success of the newly formed Liberal Party of Robert Menzies, which held power from 1949 to 1972, which, in return for DLP preferences, secured state aid for Catholic schools in Australia in 1963.[72] Along with a sharp decline in sectarianism in post-1960s Australia, sectarian loyalty to political parties has diminished and Catholics have been well represented within the conservative Liberal and National parties. Brendan Nelson became the first Catholic to lead the Liberal Party in 2007. Former prime minister Tony Abbott is a former seminarian who won the party leadership after defeating two other Catholic candidates for the post.[73] In 2008, Tim Fischer, a Catholic and former deputy prime minister in the Howard government, was nominated by the Labor prime minister, Kevin Rudd, as the first resident Australian ambassador to the Holy See since 1973, when diplomatic relations with the Vatican and Australia were first established.[74]

Post Second Vatican Council Edit

Since the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s, the Australian church has experienced a decline in vocations to the religious life, leading to a priest shortage. On the other hand, Catholic education under lay leadership has expanded, and about 20% of Australian school students attend a Catholic school.[5] While the numbers of nuns serving in Australian health facilities declined, the church maintained a strong presence in health care. The Sisters of Charity continued their mission among the sick, opening Australia's first HIV AIDS ward at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in the 1980s.[75] Declining vocations and increasing complexities in the health care technologies and management saw religious institutes like the Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy amalgamating their efforts and divesting themselves of daily management of hospitals.[76]

Following Vatican II, new styles of ministry were tried by Australian religious. Some rose to national prominence. Fr Ted Kennedy began one such ministry in Sydney's inner city Redfern presbytery in 1971 – an area with a large Aboriginal population. Working closely with Catholic Aboriginal laywoman "Mum" Shirl Smith, he developed a theology which held that the poor had special insights into the meaning of Christianity, worked as an advocate for Aboriginal rights and often challenged the civil and church establishment on questions of conscience.[77] In 1989, Jesuit lawyer Fr Frank Brennan AO founded Uniya, a centre for social justice and human rights research, advocacy, education and networking. Uniya focused much of its attention on the plight of refugees, asylum seekers, and Indigenous reconciliation. In 1991, Fr Chris Riley formed Youth Off The Streets, a community organisation working for young people who are "chronically homeless, drug dependent and recovering from abuse". Originally a food van in Sydney's King's Cross, it has grown to be one of the largest youth services in Australia, offering crisis accommodation, residential rehabilitation, clinical services and counselling, outreach programs, drug and alcohol rehabilitation, specialist Aboriginal services, education and family support.[78] Melbourne priest Father Bob Maguire began parish work in the 1960s, but became a youth media personality in 2004 with the beginning of a series of collaborations with irreverent satirist John Safran on SBS TV and Triple J radio.[79][80]

The year 1970 saw the first visit to Australia by a Pope, Paul VI.[81] Pope John Paul II was the next Pope to visit Australia in 1986. At Alice Springs, the Pope made an historic address to indigenous Australians, in which he praised the enduring qualities of Aboriginal culture, lamented the effects of dispossession of and discrimination; called for acknowledgment of Aboriginal land rights and reconciliation in Australia; and said that the church in Australia would not reach its potential until Aboriginal people had made their "contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others".[82]

In 1988, the Archbishop of Sydney, Edward Bede Clancy was created a cardinal and during the Australian Bicentenary celebrations led the religious ceremonies for the opening of Parliament House, Canberra. Pope John Paul II visited Australia for the second time in 1995, to perform the rite of beatification for Mary MacKillop, founder of Australia's Josephite Sisters, before a crowd of 250,000.

From the late 1980s, cases of abuse within the Catholic Church and other child care institutions began to be exposed in Australia. In 1996, the church issued a document, Towards Healing, which it described as seeking to "establish a compassionate and just system for dealing with complaints of abuse".[83] In 2001, an apostolic exhortation from Pope John Paul II condemned incidents of sex abuse in Oceania.[84] Impetus for the Towards Healing protocols was in part led by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who would later call for large scale systemic reform of the church globally in his 2007 book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus.[85] The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference did not endorse the book. Pat Power, the Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra & Goulburn, wrote in 2002 that "the current crisis around sexual abuse is the greatest since the Reformation. At stake is the Church's moral authority, its credibility, its ability to interpret the 'signs of the times' and its capacity to confront the ensuing questions."[citation needed] Pope Benedict XVI officially apologised to victims during World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney and celebrated a Mass with four victims of clerical sexual abuse in the chapel of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, and listened to their stories.[86]

 
Pope Benedict XVI arriving at Barangaroo, Sydney, for World Youth Day 2008

In 2001, in Rome, Pope John Paul II apologised to Aboriginal and other indigenous people in Oceania for past injustices by the church: "Aware of the shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania, the Synod Fathers apologised unreservedly for the part played in these by members of the church, especially where children were forcibly separated from their families." Church leaders in Australia called on the Australian government to offer a similar apology.[87]

In 2001, George Pell became the eighth Archbishop of Sydney and, in 2003, became a cardinal. Pell supported Sydney's bid to host World Youth Day 2008. In July 2008, Sydney hosted the massive youth festival led by Pope Benedict XVI.[88][89] Around 500,000 welcomed the pope to Sydney and 270,000 watched the Stations of the Cross. More than 300,000 pilgrims camped out overnight in preparation for the final Mass,[90] where final attendance was between 300,000 and 400,000 people.[91][92][93]

In February 2010, Pope Benedict XVI announced that Mary MacKillop would be recognised as the first Australian saint of the Catholic Church.[94] She was canonised on 17 October 2010 during a public ceremony in St Peter's Square. An estimated 8,000 Australians were present in the Vatican City to witness the ceremony.[95] The Vatican Museum held an exhibition of Aboriginal art to honour the occasion titled "Rituals of Life".[96] The exhibition contained 300 artefacts which were on display for the first time since 1925.[97]

In the late 20th and early 21st century, Catholicism in Australia has been growing numerically, while remaining relatively stable as a proportion of the population and facing a long-term decline in numbers of people following vocations to the religious life. In 2016, the Catholic education sector ran 1,738 schools, accounting for some 20.2% of Australian school students.[5][98] There were also two Catholic universities – University of Notre Dame Australia and the Australian Catholic University. Catholic Social Services Australia, the church's peak national body for social services, had 52 member organisations providing services to hundreds of thousands of people each year.[99] Catholic Health Australia was the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community, and aged care services.[100]

The church was among the secular and religious institutions examined at the 2013-2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which reported that abuse cases by Catholic personnel had peaked in the 1970s, with around 4400 cases and alleged cases over the 6 decades prior to the inquiry. In 2017, there were 5.5 million Australian Catholics.[101][102][103] Gerard Henderson stated that statistics presented to the Royal Commission indicated that children were safer in a Catholic religious institution in Australia during the years studied than in any other religious institution (state institutions were not studied, so a statistical comparison could not be made).[104]

Social and political engagement Edit

 
St Vincent de Paul Society Opportunity shop in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

Introduction Edit

Catholic people and charitable organisations, hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education in Australia ever since colonial times[105] when Catholic laywoman Caroline Chisholm helped single, migrant women and rescued homeless girls in Sydney.[106] In his welcoming address to the Catholic World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, the prime minister, Kevin Rudd, said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia: "It was the church that began first schools for the poor, it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor, it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future".[107]

Welfare Edit

A number of Catholic organisations are providers of social welfare services (including residential aged care and the Job Network) and education in Australia. Australia-wide these include: Centacare, CatholicCare Caritas Australia, Jesuit Refugee Service, St Vincent de Paul Society, Youth Off The Streets. Two religious institutes founded in Australia which engaged in welfare and charity work are the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.[27] Many international Catholic religious institutes also work in welfare, such as the Little Sisters of the Poor who work in aged care. Catholic Social Services Australia is the peak body for Catholic welfare agencies and has 54 member organisations in metropolitan, regional and remote Australia.[108][109] Members include diocesan-based Centacare and CatholicCare agencies and those under the stewardship of religious orders.

Health Edit

 
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in the 1900s.

Catholic Health Australia is the largest non-government provider grouping of health, community and aged care services in Australia. These do not operate for profit and range across the full spectrum of health services, representing about 10% of the health sector and employing 35,000 people.[110]

Religious institutes founded many of Australia's hospitals. Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in Sydney in 1838 and established St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, in 1857 as a free hospital for the poor. The Sisters went on to found hospitals, hospices, research institutes and aged care facilities in Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania.[111] At St Vincent's they trained leading surgeon Victor Chang and opened Australia's first AIDS clinic.[112] In the 21st century, with more and more lay people involved in management, the sisters began collaborating with Sisters of Mercy Hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney. Jointly the group operates four public hospitals, seven private hospitals and 10 aged care facilities.

The English Sisters of the Little Company of Mary arrived in 1885 and have since established public and private hospitals, retirement living and residential aged care, community care and comprehensive palliative care in New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia, Queensland (Cairns) and the Northern Territory.[113]

The Little Sisters of the Poor, who follow the charism of Saint Jeanne Jugan to "offer hospitality to the needy aged", arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and now operate four aged care homes in Australia.[114]

In 1895, Perth's Bishop Matthew Gibney sent a request for help to the Sisters of St John of God in Wexford, Ireland to care for people suffering from typhoid fever during the 1890s gold rush. They established a hospital in Kalgoorlie in the late 1890s, followed shortly by another in the Perth suburb of Subiaco.[115] These services developed into St John of God Health Care, which now operates 24 hospitals and facilities across Western Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand.

Education Edit

 
The historic observatory at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview was founded by the distinguished Jesuit scientist Edward Francis Pigot in 1908.[116]

By 1833, there were around ten Catholic schools in the Australian colonies.[27] Today one in five Australian students attend Catholic schools.[5] There are over 1700 Catholic schools in Australia with more than 750,000 students enrolled, employing almost 60,000 teachers.[117] Mary MacKillop was a 19th-century Australian religious sister who founded an educational religious institute, the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.[118] Other Catholic religious institutes involved in education in Australia have included: Sisters of Mercy, Marist Brothers, Christian Brothers, Loreto Sisters, Benedictine Sisters and Jesuits.

As with other classes of non-government schools in Australia, Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government.[119] Church schools range from elite, high cost schools (which generally offer extensive bursary programs for low-income students) to low-fee local schools. Notable schools include the Jesuit colleges of St Aloysius and Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview in Sydney, Saint Ignatius' College, Adelaide and Xavier College in Melbourne; the Marist Brothers St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, the Christian Brothers' High School, Lewisham, the Society of the Sacred Heart's Rosebay Kincoppal School, the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary's Loreto Kirribilli, the Sisters of Mercy's Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College, the Christian Brothers' St Edmund's College, Canberra and Aquinas College, Perth – however, the list and range of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Australia is long and diverse and extends throughout metropolitan, regional and remote Australia: see Catholic Schools in Australia

The Australian Catholic University opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia. These institutions had their origins in the 1800s, when religious institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals.[120] The University of Notre Dame Australia opened in Western Australia in December 1989 and now has over 9,000 students on three campuses in Fremantle, Sydney and Broome.[121]

Politics Edit

 
Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British policy in Ireland.

Church leaders have often involved themselves in political issues in areas they consider relevant to Christian teachings. In early Colonial times, Catholicism was restricted but Church of England clergy worked closely with the governors.[122] Early Catholic missionary William Ullathorne criticised the convict system, publishing a pamphlet, The Horrors of Transportation Briefly Unfolded to the People, in Britain in 1837.[123] Sydney's first archbishop, John Bede Polding, was influential in the preparation of the Australian bishops' pastoral letter on Aboriginal People in 1869 which advocated for Aboriginal rights and dignity.[124]

Australia's first Catholic cardinal, Patrick Francis Moran (1830–1911), was politically active. He was a proponent of Australian Federation; he denounced anti-Chinese legislation as "unchristian" and opposed antisemitism. He became an advocate for women's suffrage and he stood for election to the Australasian Federal Convention in 1897, but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England. He alarmed conservatives by supporting trade unionism and "Australian socialism".[51] Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British policy in Ireland.[55]

Mum (Shirl) Smith, a celebrated Redfern community worker, assisted by the Sisters of Charity, worked in the courts and organised prison visitations, medical and social assistance for Aboriginal People.[125] Fr Ted Kennedy of Redfern[77] and Fr Frank Brennan, a Jesuit, have been high-profile Catholic priests engaged in the cause of Aboriginal rights.[126][127][128]

In 1999, Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy wrote to the then prime minister, John Howard, urging him to send an armed peacekeeping force to East Timor to end the violence engulfing that country.[129] In 2006, an Australian Greens senator, Kerry Nettle, called on the health minister, Tony Abbott, to refrain from debating the abortion drug RU486 because he was Catholic.[130] Cardinal George Pell concerned himself publicly with traditional issues of Christian doctrine, such as supporting marriage and opposing abortion, but also raised questions about government policies such as the Work Choices industrial relations reforms and the mandatory detention of asylum seekers.[131][132]

 
Dame Roma Mitchell.
Australian Catholic politicians

Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister, James Scullin of the Australian Labor Party in 1929.[56] He was succeeded by Joseph Lyons of the United Australia Party who was prime minister from 1932 to 1939, and remains Australia's longest serving Catholic prime minister. The first woman elected to the House of Representatives was his wife, Enid Lyons (United Australia Party), who was a Catholic convert.[133] Australian Catholic women have achieved a number of significant milestones in the history of Australian politics. The first woman to be elected as leader of a state or territory was Catholic Rosemary Follett, who won the first ACT election in 1989.[134] The first woman Premier of NSW was Labor's Kristina Keneally, a Catholic with a Master's degree in Catholic systemic theology.[135] Dame Roma Mitchell, a devout Catholic, served as Governor of South Australia from 1991-1996, the first woman to be appointed governor of an Australian state. Dame Roma had also been a Supreme Court Judge, University Chancellor, Human Rights campaigner and advocate for Aboriginal people. Following her death, the ABC reported "Those who were close to Dame Roma Mitchell say her deep Catholic faith guided every aspect of her life, giving her the strength and ambition to campaign for social change and her philosophy of generosity and kindness".[136]

The Australian Labor Party had largely been supported by Catholics until layman B. A. Santamaria formed the Democratic Labor Party over concerns of Communist influence over the trade union movement in the 1950s.[137] The war-time prime minister, John Curtin (Labor), was raised Catholic. Ben Chifley (Labor) also served as prime minister from 1945 to 1949. In more recent decades, Catholics have led all major parties and served as Prime Ministers and Opposition leader. Labor prime ministers Paul Keating (1991–1996) and Kevin Rudd (2007–2010, 2013) were both raised Catholic (though Rudd now identifies as an Anglican). Tim Fischer was Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party between 1996 and 1999, was a practising Catholic and later served as the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See between 2008 and 2012.[138]

The three Liberal Party Leaders of the Opposition between 2007-2013 - Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott - were all Catholics. Abbott brought the Party to office in 2013 and was succeeded by Turnbull as Prime Minister in 2015. As the connection of the conservative parties to Catholicism has increased in recent decades, so the formerly strong connection between Labor and Catholicism has waned. Nevertheless, since losing office in 2013, the Labor Party has been led by Jesuit educated Bill Shorten and the current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who describes himself as a "cultural Catholic".[139] Shorten, now an Anglican, wrote in his book The Common Good, that he is grateful for his Jesuit education and takes inspiration from the invocation of the Jesuit Pedro Arrupe to be "men for others".[140] Politicians including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, and NSW Premier John Fahey studied for the priesthood before politics. Michael Tate served as a minister in the Labor Hawke government and then, after politics, became a Catholic priest.[141]

Arts and culture Edit

 
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, interior.
 
St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, built to a design by William Wardell from a foundation stone laid in 1868.

Architecture Edit

See also

Most towns in Australia have at least one Christian church. St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, follows a conventional English cathedral plan, cruciform in shape, with a tower over the crossing of the nave and transepts and twin towers at the west front with impressive stained glass windows. With a length of 106.7 metres (350 ft) and a general width of 24.4 metres (80 ft), it is Sydney's largest church. Built to a design by William Wardell from a foundation stone laid in 1868, the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000. Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne – among the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Australia.[142][143] Wardell's overall design was in Gothic Revival style, paying tribute to the mediaeval cathedrals of Europe. Largely constructed between 1858 and 1897, the nave was Early English in style, while the remainder of the building is in Decorated Gothic.

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, has long been known as the City of Churches. North of Adelaide 130 kilometres (81 mi) is the Jesuit old stone winery and cellars at Sevenhill, founded by Austrian Jesuits in 1848.[144] A rare Australian example of Spanish missionary style exists at New Norcia, Western Australia, founded by Spanish Benedictine monks in 1846.[145][146] A number of notable Victorian era chapels and edifices were also constructed at church schools across Australia.

Along with community attitudes to religion, church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century. St Monica's Cathedral in Cairns was designed by architect Ian Ferrier and built in 1967–68 following the form of the original basilica model of the early churches of Rome, adapted to a tropical climate and to reflect the changes to Catholic liturgy mandated at Vatican II. The cathedral was dedicated as a memorial to the Battle of the Coral Sea which was fought east of Cairns in May 1942. The "Peace Window" stained glass was installed on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II.[147][148] In the later 20th century, distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as Jamberoo Benedictine Abbey, where natural materials were chosen to "harmonise with the local environment" and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest.[149] Similar design principles were applied at Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel built in the Snowy Mountains in 1996.[150]

Film and television Edit

Australian films on Catholic themes have included:

Television programs on Catholic themes have included:

  • Revelation (2020) directed by Nial Fulton and Sarah Ferguson. A three-part documentary on the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious brothers. Ferguson interviewed Father Vincent Ryan and Brother Bernard McGrath during their criminal trials in Sydney.
  • The Devil's Playground (2014), directed by Rachel Ward and Tony Krawitz and starring Simon Burke, John Noble, Don Hany, Jack Thompson and Toni Collette. The series picks up 35 years after the events of Fred Schepisi's film. Tom Allen, now in his 40s is a respected Sydney psychiatrist and father of two children. After accepting an offer to counselling priests, he uncovers a scandal.
  • Sisters of War (2010) is a telemovie based on the true story of two Australian women, Lorna Whyte, an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill, a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II.
  • Brides of Christ (1991), starring Naomi Watts and guest starring Russell Crowe, was a television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Set in a Sydney convent school, it dealt with the struggles of both the nuns and the young students to adapt to the many social changes taking place within the church and the outside world during the 1960s.
  • The Abbey (2007), an ABC documentary series filmed in the Jamberoo Benedictine Abbey, followed five women from very different backgrounds and with very different views about spirituality as they lived a 33-day program introduction to monastic living devised and implemented by the nuns.[151]

Coverage of religion is part of the ABC's Charter[citation needed] obligation to reflect the character and diversity of the Australian community. Its religious programs include coverage of Catholic (and other) worship and devotion, explanation, analysis, debate and reports.[152] Catholic Church Television Australia is an office with the Australian Catholic Office for Film & Broadcasting and develops television programs for Aurora Community Television on Foxtel and Austar in Australia.[153]

Literature Edit

 
Les Murray, Catholic poet (1938–2019)

The body of literature produced by Australian Catholics is extensive. During colonial times, the Benedictine missionary William Ullathorne (1806–1889) was a notable essayist writing against the Convict Transportation system. Later Cardinal Moran (1830–1911), a noted historian, wrote a History of the Catholic Church in Australasia.[28] More recent Catholic histories of Australia include The Catholic Church and Community in Australia (1977) by Patrick O'Farrell and Australian Catholics (1987) by Edmund Campion.

Notable Catholic poets have included Christopher Brennan (1870–1932); James McAuley (1917–1976);[154] Bruce Dawe (1930-2020) and Les Murray (1938–2019). Murray and Dawe were among Australia's foremost contemporary poets, noted for their use of vernacular and everyday Australian themes. Emblematic of the Christian poets could be McAuley's rejection of Modernism in favour of Classical culture:[155]

Christ, you walked on a sea
But you cannot walk in a poem,
Not in our century.
There's something deeply wrong
Either with us or with you.[156]

Many Australian writers have examined the lives of Christian characters, or have been influenced by Catholic schooling. Australia's best-selling novel of all time, The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough, writes of the temptations encountered by a priest living in the Outback. Many contemporary Australian writers have attended or taught at Catholic schools[citation needed]

Catholic news publications have existed since 1839.[157] They currently include: The Catholic Weekly from Sydney; The Catholic Leader, published by the Brisbane Archdiocese; and Eureka Street Magazine which is concerned with public affairs, arts, and theology and is run by the communication division of the Jesuit religious order.

Music Edit

St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney, is the oldest musical institution in Australia, from origins in 1817.[158] Major Catholic-raised recording artists from Johnny O'Keefe to Paul Kelly have recorded Christian spirituals. Paul Kelly's Meet Me in the Middle of the Air is based on Psalm 23.[159] Catholic nun Sister Janet Mead achieved significant mainstream chart success. New South Wales Supreme Court Judge George Palmer was commissioned to compose the setting of the Mass for Sydney's World Youth Day 2008 Papal Mass. The Mass, Benedictus Qui Venit, for large choir, soloists and orchestra, was performed in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and an audience of 350,000 with singing led by soprano Amelia Farrugia and tenor Andrew Goodwin. "Receive the Power", a song written by Guy Sebastian and Gary Pinto, was chosen as the official anthem for the XXIII World Youth Day (WYD08) held in Sydney in 2008.[160]

Australian Christmas carols like the Three Drovers or Christmas Day by John Wheeler and William G. James place the Christmas story in an Australian context of warm, dry Christmas winds and red dust and are popular at Catholic services. As the festival of Christmas falls during the Australian summer, Australians gather in large numbers for traditional open-air evening carol services and concerts in December, such as Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne and Carols in the Domain in Sydney.[161]

Art Edit

 
The chancel window of St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney depicts a vision of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary enthroned in Heaven.

The story of Christian art in Australia began with the arrival of the first British settlers at the end of the 18th century. During the 19th century, Gothic Revival cathedrals were built in the colonial capitals, often containing stained glass art works, as can be seen at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney, and St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne. Roy de Maistre (1894–1968) was an Australian abstract artist who obtained renown in Britain, converted to Catholicism and painted notable religious works, including a series of Stations of the Cross for Westminster Cathedral in London. Among the most acclaimed of Australian painters of Catholic themes was Arthur Boyd. He painted a Biblical series, and created tapestries of the life of St Francis of Assisi. Influenced by both the European masters and the Heidelberg School of Australian landscape art, he placed the central characters of the Bible within Australian bush scenery, as in his portrait of Adam and Eve, The Expulsion (1948).[162] The artist Leonard French, who designed a stained glass ceiling of the National Gallery of Victoria, has drawn heavily on Christian story and symbolism through his career.[163]

Saints and other venerated Australians Edit

Some of the Australians honoured by the Catholic Church to be saints or whose cause for canonisation is still being investigated include:

Saints Edit

Servants of God Edit

Other open causes Edit

Visits of saints' relics Edit

Australia has hosted the major relics of a number saints:

Visits by saints during their lifetime Edit

Organisation Edit

 
Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Brunswick East is part of the Melbourne archdiocese

Within Australia the church hierarchy is made of metropolitan archdioceses and suffragan sees. Each diocese has a bishop, while each archdiocese is served by an archbishop. Australia has no living members of the College of Cardinals following the death on 10 January 2023 of the previous Archbishop of Sydney, George Pell. The national assembly of bishops is the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference (ACBC), headed by Timothy Costelloe SDB, the Archbishop of Perth.[164] There are a further 175 autonomous Catholic religious orders operating in Australia, generally affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia, headed by Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ.[7]

The church in Australia has five provinces: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. There are seven archdioceses: Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Goulburn, Hobart, Melbourne and Perth. There are 35 dioceses, comprising geographic areas as well as the Australian Defence Force and dioceses for the Chaldean, Maronite, Melkite and Ukrainian rites.[6] There is also a personal ordinariate, principally for former Anglicans, which has a similar status to a diocese.[16][17] In 2017, there were an estimated 3,000 priests and 9,000 men and women in institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life.

Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Edit

The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is the national body of the bishops of Australia.[165] The Conference is headed by Perth Archbishop, Timothy Costelloe SDB. It is served by a secretariat, based in Canberra, under the management of the Reverend Brian Lucas. The conference meets at least annually.[166]

Archdioceses and dioceses Edit

Catholic Religious Australia Edit

Australia's autonomous Catholic religious orders are affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia (CRA), which is the public name of the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes (ACLRI). This is the peak body for leaders of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life resident in Australia. It represents more than 130 congregations of sisters, brothers and priests. It is established by the authority of the Holy See in Rome and is tasked with promoting, supporting and representing religious life in the Australian church and in the wider community and with facilitating co-ordination and co-operation of religious with church bodies and with other authorities including with episcopal conferences and with individual bishops.[167] The organisation is presently led by Josephite Sister Monica Cavanagh.[7]

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ "Cultural diversity: Census, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 7 April 2022.
  2. ^ Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.25.
  3. ^ Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You; Allen & Unwin; 2018, p.25-26
  4. ^ "2016 Census: Schools, Australia, 2016". Australian Bureau of Statistics. from the original on 30 January 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  5. ^ a b c d "Schools". 4221.0 – Schools, Australia, 2011. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 21 March 2012. from the original on 20 April 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  6. ^ a b c "Catholic Church in Australia". www.catholic.org.au. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d "Structure - Catholic Church in Australia". www.catholic.org.au. Retrieved 10 March 2019.
  8. ^ Mary MacKillop officially declared a saint; abc.net.au; 18 Oct 2010
  9. ^ "Cultural diversity". 1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2008. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 7 February 2008. from the original on 13 February 2010. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  10. ^ "Australian Bureau of Statistics". www.abs.gov.au. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
  11. ^ "Religious Affiliation (narrow groups)". Cat. No. 2068.0 – 2006 Census Tables. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 June 2007. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  12. ^ Religion in Australia: 2016 Census Data Summary; http://www.abs.gov.au
  13. ^ a b c d "Special Feature: Trends in religious affiliation". 4102.0 – Australian Social Trends, 1994. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 May 1994. from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
  14. ^ "NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance" (Press release). National Church Life Survey Research. 28 February 2004. from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  15. ^ "Mass Attendance in Australia".
  16. ^ a b . Archived from the original on 16 April 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  17. ^ a b "Military Ordinariate of Australia, Military". The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church. 19 February 2011. from the original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved 6 January 2007.
  18. ^ "QuickStats". Australian Bureau of Statistics. from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  19. ^ "Quiros, Pedro Fernandez de (1563–1615)". Biography – Pedro Fernandez de Quiros – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.online.anu.edu.au. from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  20. ^ "South Land to New Holland | National Library of Australia". Nla.gov.au. Archived from the original on 13 September 2006. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  21. ^ "Torres, Luis Vaez de (?–?)". Biography – Luis Vaez de Torres – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  22. ^ See extract from La Perouse's journal published in 1799 as; "A Voyage Around the world", pp. 179–180 in Frank Crowley (1980), Colonial Australia. A Documentary History of Australia 1, 1788–1840. 3–4, Thomas Nelson, Melbourne. ISBN 0-17-005406-3
  23. ^ David Hill, 1788: The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet
  24. ^ King, Robert J (December 1999). "What brought Lapérouse to Botany Bay?". Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 85, pt.2: 140–147.
  25. ^ . 26 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 July 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  26. ^ . 6 October 2008. Archived from the original on 6 October 2008. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  27. ^ a b c d e . Catholic Australia. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  28. ^ a b c "Catholic Encyclopedia: Australia". Newadvent.org. from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  29. ^ H. Perkins (1971). "Father Harold: the story of a convict priest". Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. 3 (3): 1–14.
  30. ^ Franklin, James (2021). "Sydney 1803: When Catholics were tolerated and Freemasons banned" (PDF). Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society. 107 (2): 135–155. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  31. ^ "The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney, New South Wales on July 14, 2001 · Page 9". 14 July 2001. from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  32. ^ Nairn, Bede. "Polding, John Bede (1794–1877)". Biography – John Bede Polding – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  33. ^ "Bourke Church Act - National Museum of Australia". www.nma.gov.au. from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
  34. ^ Iltis, Judith. "Chisholm, Caroline (1808–1877)". Biography – Caroline Chisholm – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  35. ^ . Sisters of Charity of Australia. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  36. ^ . Stvincents.com.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  37. ^ . Goodsams.org.au. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  38. ^ . Australian Jesuits. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  39. ^ Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911); Australian Dictionary of Biography
  40. ^ A. E. Cahill (16 August 1911). "Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911)". Biography – Patrick Francis Moran – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  41. ^ a b About Little Company of Mary Sisters; NSW Blue Plaques Program
  42. ^ Lynch, Annie (1870–1938); Australian Dictionary of Biography
  43. ^ "Catholics and Indigenous Australians". Australian Catholic Historical Society. 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  44. ^ "(lost title)". 8 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.[dead link]
  45. ^ . Therecord.com.au. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  46. ^ J. Franklin (2016). "Catholic missions to aboriginal Australia: an evaluation of their overall effect" (PDF). Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. (PDF) from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  47. ^ . Christian Brothers NSW / ACT Region. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  48. ^ . The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia. Archived from the original on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  49. ^ "(lost title)". 6 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.[dead link]
  50. ^ Thorpe, Osmund. "MacKillop, Mary Helen (1842–1909)". Biography – Mary Helen MacKillop – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  51. ^ a b A. E. Cahill (16 August 1911). "Moran, Patrick Francis (1830–1911)". Biography – Patrick Francis Moran – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.online.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  52. ^ A. E. Cahill, "Catholicism and Socialism: The 1905 Controversy in Australia", Journal of Religious History, June 1960, Vol. 1 Issue 2, p88-101
  53. ^ Mark Hearn, "Containing 'Contamination': Cardinal Moran and Fin de Siècle Australian National Identity, 1888–1911", Journal of Religious History, March 2010, Vol. 34 Issue 1, pp 20–35
  54. ^ Patrick O'Farrell, The Catholic Church and community: an Australian history (1992)
  55. ^ a b Griffin, James. "Mannix, Daniel (1864–1963)". Biography – Daniel Mannix – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  56. ^ a b "Fast facts – James Scullin – Fast facts – Australia's Prime Ministers". Primeministers.naa.gov.au. from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  57. ^ "Dictionary of Australian Biography L". Gutenberg.net.au. from the original on 26 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  58. ^ Brian Carroll; From Barton to Fraser; Cassell Australia; 1978
  59. ^ O'Connor, Eily Rosaline (Eileen) (1892–1921); Australian Dictionary of Biography
  60. ^ Mass formally opens beatification cause of Eileen O'Connor, laywoman and mystic; CNAFeb 20, 2020
  61. ^ Gervase McKinna, “Doctor-Sister Mary Glowrey: An Impossible Mission?” Melbourne University Mosaic: People and Places (Melbourne: The History Department, The University of Melbourne, 1998): 101. Cf. Ursula Clinton, Australian Medical Nun in India: Mary Glowrey M.D. (Melbourne: Advocate Press, 1967), 11.
  62. ^ Outstanding lay Catholics models for today, says archbishop; Catholic Weekly; Apr 2, 2021
  63. ^ Chaplains, Australian Army, First World War; Australian War Memorial
  64. ^ 'The Martyrs of Papua New Guinea' by Theo Aerts (University of Papua New Guinea Press: 1994) Pages 36-7
  65. ^ 'It was a real labour of love'; Australian War Memorial
  66. ^ To Rot, Peter (1912–1945); Australian Dictionary of Biography
  67. ^ "Irish Catholic Australians". Australian Catholic Historical Society. 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  68. ^ Franklin, James (2019). "Catholic rural virtue in Australia: ideal and reality" (PDF). Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. 40: 39–61. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  69. ^ J. Franklin, Calwell, Catholicism and the origins of multicultural Australia, Proc. of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 2009 Conference, 42–54.
  70. ^ "1301.0 – Year Book Australia, 2006". Abs.gov.au. 20 January 2006. from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  71. ^ O'Connell, Declan; Warhurst, John (1982). "Church and class: (Irish-Australian Labour loyalties and the 1955 Split)". Saothar. 8: 46–57. JSTOR 23193797. Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  72. ^ "Daniel Mannix & BA Santamaria | Shane Maloney". The Monthly. from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  73. ^ Editors, "Oz's Abbott", The Tablet, 5 November 2009, 21
  74. ^ Maiden, Samantha (21 July 2008). . The Australian. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  75. ^ "Ministry to those living with HIV/AIDS" (downloadable Word document). Web Archives. Sisters of Charity Australia. 2010. from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  76. ^ "Welcome to St Vincents & Mater Health Sydney". St Vincent's and Mater Health Sydney. from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  77. ^ a b Campion, Edmund (19 May 2005). "Obituary: A father to the poor and dispossessed". The Sydney Morning Herald. from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  78. ^ "Father Chris Riley". The Drum. Australia: ABC. from the original on 5 February 2010. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  79. ^ Compton, Leon; Tetlow, Miranda (22 March 2010). "Guestroom – Father Bob Maguire" (streaming audio). ABC News. Darwin, Australia. from the original on 20 January 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  80. ^ "Father Bob Maguire presents Sunday Night Safran". Triple J. Australia: ABC. from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  81. ^ . Catholic Enquiry Centre. 2009. Archived from the original on 22 April 2008. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  82. ^ Pope John Paul II (30 November 1986). (Speech). Alice Springs, Australia. Archived from the original (transcript) on 15 February 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  83. ^ . Professional Standards Office. Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. 1996. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  84. ^ Pope John Paul II (22 November 2001). . Apostolic exhortation. Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  85. ^ "Religion Report". ABC News. Australia. 2007. from the original on 10 September 2011.
  86. ^ Totaro, Paola; Gibson, Joel (21 July 2008). "Pope meets abuse victims". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. from the original on 17 May 2014.
  87. ^ . European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights. 24 November 2001. Archived from the original on 19 March 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  88. ^ "World Youth Day 2008". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2008. from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  89. ^ . ABC News. Australia. 2008. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010.
  90. ^ Bennett, Adam (21 July 2008). "Randwick's turf survives WYD". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  91. ^ Perry, Michael (19 July 2008). "Factbox: World Youth Day final Mass facts and figures". Reuters. Sydney. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  92. ^ . Catholic Online. 20 July 2008. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  93. ^ O'Neill, Sharon (21 July 2008). "World Youth Day a logistical success" (transcript). 7.30 Report. Australia. from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  94. ^ "Joy for Saint Mary MacKillop". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. 19 December 2009. from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  95. ^ Alberici, Emma (18 October 2010). "Australians celebrate Mary's canonisation". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 18 October 2010.
  96. ^ Alberici, Emma (15 October 2010). "First Australians celebrate first Australian saint". ABC News. Australia. from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  97. ^ "Rudd leads delegation to Vatican". Sky News. Australia. 18 October 2010. from the original on 7 January 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  98. ^ . Australian Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  99. ^ "About Us — Catholic Social Services Australia". www.cssa.org.au. from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  100. ^ "Catholic Health Australia: The Sector". from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  101. ^ Royal Commission: ANALYSIS OF CLAIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MADE WITH RESPECT TO CATHOLIC CHURCH INSTITUTIONS IN AUSTRALIA 31 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine; June 2017
  102. ^ "Worst Catholic groups for child sex abuse claims in Australia revealed". ABC News. 6 February 2017. from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  103. ^ ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation. "Proportion of priests and non-ordained religious subject to a claim..." www.documentcloud.org. from the original on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
  104. ^ Gerard Henderson; Media Watch Dog; 18 October 2019| url: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/media-watch-dog-abcs-right-royal-opinion-on-meghan-markle-and-the-royals/news-story/ed6296d0f7da8302ec1235205a008317%7C quote: ...according to evidence presented to the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, in the period of the 1930s to the 1980s — on a per capita basis — a child was safer in a Catholic religious institution than in a non-Catholic religious institution. There are no equivalent statistics for non-religious institutions.
  105. ^ "Australian Catholic Charities". Australian Catholic Historical Society. 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  106. ^ "Chisholm's supporters push for sainthood". The Age. Australia. AAP. 24 October 2007. from the original on 15 January 2016.
  107. ^ "Opening Mass underway". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 15 July 2008. from the original on 17 May 2014.
  108. ^ "Our member organisations". from the original on 2 October 2016. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  109. ^ D.J. Gleeson (2007). "Some themes in Australian Catholic social welfare history". Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society. 28: 7–17.
  110. ^ Abraham, Gavin. "Nation must respond to looming dementia crisis". from the original on 5 September 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  111. ^ . St. Vincent's Health Australia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  112. ^ . Exwwwsvh.stvincents.com.au. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  113. ^ "Welcome: Calvary Care". Little Company of Mary Health Care. from the original on 13 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  114. ^ "Little Sisters of the Poor Oceania". from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  115. ^ "The pioneering Sisters". www.sjog.org.au. Retrieved 21 October 2022.
  116. ^ L. A. Drake. "Pigot, Edward Francis (1858–1929)". Biography – Edward Francis Pigot – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 1 August 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  117. ^ Australian Catholic Bishops Conference. . Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018.
  118. ^ . Marymackillop.org.au. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  119. ^ The Purple Economy 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine by Max Wallace
  120. ^ . ACU. 1 January 1991. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  121. ^ . 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  122. ^ A. T. Yarwood. "Marsden, Samuel (1765–1838)". Biography – Samuel Marsden – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  123. ^ T. L. Suttor. "Ullathorne, William Bernard (1806–1889)". Biography – William Bernard Ullathorne – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 28 June 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  124. ^ Dominic O'Sullivan. (Report). Department of Political Science and Public Policy, University of Waikato. Archived from the original on 19 May 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
  125. ^ . Cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 22 April 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  126. ^ Jones, Philip. "Unaipon, David (1872–1967)". Biography – David Unaipon – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adbonline.anu.edu.au. Archived from the original on 30 January 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  127. ^ . Curriculum.edu.au. 14 June 2005. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  128. ^ . 152.91.15.57. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  129. ^ "East Timor: Cardinal says international response needed immediately". Catholic News. 7 September 1999. from the original on 11 March 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  130. ^ "I'll wear ovaries T-shirt again: Nettle". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 February 2006. from the original on 15 October 2008.
  131. ^ Morris, Linda (11 October 2005). "Churches against changes". The Age. Melbourne. from the original on 4 November 2012.
  132. ^ Jones, Tony (28 January 2002). . Lateline. Australia: ABC TV. Archived from the original (transcript) on 31 July 2016. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
  133. ^ Lyons, Dame Enid Muriel (1897–1981); adb.anu.edu.au
  134. ^ Follett, Rosemary (1948 - ); The Encyclopedia of Women & Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.
  135. ^ Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.201-205.
  136. ^ South Australians mourn Dame Roma Mitchell; abc.net.au; 10 March 2000
  137. ^ "The voluble and the Word: amen to that". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 October 2009. from the original on 3 March 2016.
  138. ^ . Catholic Communications, Sydney Archdiocese. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  139. ^ Albanese courts Christian groups in social justice pitch; smh.com.au; Feb 21, 2021
  140. ^ Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.173.
  141. ^ Greg Sheridan; God is Good for You, Allen & Unwin, 2018, p.185.
  142. ^ McDonald, D. I. Wardell, William Wilkinson (1823–1899). Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  143. ^ . Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne: Saint Patrick's Cathedral. Catholic Communications Melbourne. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  144. ^ "About Sevenhill". Sevenhill Cellars. from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  145. ^ "New Norcia Tourism North West Region Western Australia". Discover West Holidays. 2010. from the original on 14 March 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  146. ^ . New Norcia Benedictine Community. 2011. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  147. ^ . National Trust Queensland. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  148. ^ (PDF). Queensland Government: Queensland Heritage Council. 2006. p. 6. ISBN 0-9775641-0-X. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 April 2013. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  149. ^ . Jamberoo Abbey, Benedictine Nuns. 2007. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  150. ^ "Thredbo Weddings". Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel. from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  151. ^ . Australia: ABC TV. 2011. Archived from the original on 30 March 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  152. ^ . Compass. Australia: ABC TV. 2011. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  153. ^ . Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  154. ^ . Catholic Australia. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  155. ^ (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011.
  156. ^ McAuley, James (1994). "In the Twentieth Century (1969)". Collected Poems. Sydney. pp. 242–243.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  157. ^ "The Catholic Press in Australia". Australian Catholic Historical Society. 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  158. ^ Lea-Scarlett, Errol (1979). "A Cathedral reaches out — the impact of St. Mary's music on Sydney life". Musicology Australia. 5: 173–190. doi:10.1080/08145857.1979.10415135. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  159. ^ Austin, Steve; Sennett, Sean (7 October 2005). . ABC Queensland. Australia. Archived from the original (streaming audio) on 21 January 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  160. ^ "Australian Idol Wrote World Youth Day Anthem". Famvin.org. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
  161. ^ . About Australia. Australian Government. 16 July 2009. Archived from the original on 8 April 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
  162. ^ Robertson, Bryan (29 April 1999). "Obituary: Arthur Boyd". The Independent. London. from the original on 4 June 2016.
  163. ^ . National Gallery of Victoria. Archived from the original on 28 September 2009. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
  164. ^ "About the Bishops Conference".; Catholic Australia; 13 July 2022
  165. ^ "Welcome". Catholic Church in Australia. from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  166. ^ "Australian Catholic Bishops Conference". Catholic Church in Australia. from the original on 16 October 2011. Retrieved 31 October 2011.
  167. ^ "Catholic Religious Australia". Catholic Religious Australia. Retrieved 10 March 2019.

Further reading Edit

  • O'Farrell, Patrick (1977). The Catholic Church and community in Australia: a history. West Melbourne, Australia: Thomas Nelson. p. 463.
  • Campion, Edmund (1987). Australian Catholics. Ringwood, Australia: Penguin. p. 280.
  • Franklin, James (2023). Catholic Thought and Catholic Action: Scenes from Australian Catholic Life. Brisbane: Connor Court Publishing. ISBN 9781922815354.
  • Brennan, Frank (12 July 2008). . Eureka Street. Jesuit Communications Australia. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 16 July 2008.

External links Edit

  • Catholic Church in Australia's official website
  • Australian Catholic Bishops Conference official website
  • Australian Catholic Historical Society
  • Timeline of Australian Catholic History
  • Australian Catholic Biographies
  • Website of Patrick O'Farrell, historian of Catholic Australia
  • "Catholic Church in Australia". Catholic-Hierarchy.

catholic, church, australia, also, catholic, church, christianity, australia, this, article, factual, accuracy, compromised, date, information, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, june, 2017, part, world. See also Catholic Church and Christianity in Australia This article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information June 2017 The Catholic Church in Australia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church under the spiritual and administrative leadership of the Holy See From origins as a suppressed mainly Irish minority in early colonial times the church has grown to be the largest Christian denomination in Australia with a culturally diverse membership of around 5 075 907 people representing about 20 of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 ABS Census data 1 Catholic Church in AustraliaSt Mary s Cathedral SydneyTypeNational polityClassificationCatholicOrientationLatinScriptureBibleTheologyCatholic theologyPolityEpiscopalGovernanceAustralian Catholic Bishops ConferencePopePope FrancisPresident of ACBCTimothy Costelloe SDBRegionAustraliaLanguageEnglish LatinOrigin1788 Sydney New South WalesNumber of followers5 886 980 2021 Official websitecatholic org auPeople who identify as Catholic as a percentage of the total population in Australia divided geographically by statistical local area as of the 2011 censusMary MacKillop co founder of the Josephite Sisters became Australia s first canonised saint in October 2010 The church is the largest non government provider of welfare and education services in Australia 2 Catholic Social Services Australia aids some 450 000 people annually while the St Vincent de Paul Society s 40 000 members form the largest volunteer welfare network in the country In 2016 the church had some 760 000 students in more than 1 700 schools 3 4 5 The church in Australia has five provinces Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Perth and Sydney It has 35 dioceses comprising geographic areas as well as the military diocese and dioceses for the Chaldean Maronite Melkite and Ukrainian rites 6 The national assembly of bishops is the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference ACBC 7 There are a further 175 Catholic religious orders operating in Australia affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia 6 7 One Australian has been recognised as a saint by the Catholic Church Mary MacKillop who co founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart Josephite religious institute in the 19th century 8 Contents 1 Demographics 2 History 2 1 Arrival and suppression 2 2 Emancipation and growth 2 3 Federation 2 4 Between the Wars 2 5 Post War Immigration A more diverse Church 2 6 Post Second Vatican Council 3 Social and political engagement 3 1 Introduction 3 2 Welfare 3 3 Health 3 4 Education 3 5 Politics 4 Arts and culture 4 1 Architecture 4 2 Film and television 4 3 Literature 4 4 Music 4 5 Art 5 Saints and other venerated Australians 5 1 Saints 5 2 Servants of God 5 3 Other open causes 5 4 Visits of saints relics 5 5 Visits by saints during their lifetime 6 Organisation 6 1 Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 6 2 Archdioceses and dioceses 6 3 Catholic Religious Australia 7 See also 8 References 9 Further reading 10 External linksDemographics Edit nbsp Major religious affiliations in Australia by census year 9 Since the 1980s Catholicism has been largest Christian denomination in Australia constituting around one quarter of the overall population becoming slightly larger than the Anglican and Uniting churches combined Up until the 2016 census adherents had been recorded as growing both numerically and as a percentage of the population however the 2016 census found a fall in both overall numbers and the percentage of Catholics as a proportion of Australia with 5 291 839 Australian Catholics around 22 6 of the population in 2016 down from 5 439 257 in the 2011 census 25 3 of the population 10 11 This was repeated again in 2021 with the numbers dropping to 5 075 907 people representing about 18 9 of the overall population of Australia according to the 2021 ABS Census data 1 Until the 1986 census Australia s most populous Christian church was the Anglican Church of Australia Since then Catholics have outnumbered Anglicans by an increasing margin The change is partly explained by changes in immigration patterns 12 13 Before the Second World War the majority of immigrants to Australia came from the United Kingdom and most Catholic immigrants came from Ireland After the war Australia s immigration diversified and more than 6 5 million migrants arrived in the following 60 years including more than a million Catholics from Italy Malta Lebanon the Netherlands Germany Poland Croatia and Hungary 13 At the 2016 Census the ancestries that Australian Catholics most identified with were English 1 49 million Australian 1 12 million Irish 577 000 Italian 567 000 and Filipino 181 000 Despite a growing population of Catholics weekly Mass attendance has declined from an estimated 74 in the mid 50s to around 14 in 2006 14 15 There are seven archdioceses and 32 dioceses with an estimated 3 000 priests and 9 000 men and women in institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life including six dioceses which cover the whole country one each for those who belong to the Chaldean Maronite Melkite Syro Malabar and Ukrainian rites and one for those serving in the Australian Defence Forces There is also a personal ordinariate for former Anglicans which has a similar status to a diocese 16 17 State Territory 18 2016 2011 2006 2001Australian Capital Territory 22 3 26 1 28 0 29 1New South Wales 24 7 27 5 28 2 28 9Northern Territory 19 9 21 6 21 1 22 2Queensland 21 7 23 8 24 0 24 8South Australia 18 0 19 9 20 2 20 8Tasmania 15 6 17 9 18 4 19 3Total 22 6 25 3 25 8 26 6Victoria 23 2 26 7 27 5 28 4Western Australia 21 4 23 6 23 7 24 7History EditArrival and suppression Edit Since time immemorial indigenous people in Australia had performed the rites and rituals of the animist religions of the Dreamtime Among the first Catholics known to have sighted Australia were the crew of a Spanish expedition of 1605 6 In 1606 the expedition s leader Pedro Fernandez de Quiros landed in the New Hebrides believing it to be the fabled southern continent He named the land Austrialis del Espiritu Santo Southern Land of the Holy Spirit 19 20 Later that year his deputy Luis Vaz de Torres sailed through the Torres Strait between Australia and New Guinea 21 The permanent presence of Catholicism in Australia came rather with the arrival of the First Fleet of British convict ships at Sydney in 1788 One tenth of all the convicts who came to Australia on the First Fleet were Catholic and at least half of them were born in Ireland 13 A small proportion of British marines were also Catholic Just as the British were setting up the new colony French captain Jean Francois de Galaup comte de Laperouse arrived off Botany Bay with two ships 22 23 24 La Perouse was 6 weeks in Botany Bay where the French besides other things held Catholic Masses 25 The crew conducted the first Catholic burial that of Father Louis Receveur a Franciscan friar who died while the ships were at anchor at Botany Bay 26 Some of the Irish convicts had been transported to Australia for political crimes or social rebellion in Ireland so the authorities were suspicious of Catholicism for the first three decades of settlement 27 Catholic convicts were compelled to attend Church of England services and their children and orphans were raised by the authorities as Anglicans 28 The first Catholic priests arrived in Australia as convicts in 1800 James Harold 29 James Dixon and Peter O Neill who had been convicted for complicity in the Irish 1798 Rebellion Fr Dixon was conditionally emancipated and permitted to celebrate Mass 30 On 15 May 1803 in vestments made from curtains and with a chalice made of tin he conducted the first Catholic Mass in New South Wales 28 The Irish led Castle Hill Rebellion of 1804 alarmed the British authorities and Dixon s permission to celebrate Mass was revoked Fr Jeremiah O Flinn 31 an Irish Cistercian monk was appointed as Prefect Apostolic of New Holland and set out from Britain for the colony uninvited Watched by authorities Flynn secretly performed priestly duties before being arrested and deported to London Reaction to the affair in Britain led to two further priests being allowed to travel to the colony in 1820 John Joseph Therry and Philip Conolly 27 The foundation stone for the first St Mary s Church was laid on 29 October 1821 by Governor Lachlan Macquarie The absence of a Catholic mission in Australia before 1818 reflected the legal disabilities of Catholics in Britain and the difficult position of Ireland within the British Empire The government therefore endorsed the English Benedictine monks to lead the early church in the colony 32 The Reverend William Bernard Ullathorne 1806 1889 was instrumental in influencing Pope Gregory XVI to establish the hierarchy in Australia Ullathorne was in Australia from 1833 to 1836 as vicar general to Bishop William Morris of Mauritius whose jurisdiction extended over the Australian missions Emancipation and growth Edit nbsp Catholic humanitarian Caroline Chisholm The Church of England was disestablished in the colony of New South Wales by the Church Act of 1836 which also provided equal funding of Protestant and Catholic churches 33 Drafted by the Catholic attorney general John Plunkett the Act established legal equality for Anglicans Catholics and Presbyterians and was later extended to Methodists Nevertheless social attitudes were slow to change A laywoman Caroline Chisholm 1808 1877 faced discouragements and anti Catholic feeling when she sought to establish a migrant women s shelter and worked for women s welfare in the colonies in the 1840s though her humanitarian efforts later won her fame in England and great influence in achieving support for families in the colony 34 nbsp St Aloysius Church Sevenhill South Australia The Jesuits were the first order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia Victoria Queensland and the Northern Territory Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east nbsp St Patrick s Cathedral MelbourneThe church s most prominent early leader was John Bede Polding a Benedictine monk who was Sydney s first bishop and then archbishop from 1835 to 1877 Polding requested a community of nuns be sent to the colony and five Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in 1838 While tensions arose between the English Benedictine hierarchy and the Irish Ignatian tradition religious institute from the start the sisters set about pastoral care in a women s prison and began visiting hospitals and schools and establishing employment for convict women In 1847 two sisters transferred to Hobart and established a school 35 The sisters went on to establish hospitals in four of the eastern states beginning with St Vincent s Hospital Sydney in 1857 as a free hospital for all people but especially for the poor 36 At Polding s request the Christian Brothers arrived in Sydney in 1843 to assist in schools Again jurisdictional tensions arose and the brothers returned to Ireland In 1857 Polding founded an Australian religious institute in the Benedictine tradition the Sisters of the Good Samaritan to work in education and social work 37 While Polding was in office construction began on the ambitious Gothic Revival designs for St Patrick s Cathedral Melbourne and the final St Mary s Cathedral in Sydney Establishing themselves first at Sevenhill in the newly established colony of South Australia in 1848 the Jesuits were the first religious order of priests to enter and establish houses in South Australia Victoria Queensland and the Northern Territory Austrian Jesuits established themselves in the south and north and Irish in the east The goldrush saw an increase in the population and prosperity of the colonies and called for an increase in the number of episcopal sees When gold was discovered in late 1851 there were an estimated 9 000 Catholics in the Colony of Victoria increasing to 100 000 by the time the Jesuits arrived 14 years later While the Austrian priests traversed the Outback on horseback to found missions and schools the Irish priests arrived in the east in 1860 and had by 1880 established the major schools of Xavier College in Melbourne and in Sydney St Aloysius College and Saint Ignatius College Riverview which each survive to the present 38 Despite anti Irish lobbying by English Catholic bishops and the British government Irish cleric Patrick Francis Moran won the favour of Pope Leo XIII and was appointed Archbishop of Sydney in 1884 arriving in New South Wales on 8 September A prominent figure in Australian Catholic history he became Australia s first cardinal the following year after being summoned back to Rome and presided over Plenary Councils of Australasia in 1885 1895 and 1905 which laid the foundations for Church structure in the 20th century 39 The Australian colonies had hitherto relied heavily on immigrant clergy In 1889 Moran founded St Patrick s College Manly intended to provide priests for all the colonies Moran believed that Catholics political and civil rights were threatened in Australia and in 1896 saw deliberate discrimination in a situation where no office of first or even second rate importance is held by a Catholic 40 In Rome in 1884 Moran had met the Venerable Mary Potter and invited her to send a group of her newly established Little Company of Mary sisters to Australia in order to establish a local congregation Six pioneering sisters arrived in Sydney in November 1885 commencing work caring for the sick and dying Establishing a convent at Lewishman they had nearly fifty members within just five years In 1889 they opened a small hospital at Lewisham Under the leadership of Mother Mary Xavier Lynch from 1899 the hospital would grow to be one of Sydney s leading general hospitals and nursing schools 41 Mother Mary Xavier established a new hospital at Adelaide in 1900 and Wagga Wagga in 1926 and despatched sisters to found hospitals in New Zealand and South Africa 41 In 1922 she became the order s first provincial of Australasia and is remembered as one of Australia s most noted hospital and nursing administrators 42 The Catholic Church also became involved in mission work among the Aboriginal people of Australia during the 19th century as Europeans came to control much of the continent 43 According to Aboriginal anthropologist Kathleen Butler McIlwraith there were many occasions when the Catholic Church attempted to advocate for Aboriginal rights but the missionaries were also functionaries of the Protection and Assimilation policies of the government and so directly contributed to the current disadvantage experienced by Indigenous Australians 44 45 The missionaries themselves argued that they protected children from dysfunctional aspects of indigenous culture 46 With the withdrawal of state aid for church schools around 1880 the Catholic Church unlike other Australian churches put great energy and resources into creating a comprehensive alternative system of education It was largely staffed by sisters brothers and priests of religious institutes such as the Christian Brothers who had returned to Australia in 1868 the Sisters of Mercy who had arrived in Perth in 1846 Marist Brothers who came from France in 1872 and the Sisters of St Joseph founded in Australia by Mary MacKillop and Fr Julian Tenison Woods in 1867 47 48 49 MacKillop travelled throughout Australasia and established schools convents and charitable institutions but came into conflict with those bishops who preferred diocesan control of the institute rather than central control from Adelaide by the Josephite religious institute MacKillop administered the Josephites as a national religious institute at a time when Australia was divided among individually governed colonies She is today the most revered of Australian Catholics beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995 and canonised by Benedict XVI in 2010 50 Catholic schools flourished in Australia and by 1900 there were 115 Christian Brothers teaching in Australia By 1910 there were 5000 religious sisters teaching in schools 27 Federation Edit nbsp Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran was an advocate for Federation nbsp James Scullin of the Australian Labor Party was the first Catholic to become a Prime Minister of Australia nbsp United Australia Party prime minister Joseph Lyons pictured with wife Enid Lyons both of whom were important figures in the foundation of modern Australian conservatismThe Australian Constitution of 1901 guaranteed Freedom of Religion and the separation of church and state throughout Australia Australia s first Catholic cardinal Patrick Francis Moran 1830 1911 had been a proponent of Australian Federation but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration ceremony of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England He was criticised in The Bulletin for speaking against racist immigration laws and he alarmed Catholic conservatives by supporting Trade Unionism and the newly formed Australian Labor Party 51 The Catholic Church was rooted in the working class Irish communities Moran the Archbishop of Sydney from 1884 to 1911 believed that Catholicism would flourish with the emergence of the new nation through Federation in 1901 provided that his people rejected contamination from foreign influences such as anarchism socialism modernism and secularism Moran distinguished between European socialism as an atheistic movement and those Australians calling themselves socialists he approved of the objectives of the latter while feeling that the European model was not a real danger in Australia Moran s outlook reflected his wholehearted acceptance of Australian democracy and his belief in the country as different and freer than the old societies from which its people had come 52 Moran thus welcomed the Labor Party and the Catholic Church stood with it in opposing conscription in the referendums of 1916 and 1917 53 The hierarchy had close ties to Rome which encouraged the bishops to support the British Empire and emphasize Marian piety 54 Between the Wars Edit Another Irish cleric Archbishop Daniel Mannix 1864 1963 of Melbourne was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British Empire policy in Ireland He was also a fervent critic of contraception In 1920 the Royal Navy prevented him landing in his Irish homeland 55 Yet despite early 20th century sectarian feeling Australia elected its first Catholic prime minister James Scullin of the Australian Labor Party in 1929 decades before the Protestant majority of the United States would elect John F Kennedy as its first Catholic president 56 His successor Joseph Lyons a devout Irish Catholic split from Labor to form the fiscally conservative United Australia Party predecessor to the modern Liberal Party of Australia His wife Dame Enid Lyons a Catholic convert became the first female member of the Australian House of Representatives and later first female member of cabinet in the Menzies Government 57 With the place of Catholics in the British Empire still complicated by the recent Irish War of Independence and centuries of imperial rivalry with Catholic European nations as prime minister Lyons travelled to London in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee celebrations of King George V and faced anti Catholic demonstrations in Edinburgh then visited his ancestral homeland of Ireland and also had an audience with the Pope in Rome 58 The Australian congregation known as Our Lady s Nurses for the Poor was founded by Melbourne born mystic Eileen Rosaline O Connor and Fr Edward McGrath in a rented home at Coogee in 1913 The deeply religious youth had suffered a damaged spine when she was three years old and lived in a wheelchair with a painful disability The parish priest of Coogee Fr Edward McGrath had found accommodation for her widowed mother and family and been impressed by her courage O Connor told McGrath that she had experienced a visitation from Mary and McGrath shared with her his hope to establish a congregation of nurse to serve the poor Eventually a group of seven lay women gathered around O Connor and elected her as their first superior Directed by the largely bed ridden O Connor they visited the sick poor and nursed the frail aged O Connor died in 1921 of chronic tuberculosis of the spine and exhaustion She was 28 59 Initially a lay group the Our Lady s Nurses for the Poor later formed themselves into a religious community of sisters under vows and their work continues in Sydney Newcastle and Macquarie Fields In 2018 Australia s bishops voted to initiate her cause for sainthood and the Holy See granted her the title Servant of God 60 In October 1916 the Catholic Women s Social Guild now Catholic Women s League was formed in Fitzroy Victoria and Dr Mary Glowrey became the inaugural president 61 Dr Glowrey was one of the first women to study medicine at Melbourne University and later went to India to become a missionary nun founding the largest non government healthcare system in that country She was accorded the title Servant of God in 2013 and her cause for sainthood is underway 62 The Australian Army Chaplains Department was promulgated in 1913 and 86 Catholic chaplains went on to serve in the army during World War One As well as conducting church parades and religious services chaplains organised activities to improve the morale and welfare of the troops Fr John Fahey from Perth was the longest serving front line chaplain of the conflict Assigned to the 11th battalion he was the first chaplain ashore on Gallipoli after disregarding orders to stay on the ship 63 During the Second World War the Australian administered Territory of New Guinea was invaded by Japanese forces Some 333 Martyrs of New Guinea are remembered from all denominations during WW2 including 197 Catholics 64 On Rabaul Australians and Europeans found refuge at the Vunapope Catholic Mission until the Japanese overwhelmed the island and took them prisoner in 1942 The local Bishop Leo Scharmach a Pole convinced the Japanese that he was German and to spare the internees A group of indigenous Daughters of Mary Immaculate FMI Sisters then refused to give up their faith or abandon the Australians and are credited with keeping hundreds of internees alive for three and half years by growing food and delivering it to them over gruelling distances Some of the Sisters were tortured by the Japanese and gave evidence during war crimes trials after the war 65 Indigenous Rabaul man Peter To Rot found himself in charge of the Mission at Rakunai after the internment of the Europeans He took on their work of teaching the faith presiding over baptisms prayer and marriages and caring for the sick and POWs When the Japanese outlawed these practices he continued them in secret was exposed by a collaborator and sent to labour camp where he was executed Pope John Paul II declared him a martyr in 1993 and beatified him in 1995 66 Post War Immigration A more diverse Church Edit Until about 1950 the Catholic Church in Australia was overwhelmingly Irish in its ethos Most Catholics were descendants of Irish immigrants and the church was mostly led by Irish born priests and bishops 67 A number of rural areas had high proportions of Irish and a strongly Catholic culture 68 From 1950 the ethnic composition of the church began to change with the assimilation of Irish Australians and the arrival of Eastern European Displaced Persons from 1948 69 and more than one million Catholics from countries such as Italy Malta the Netherlands Germany Croatia and Hungary and later Filipinos Vietnamese Lebanese and Poles around the 1980s There are now also strong Chinese Korean and Hispanic Catholic communities 13 70 For a long time Irish Australians had a close political association with the Labor Party 71 The changing ethnic composition of Australian Catholicism and shifting political allegiances of Australian Catholics saw Catholic layman B A Santamaria the son of Italian immigrants lead a movement of working class Catholics against Communism in Australia and the formation of his Democratic Labor Party DLP in 1955 The DLP was formed over concerns of Communist influence over the trade unions and Labor Party The movement was not approved by the Vatican but it siphoned a proportion of the Catholic vote away from the Labor Party contributing to the success of the newly formed Liberal Party of Robert Menzies which held power from 1949 to 1972 which in return for DLP preferences secured state aid for Catholic schools in Australia in 1963 72 Along with a sharp decline in sectarianism in post 1960s Australia sectarian loyalty to political parties has diminished and Catholics have been well represented within the conservative Liberal and National parties Brendan Nelson became the first Catholic to lead the Liberal Party in 2007 Former prime minister Tony Abbott is a former seminarian who won the party leadership after defeating two other Catholic candidates for the post 73 In 2008 Tim Fischer a Catholic and former deputy prime minister in the Howard government was nominated by the Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd as the first resident Australian ambassador to the Holy See since 1973 when diplomatic relations with the Vatican and Australia were first established 74 Post Second Vatican Council Edit Since the Second Vatican Council of the 1960s the Australian church has experienced a decline in vocations to the religious life leading to a priest shortage On the other hand Catholic education under lay leadership has expanded and about 20 of Australian school students attend a Catholic school 5 While the numbers of nuns serving in Australian health facilities declined the church maintained a strong presence in health care The Sisters of Charity continued their mission among the sick opening Australia s first HIV AIDS ward at St Vincent s Hospital Sydney in the 1980s 75 Declining vocations and increasing complexities in the health care technologies and management saw religious institutes like the Sisters of Charity and Sisters of Mercy amalgamating their efforts and divesting themselves of daily management of hospitals 76 Following Vatican II new styles of ministry were tried by Australian religious Some rose to national prominence Fr Ted Kennedy began one such ministry in Sydney s inner city Redfern presbytery in 1971 an area with a large Aboriginal population Working closely with Catholic Aboriginal laywoman Mum Shirl Smith he developed a theology which held that the poor had special insights into the meaning of Christianity worked as an advocate for Aboriginal rights and often challenged the civil and church establishment on questions of conscience 77 In 1989 Jesuit lawyer Fr Frank Brennan AO founded Uniya a centre for social justice and human rights research advocacy education and networking Uniya focused much of its attention on the plight of refugees asylum seekers and Indigenous reconciliation In 1991 Fr Chris Riley formed Youth Off The Streets a community organisation working for young people who are chronically homeless drug dependent and recovering from abuse Originally a food van in Sydney s King s Cross it has grown to be one of the largest youth services in Australia offering crisis accommodation residential rehabilitation clinical services and counselling outreach programs drug and alcohol rehabilitation specialist Aboriginal services education and family support 78 Melbourne priest Father Bob Maguire began parish work in the 1960s but became a youth media personality in 2004 with the beginning of a series of collaborations with irreverent satirist John Safran on SBS TV and Triple J radio 79 80 The year 1970 saw the first visit to Australia by a Pope Paul VI 81 Pope John Paul II was the next Pope to visit Australia in 1986 At Alice Springs the Pope made an historic address to indigenous Australians in which he praised the enduring qualities of Aboriginal culture lamented the effects of dispossession of and discrimination called for acknowledgment of Aboriginal land rights and reconciliation in Australia and said that the church in Australia would not reach its potential until Aboriginal people had made their contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others 82 In 1988 the Archbishop of Sydney Edward Bede Clancy was created a cardinal and during the Australian Bicentenary celebrations led the religious ceremonies for the opening of Parliament House Canberra Pope John Paul II visited Australia for the second time in 1995 to perform the rite of beatification for Mary MacKillop founder of Australia s Josephite Sisters before a crowd of 250 000 From the late 1980s cases of abuse within the Catholic Church and other child care institutions began to be exposed in Australia In 1996 the church issued a document Towards Healing which it described as seeking to establish a compassionate and just system for dealing with complaints of abuse 83 In 2001 an apostolic exhortation from Pope John Paul II condemned incidents of sex abuse in Oceania 84 Impetus for the Towards Healing protocols was in part led by Bishop Geoffrey Robinson who would later call for large scale systemic reform of the church globally in his 2007 book Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus 85 The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference did not endorse the book Pat Power the Auxiliary Bishop of Canberra amp Goulburn wrote in 2002 that the current crisis around sexual abuse is the greatest since the Reformation At stake is the Church s moral authority its credibility its ability to interpret the signs of the times and its capacity to confront the ensuing questions citation needed Pope Benedict XVI officially apologised to victims during World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney and celebrated a Mass with four victims of clerical sexual abuse in the chapel of St Mary s Cathedral Sydney and listened to their stories 86 nbsp Pope Benedict XVI arriving at Barangaroo Sydney for World Youth Day 2008In 2001 in Rome Pope John Paul II apologised to Aboriginal and other indigenous people in Oceania for past injustices by the church Aware of the shameful injustices done to indigenous peoples in Oceania the Synod Fathers apologised unreservedly for the part played in these by members of the church especially where children were forcibly separated from their families Church leaders in Australia called on the Australian government to offer a similar apology 87 In 2001 George Pell became the eighth Archbishop of Sydney and in 2003 became a cardinal Pell supported Sydney s bid to host World Youth Day 2008 In July 2008 Sydney hosted the massive youth festival led by Pope Benedict XVI 88 89 Around 500 000 welcomed the pope to Sydney and 270 000 watched the Stations of the Cross More than 300 000 pilgrims camped out overnight in preparation for the final Mass 90 where final attendance was between 300 000 and 400 000 people 91 92 93 In February 2010 Pope Benedict XVI announced that Mary MacKillop would be recognised as the first Australian saint of the Catholic Church 94 She was canonised on 17 October 2010 during a public ceremony in St Peter s Square An estimated 8 000 Australians were present in the Vatican City to witness the ceremony 95 The Vatican Museum held an exhibition of Aboriginal art to honour the occasion titled Rituals of Life 96 The exhibition contained 300 artefacts which were on display for the first time since 1925 97 In the late 20th and early 21st century Catholicism in Australia has been growing numerically while remaining relatively stable as a proportion of the population and facing a long term decline in numbers of people following vocations to the religious life In 2016 the Catholic education sector ran 1 738 schools accounting for some 20 2 of Australian school students 5 98 There were also two Catholic universities University of Notre Dame Australia and the Australian Catholic University Catholic Social Services Australia the church s peak national body for social services had 52 member organisations providing services to hundreds of thousands of people each year 99 Catholic Health Australia was the largest non government provider grouping of health community and aged care services 100 The church was among the secular and religious institutions examined at the 2013 2017 Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse which reported that abuse cases by Catholic personnel had peaked in the 1970s with around 4400 cases and alleged cases over the 6 decades prior to the inquiry In 2017 there were 5 5 million Australian Catholics 101 102 103 Gerard Henderson stated that statistics presented to the Royal Commission indicated that children were safer in a Catholic religious institution in Australia during the years studied than in any other religious institution state institutions were not studied so a statistical comparison could not be made 104 Social and political engagement Edit nbsp St Vincent de Paul Society Opportunity shop in Wagga Wagga New South Wales Introduction Edit Catholic people and charitable organisations hospitals and schools have played a prominent role in welfare and education in Australia ever since colonial times 105 when Catholic laywoman Caroline Chisholm helped single migrant women and rescued homeless girls in Sydney 106 In his welcoming address to the Catholic World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney the prime minister Kevin Rudd said that Christianity had been a positive influence on Australia It was the church that began first schools for the poor it was the church that began first hospitals for the poor it was the church that began first refuges for the poor and these great traditions continue for the future 107 Welfare Edit A number of Catholic organisations are providers of social welfare services including residential aged care and the Job Network and education in Australia Australia wide these include Centacare CatholicCare Caritas Australia Jesuit Refugee Service St Vincent de Paul Society Youth Off The Streets Two religious institutes founded in Australia which engaged in welfare and charity work are the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart and the Sisters of the Good Samaritan 27 Many international Catholic religious institutes also work in welfare such as the Little Sisters of the Poor who work in aged care Catholic Social Services Australia is the peak body for Catholic welfare agencies and has 54 member organisations in metropolitan regional and remote Australia 108 109 Members include diocesan based Centacare and CatholicCare agencies and those under the stewardship of religious orders Health Edit nbsp St Vincent s Hospital Sydney in the 1900s Catholic Health Australia is the largest non government provider grouping of health community and aged care services in Australia These do not operate for profit and range across the full spectrum of health services representing about 10 of the health sector and employing 35 000 people 110 Religious institutes founded many of Australia s hospitals Irish Sisters of Charity arrived in Sydney in 1838 and established St Vincent s Hospital Sydney in 1857 as a free hospital for the poor The Sisters went on to found hospitals hospices research institutes and aged care facilities in Victoria Queensland and Tasmania 111 At St Vincent s they trained leading surgeon Victor Chang and opened Australia s first AIDS clinic 112 In the 21st century with more and more lay people involved in management the sisters began collaborating with Sisters of Mercy Hospitals in Melbourne and Sydney Jointly the group operates four public hospitals seven private hospitals and 10 aged care facilities The English Sisters of the Little Company of Mary arrived in 1885 and have since established public and private hospitals retirement living and residential aged care community care and comprehensive palliative care in New South Wales the ACT Victoria Tasmania South Australia Queensland Cairns and the Northern Territory 113 The Little Sisters of the Poor who follow the charism of Saint Jeanne Jugan to offer hospitality to the needy aged arrived in Melbourne in 1884 and now operate four aged care homes in Australia 114 In 1895 Perth s Bishop Matthew Gibney sent a request for help to the Sisters of St John of God in Wexford Ireland to care for people suffering from typhoid fever during the 1890s gold rush They established a hospital in Kalgoorlie in the late 1890s followed shortly by another in the Perth suburb of Subiaco 115 These services developed into St John of God Health Care which now operates 24 hospitals and facilities across Western Australia New South Wales Victoria and New Zealand Education Edit Main article Catholic education in Australia nbsp The historic observatory at Saint Ignatius College Riverview was founded by the distinguished Jesuit scientist Edward Francis Pigot in 1908 116 By 1833 there were around ten Catholic schools in the Australian colonies 27 Today one in five Australian students attend Catholic schools 5 There are over 1700 Catholic schools in Australia with more than 750 000 students enrolled employing almost 60 000 teachers 117 Mary MacKillop was a 19th century Australian religious sister who founded an educational religious institute the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart 118 Other Catholic religious institutes involved in education in Australia have included Sisters of Mercy Marist Brothers Christian Brothers Loreto Sisters Benedictine Sisters and Jesuits As with other classes of non government schools in Australia Catholic schools receive funding from the Commonwealth Government 119 Church schools range from elite high cost schools which generally offer extensive bursary programs for low income students to low fee local schools Notable schools include the Jesuit colleges of St Aloysius and Saint Ignatius College Riverview in Sydney Saint Ignatius College Adelaide and Xavier College in Melbourne the Marist Brothers St Joseph s College Hunters Hill the Christian Brothers High School Lewisham the Society of the Sacred Heart s Rosebay Kincoppal School the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary s Loreto Kirribilli the Sisters of Mercy s Monte Sant Angelo Mercy College the Christian Brothers St Edmund s College Canberra and Aquinas College Perth however the list and range of Catholic primary and secondary schools in Australia is long and diverse and extends throughout metropolitan regional and remote Australia see Catholic Schools in AustraliaThe Australian Catholic University opened in 1991 following the amalgamation of four Catholic tertiary institutions in eastern Australia These institutions had their origins in the 1800s when religious institutes became involved in preparing teachers for Catholic schools and nurses for Catholic hospitals 120 The University of Notre Dame Australia opened in Western Australia in December 1989 and now has over 9 000 students on three campuses in Fremantle Sydney and Broome 121 Politics Edit nbsp Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British policy in Ireland Church leaders have often involved themselves in political issues in areas they consider relevant to Christian teachings In early Colonial times Catholicism was restricted but Church of England clergy worked closely with the governors 122 Early Catholic missionary William Ullathorne criticised the convict system publishing a pamphlet The Horrors of Transportation Briefly Unfolded to the People in Britain in 1837 123 Sydney s first archbishop John Bede Polding was influential in the preparation of the Australian bishops pastoral letter on Aboriginal People in 1869 which advocated for Aboriginal rights and dignity 124 Australia s first Catholic cardinal Patrick Francis Moran 1830 1911 was politically active He was a proponent of Australian Federation he denounced anti Chinese legislation as unchristian and opposed antisemitism He became an advocate for women s suffrage and he stood for election to the Australasian Federal Convention in 1897 but in 1901 he refused to attend the inauguration of the Commonwealth of Australia because precedence was given to the Church of England He alarmed conservatives by supporting trade unionism and Australian socialism 51 Archbishop Daniel Mannix of Melbourne was a controversial voice against conscription during World War I and against British policy in Ireland 55 Mum Shirl Smith a celebrated Redfern community worker assisted by the Sisters of Charity worked in the courts and organised prison visitations medical and social assistance for Aboriginal People 125 Fr Ted Kennedy of Redfern 77 and Fr Frank Brennan a Jesuit have been high profile Catholic priests engaged in the cause of Aboriginal rights 126 127 128 In 1999 Cardinal Edward Bede Clancy wrote to the then prime minister John Howard urging him to send an armed peacekeeping force to East Timor to end the violence engulfing that country 129 In 2006 an Australian Greens senator Kerry Nettle called on the health minister Tony Abbott to refrain from debating the abortion drug RU486 because he was Catholic 130 Cardinal George Pell concerned himself publicly with traditional issues of Christian doctrine such as supporting marriage and opposing abortion but also raised questions about government policies such as the Work Choices industrial relations reforms and the mandatory detention of asylum seekers 131 132 nbsp Dame Roma Mitchell Australian Catholic politiciansAustralia elected its first Catholic prime minister James Scullin of the Australian Labor Party in 1929 56 He was succeeded by Joseph Lyons of the United Australia Party who was prime minister from 1932 to 1939 and remains Australia s longest serving Catholic prime minister The first woman elected to the House of Representatives was his wife Enid Lyons United Australia Party who was a Catholic convert 133 Australian Catholic women have achieved a number of significant milestones in the history of Australian politics The first woman to be elected as leader of a state or territory was Catholic Rosemary Follett who won the first ACT election in 1989 134 The first woman Premier of NSW was Labor s Kristina Keneally a Catholic with a Master s degree in Catholic systemic theology 135 Dame Roma Mitchell a devout Catholic served as Governor of South Australia from 1991 1996 the first woman to be appointed governor of an Australian state Dame Roma had also been a Supreme Court Judge University Chancellor Human Rights campaigner and advocate for Aboriginal people Following her death the ABC reported Those who were close to Dame Roma Mitchell say her deep Catholic faith guided every aspect of her life giving her the strength and ambition to campaign for social change and her philosophy of generosity and kindness 136 The Australian Labor Party had largely been supported by Catholics until layman B A Santamaria formed the Democratic Labor Party over concerns of Communist influence over the trade union movement in the 1950s 137 The war time prime minister John Curtin Labor was raised Catholic Ben Chifley Labor also served as prime minister from 1945 to 1949 In more recent decades Catholics have led all major parties and served as Prime Ministers and Opposition leader Labor prime ministers Paul Keating 1991 1996 and Kevin Rudd 2007 2010 2013 were both raised Catholic though Rudd now identifies as an Anglican Tim Fischer was Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the National Party between 1996 and 1999 was a practising Catholic and later served as the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See between 2008 and 2012 138 The three Liberal Party Leaders of the Opposition between 2007 2013 Brendan Nelson Malcolm Turnbull and Tony Abbott were all Catholics Abbott brought the Party to office in 2013 and was succeeded by Turnbull as Prime Minister in 2015 As the connection of the conservative parties to Catholicism has increased in recent decades so the formerly strong connection between Labor and Catholicism has waned Nevertheless since losing office in 2013 the Labor Party has been led by Jesuit educated Bill Shorten and the current Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who describes himself as a cultural Catholic 139 Shorten now an Anglican wrote in his book The Common Good that he is grateful for his Jesuit education and takes inspiration from the invocation of the Jesuit Pedro Arrupe to be men for others 140 Politicians including Prime Minister Tony Abbott and NSW Premier John Fahey studied for the priesthood before politics Michael Tate served as a minister in the Labor Hawke government and then after politics became a Catholic priest 141 Arts and culture Edit nbsp St Mary s Cathedral Sydney interior nbsp St Mary s Cathedral Sydney built to a design by William Wardell from a foundation stone laid in 1868 Architecture EditSee alsoMain article List of Catholic cathedrals in Australia Most towns in Australia have at least one Christian church St Mary s Cathedral Sydney follows a conventional English cathedral plan cruciform in shape with a tower over the crossing of the nave and transepts and twin towers at the west front with impressive stained glass windows With a length of 106 7 metres 350 ft and a general width of 24 4 metres 80 ft it is Sydney s largest church Built to a design by William Wardell from a foundation stone laid in 1868 the spires of the cathedral were not finally added until the year 2000 Wardell also worked on the design of St Patrick s Cathedral Melbourne among the finest examples of ecclesiastical architecture in Australia 142 143 Wardell s overall design was in Gothic Revival style paying tribute to the mediaeval cathedrals of Europe Largely constructed between 1858 and 1897 the nave was Early English in style while the remainder of the building is in Decorated Gothic Adelaide the capital of South Australia has long been known as the City of Churches North of Adelaide 130 kilometres 81 mi is the Jesuit old stone winery and cellars at Sevenhill founded by Austrian Jesuits in 1848 144 A rare Australian example of Spanish missionary style exists at New Norcia Western Australia founded by Spanish Benedictine monks in 1846 145 146 A number of notable Victorian era chapels and edifices were also constructed at church schools across Australia Along with community attitudes to religion church architecture changed significantly during the 20th century St Monica s Cathedral in Cairns was designed by architect Ian Ferrier and built in 1967 68 following the form of the original basilica model of the early churches of Rome adapted to a tropical climate and to reflect the changes to Catholic liturgy mandated at Vatican II The cathedral was dedicated as a memorial to the Battle of the Coral Sea which was fought east of Cairns in May 1942 The Peace Window stained glass was installed on the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II 147 148 In the later 20th century distinctly Australian approaches were applied at places such as Jamberoo Benedictine Abbey where natural materials were chosen to harmonise with the local environment and the chapel sanctuary is of glass overlooking rainforest 149 Similar design principles were applied at Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel built in the Snowy Mountains in 1996 150 nbsp St Mary s Cathedral Perth nbsp New Norcia Western Australia nbsp St Patrick s Cathedral Melbourne nbsp Saint Ignatius College Riverview nbsp St Francis Xavier s Cathedral Adelaide nbsp The Cathedral of St Stephen Brisbane nbsp St Christopher s Cathedral Canberra nbsp Mary MacKillop Chapel in North Sydney nbsp St Joseph s College Hunters Hill Chapel 1940 nbsp St Patricks Church Murrumbeena in VictoriaFilm and television Edit Australian films on Catholic themes have included Molokai The Story of Father Damien 1999 directed by Paul Cox and starring David Wenham The film recounts the life of the Belgian Saint Fr Damien of Molokai who devoted his life to the Kalaupapa Leprosy Settlement on the Hawaiian island of Molokai Mary 1994 written and directed by Kay Pavlou and starring Lucy Bell a biopic recounting the life and works of Mary MacKillop Australia s first saint of the Catholic Church The Passion of the Christ 2004 was directed and co written by Australian trained actor director Mel Gibson who was raised a Traditionalist Catholic in Australia Oranges and Sunshine 2010 directed by Ken Loach and starring Emily Watson Hugo Weaving and David Wenham The film is based on the true story of Margaret Humphreys an English social worker who uncovers the scandal of a scheme to forcibly relocate poor children to Australia and Canada Many of the children suffered sexual physical and emotional abuse at the hands of the Christian Brothers in Australia The Devil s Playground 1976 directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Simon Burke Nick Tate Arthur Dignam and John Frawley The film is semi autobiographical and tells the story of 13 year old Tom Allen training to be a religious Brother in the De La Salle Order Television programs on Catholic themes have included Revelation 2020 directed by Nial Fulton and Sarah Ferguson A three part documentary on the sexual abuse of children by priests and religious brothers Ferguson interviewed Father Vincent Ryan and Brother Bernard McGrath during their criminal trials in Sydney The Devil s Playground 2014 directed by Rachel Ward and Tony Krawitz and starring Simon Burke John Noble Don Hany Jack Thompson and Toni Collette The series picks up 35 years after the events of Fred Schepisi s film Tom Allen now in his 40s is a respected Sydney psychiatrist and father of two children After accepting an offer to counselling priests he uncovers a scandal Sisters of War 2010 is a telemovie based on the true story of two Australian women Lorna Whyte an army nurse and Sister Berenice Twohill a Catholic nun from New South Wales who survived as prisoners of war in Papua New Guinea during World War II Brides of Christ 1991 starring Naomi Watts and guest starring Russell Crowe was a television miniseries produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC Set in a Sydney convent school it dealt with the struggles of both the nuns and the young students to adapt to the many social changes taking place within the church and the outside world during the 1960s The Abbey 2007 an ABC documentary series filmed in the Jamberoo Benedictine Abbey followed five women from very different backgrounds and with very different views about spirituality as they lived a 33 day program introduction to monastic living devised and implemented by the nuns 151 Coverage of religion is part of the ABC s Charter citation needed obligation to reflect the character and diversity of the Australian community Its religious programs include coverage of Catholic and other worship and devotion explanation analysis debate and reports 152 Catholic Church Television Australia is an office with the Australian Catholic Office for Film amp Broadcasting and develops television programs for Aurora Community Television on Foxtel and Austar in Australia 153 Literature Edit nbsp Les Murray Catholic poet 1938 2019 The body of literature produced by Australian Catholics is extensive During colonial times the Benedictine missionary William Ullathorne 1806 1889 was a notable essayist writing against the Convict Transportation system Later Cardinal Moran 1830 1911 a noted historian wrote a History of the Catholic Church in Australasia 28 More recent Catholic histories of Australia include The Catholic Church and Community in Australia 1977 by Patrick O Farrell and Australian Catholics 1987 by Edmund Campion Notable Catholic poets have included Christopher Brennan 1870 1932 James McAuley 1917 1976 154 Bruce Dawe 1930 2020 and Les Murray 1938 2019 Murray and Dawe were among Australia s foremost contemporary poets noted for their use of vernacular and everyday Australian themes Emblematic of the Christian poets could be McAuley s rejection of Modernism in favour of Classical culture 155 Christ you walked on a sea But you cannot walk in a poem Not in our century There s something deeply wrong Either with us or with you 156 Many Australian writers have examined the lives of Christian characters or have been influenced by Catholic schooling Australia s best selling novel of all time The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough writes of the temptations encountered by a priest living in the Outback Many contemporary Australian writers have attended or taught at Catholic schools citation needed Catholic news publications have existed since 1839 157 They currently include The Catholic Weekly from Sydney The Catholic Leader published by the Brisbane Archdiocese and Eureka Street Magazine which is concerned with public affairs arts and theology and is run by the communication division of the Jesuit religious order Music Edit St Mary s Cathedral Choir Sydney is the oldest musical institution in Australia from origins in 1817 158 Major Catholic raised recording artists from Johnny O Keefe to Paul Kelly have recorded Christian spirituals Paul Kelly s Meet Me in the Middle of the Air is based on Psalm 23 159 Catholic nun Sister Janet Mead achieved significant mainstream chart success New South Wales Supreme Court Judge George Palmer was commissioned to compose the setting of the Mass for Sydney s World Youth Day 2008 Papal Mass The Mass Benedictus Qui Venit for large choir soloists and orchestra was performed in the presence of Pope Benedict XVI and an audience of 350 000 with singing led by soprano Amelia Farrugia and tenor Andrew Goodwin Receive the Power a song written by Guy Sebastian and Gary Pinto was chosen as the official anthem for the XXIII World Youth Day WYD08 held in Sydney in 2008 160 Australian Christmas carols like the Three Drovers or Christmas Day by John Wheeler and William G James place the Christmas story in an Australian context of warm dry Christmas winds and red dust and are popular at Catholic services As the festival of Christmas falls during the Australian summer Australians gather in large numbers for traditional open air evening carol services and concerts in December such as Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne and Carols in the Domain in Sydney 161 Art Edit nbsp The chancel window of St Mary s Cathedral Sydney depicts a vision of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary enthroned in Heaven The story of Christian art in Australia began with the arrival of the first British settlers at the end of the 18th century During the 19th century Gothic Revival cathedrals were built in the colonial capitals often containing stained glass art works as can be seen at St Mary s Cathedral Sydney and St Patrick s Cathedral Melbourne Roy de Maistre 1894 1968 was an Australian abstract artist who obtained renown in Britain converted to Catholicism and painted notable religious works including a series of Stations of the Cross for Westminster Cathedral in London Among the most acclaimed of Australian painters of Catholic themes was Arthur Boyd He painted a Biblical series and created tapestries of the life of St Francis of Assisi Influenced by both the European masters and the Heidelberg School of Australian landscape art he placed the central characters of the Bible within Australian bush scenery as in his portrait of Adam and Eve The Expulsion 1948 162 The artist Leonard French who designed a stained glass ceiling of the National Gallery of Victoria has drawn heavily on Christian story and symbolism through his career 163 Saints and other venerated Australians EditSome of the Australians honoured by the Catholic Church to be saints or whose cause for canonisation is still being investigated include Saints Edit Mary MacKillop founder of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Venerated 13 June 1992 Beatified 19 January 1995 Canonised 17 October 2010Servants of God Edit Caroline Chisholm a married laywoman of the Archdiocese of Canberra Goulburn Eileen Rosaline O Connor a laywoman of the Archdiocese of Sydney and founder of the Society of Our Lady s Nurses for the Poor Mary Glowrey Mary of the Sacred Heart a professed religious of the Society of Jesus Mary Joseph Constance Helen Gladman Mary Rosina a professed religious of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred HeartOther open causes Edit Ellen Whitty a professed religious of the Sisters of Mercy Irene McCormack a professed religious of the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred HeartVisits of saints relics Edit Australia has hosted the major relics of a number saints St Peter Chanel protomartyr of the South Seas 4 May 1849 to 1 February 1850 St Therese of Lisieux 2002 and together with her parents Louis Martin and Marie Azelie Guerin 2020 St Margaret Mary Alacoque 2005 Bl Pier Giorgio Frassati for the Sydney World Youth Day 2008 St Francis Xavier 2013 Visits by saints during their lifetime Edit St Teresa of Calcutta 1969 1981 Pope St Paul VI 1970 Pope St John Paul II 1986 1995 Organisation Edit nbsp Our Lady Help of Christians Catholic Church in Brunswick East is part of the Melbourne archdioceseWithin Australia the church hierarchy is made of metropolitan archdioceses and suffragan sees Each diocese has a bishop while each archdiocese is served by an archbishop Australia has no living members of the College of Cardinals following the death on 10 January 2023 of the previous Archbishop of Sydney George Pell The national assembly of bishops is the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference ACBC headed by Timothy Costelloe SDB the Archbishop of Perth 164 There are a further 175 autonomous Catholic religious orders operating in Australia generally affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia headed by Sr Monica Cavanagh RSJ 7 The church in Australia has five provinces Adelaide Brisbane Melbourne Perth and Sydney There are seven archdioceses Adelaide Brisbane Canberra and Goulburn Hobart Melbourne and Perth There are 35 dioceses comprising geographic areas as well as the Australian Defence Force and dioceses for the Chaldean Maronite Melkite and Ukrainian rites 6 There is also a personal ordinariate principally for former Anglicans which has a similar status to a diocese 16 17 In 2017 there were an estimated 3 000 priests and 9 000 men and women in institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Edit The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference is the national body of the bishops of Australia 165 The Conference is headed by Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB It is served by a secretariat based in Canberra under the management of the Reverend Brian Lucas The conference meets at least annually 166 Archdioceses and dioceses Edit Archdiocese of Adelaide Diocese of Darwin Diocese of Port Pirie Archdiocese of Brisbane Diocese of Cairns Diocese of Rockhampton Diocese of Toowoomba Diocese of Townsville Archdiocese of Melbourne Diocese of Ballarat Diocese of Sale Diocese of Sandhurst Ukrainian Eparchy of Ss Peter and Paul Archdiocese of Perth Diocese of Broome Diocese of Bunbury Diocese of Geraldton Archdiocese of Sydney Diocese of Armidale Diocese of Bathurst Diocese of Broken Bay Diocese of Lismore Diocese of Maitland Newcastle Diocese of Parramatta Diocese of Wagga Wagga Diocese of Wilcannia Forbes Diocese of Wollongong Immediately subject to the Holy See Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn attached to the Province of Sydney Archdiocese of Hobart attached to the Province of Melbourne Catholic Diocese of the Australian Defence Force attached to Sydney Chaldean Eparchy of Saint Thomas the Apostle attached to Sydney Maronite Diocese of St Maroun attached to Sydney Melkite Eparchy of St Michael Archangel attached to Sydney Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross St Thomas the Apostle Syro Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Melbourne Catholic Religious Australia Edit See also List of monasteries in Australia Australia s autonomous Catholic religious orders are affiliated under Catholic Religious Australia CRA which is the public name of the Australian Conference of Leaders of Religious Institutes ACLRI This is the peak body for leaders of the religious institutes and societies of apostolic life resident in Australia It represents more than 130 congregations of sisters brothers and priests It is established by the authority of the Holy See in Rome and is tasked with promoting supporting and representing religious life in the Australian church and in the wider community and with facilitating co ordination and co operation of religious with church bodies and with other authorities including with episcopal conferences and with individual bishops 167 The organisation is presently led by Josephite Sister Monica Cavanagh 7 See also EditCatholic Church by country Broken Rites amp Catholic sexual abuse scandal in Australia Christianity in Australia List of Catholic cathedrals in Australia List of Catholic dioceses in Australia List of saints from Oceania Religion in Australia Category Catholic Church in South AmericaReferences Edit Cultural diversity Census 2021 Australian Bureau of Statistics 7 April 2022 Greg Sheridan God is Good for You Allen amp Unwin 2018 p 25 Greg Sheridan God is Good for You Allen amp Unwin 2018 p 25 26 2016 Census Schools Australia 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics Archived from the original on 30 January 2018 Retrieved 21 March 2018 a b c d Schools 4221 0 Schools Australia 2011 Australian Bureau of Statistics 21 March 2012 Archived from the original on 20 April 2012 Retrieved 31 March 2012 a b c Catholic Church in Australia www catholic org au Retrieved 10 March 2019 a b c d Structure Catholic Church in Australia www catholic org au Retrieved 10 March 2019 Mary MacKillop officially declared a saint abc net au 18 Oct 2010 Cultural diversity 1301 0 Year Book Australia 2008 Australian Bureau of Statistics 7 February 2008 Archived from the original on 13 February 2010 Retrieved 15 February 2010 Australian Bureau of Statistics www abs gov au Retrieved 8 November 2022 Religious Affiliation narrow groups Cat No 2068 0 2006 Census Tables Australian Bureau of Statistics 27 June 2007 Retrieved 31 March 2012 Religion in Australia 2016 Census Data Summary http www abs gov au a b c d Special Feature Trends in religious affiliation 4102 0 Australian Social Trends 1994 Australian Bureau of Statistics 27 May 1994 Archived from the original on 26 March 2012 Retrieved 31 March 2012 NCLS releases latest estimates of church attendance Press release National Church Life Survey Research 28 February 2004 Archived from the original on 27 September 2007 Retrieved 1 January 2007 Mass Attendance in Australia a b The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross Archived from the original on 16 April 2015 Retrieved 13 March 2017 a b Military Ordinariate of Australia Military The Hierarchy of the Catholic Church 19 February 2011 Archived from the original on 5 February 2007 Retrieved 6 January 2007 QuickStats Australian Bureau of Statistics Archived from the original on 2 April 2017 Retrieved 13 March 2017 Quiros Pedro Fernandez de 1563 1615 Biography Pedro Fernandez de Quiros Australian Dictionary of Biography Adb online anu edu au Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 South Land to New Holland National Library of Australia Nla gov au Archived from the original on 13 September 2006 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Torres Luis Vaez de Biography Luis Vaez de Torres Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 15 August 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 See extract from La Perouse s journal published in 1799 as A Voyage Around the world pp 179 180 in Frank Crowley 1980 Colonial Australia A Documentary History of Australia 1 1788 1840 3 4 Thomas Nelson Melbourne ISBN 0 17 005406 3 David Hill 1788 The Brutal Truth of the First Fleet King Robert J December 1999 What brought Laperouse to Botany Bay Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society 85 pt 2 140 147 Christian Services 26 April 2013 Archived from the original on 12 July 2017 Retrieved 28 March 2018 Catholic History of Australia Botany Bay Story 6 October 2008 Archived from the original on 6 October 2008 Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b c d e The Catholic Community in Australia Catholic Australia Archived from the original on 24 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b c Catholic Encyclopedia Australia Newadvent org Archived from the original on 1 December 2016 Retrieved 31 July 2012 H Perkins 1971 Father Harold the story of a convict priest Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 3 3 1 14 Franklin James 2021 Sydney 1803 When Catholics were tolerated and Freemasons banned PDF Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society 107 2 135 155 Retrieved 27 December 2021 The Sydney Morning Herald from Sydney New South Wales on July 14 2001 Page 9 14 July 2001 Archived from the original on 13 March 2017 Retrieved 13 March 2017 Nairn Bede Polding John Bede 1794 1877 Biography John Bede Polding Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Bourke Church Act National Museum of Australia www nma gov au Archived from the original on 28 March 2018 Retrieved 28 March 2018 Iltis Judith Chisholm Caroline 1808 1877 Biography Caroline Chisholm Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Founding of the Sisters of Charity in Australia Sisters of Charity of Australia Archived from the original on 1 October 2009 Retrieved 31 July 2012 St Vincent s Hospital history and tradition sesquicentenary sth stvincents com au Stvincents com au Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Sisters of The Good Samaritans Goodsams org au Archived from the original on 13 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 History of the Jesuits in Australia Australian Jesuits Archived from the original on 29 August 2007 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Moran Patrick Francis 1830 1911 Australian Dictionary of Biography A E Cahill 16 August 1911 Moran Patrick Francis 1830 1911 Biography Patrick Francis Moran Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 19 December 2009 Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b About Little Company of Mary Sisters NSW Blue Plaques Program Lynch Annie 1870 1938 Australian Dictionary of Biography Catholics and Indigenous Australians Australian Catholic Historical Society 2020 Retrieved 29 June 2021 lost title 8 June 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 dead link Catholic news from the parish the nation and the world Therecord com au Archived from the original on 2 October 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 J Franklin 2016 Catholic missions to aboriginal Australia an evaluation of their overall effect PDF Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society Archived PDF from the original on 1 December 2016 Retrieved 1 December 2016 Brothers in Australia Christian Brothers NSW ACT Region Archived from the original on 16 July 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 History The Institute of Sisters of Mercy of Australia Archived from the original on 5 October 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 lost title 6 July 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 dead link Thorpe Osmund MacKillop Mary Helen 1842 1909 Biography Mary Helen MacKillop Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 23 February 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b A E Cahill 16 August 1911 Moran Patrick Francis 1830 1911 Biography Patrick Francis Moran Australian Dictionary of Biography Adb online anu edu au Retrieved 31 July 2012 A E Cahill Catholicism and Socialism The 1905 Controversy in Australia Journal of Religious History June 1960 Vol 1 Issue 2 p88 101 Mark Hearn Containing Contamination Cardinal Moran and Fin de Siecle Australian National Identity 1888 1911 Journal of Religious History March 2010 Vol 34 Issue 1 pp 20 35 Patrick O Farrell The Catholic Church and community an Australian history 1992 a b Griffin James Mannix Daniel 1864 1963 Biography Daniel Mannix Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 7 June 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 a b Fast facts James Scullin Fast facts Australia s Prime Ministers Primeministers naa gov au Archived from the original on 26 June 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Dictionary of Australian Biography L Gutenberg net au Archived from the original on 26 July 2015 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Brian Carroll From Barton to Fraser Cassell Australia 1978 O Connor Eily Rosaline Eileen 1892 1921 Australian Dictionary of Biography Mass formally opens beatification cause of Eileen O Connor laywoman and mystic CNAFeb 20 2020 Gervase McKinna Doctor Sister Mary Glowrey An Impossible Mission Melbourne University Mosaic People and Places Melbourne The History Department The University of Melbourne 1998 101 Cf Ursula Clinton Australian Medical Nun in India Mary Glowrey M D Melbourne Advocate Press 1967 11 Outstanding lay Catholics models for today says archbishop Catholic Weekly Apr 2 2021 Chaplains Australian Army First World War Australian War Memorial The Martyrs of Papua New Guinea by Theo Aerts University of Papua New Guinea Press 1994 Pages 36 7 It was a real labour of love Australian War Memorial To Rot Peter 1912 1945 Australian Dictionary of Biography Irish Catholic Australians Australian Catholic Historical Society 2020 Retrieved 29 June 2021 Franklin James 2019 Catholic rural virtue in Australia ideal and reality PDF Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 40 39 61 Retrieved 30 June 2021 J Franklin Calwell Catholicism and the origins of multicultural Australia Proc of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 2009 Conference 42 54 1301 0 Year Book Australia 2006 Abs gov au 20 January 2006 Archived from the original on 5 August 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 O Connell Declan Warhurst John 1982 Church and class Irish Australian Labour loyalties and the 1955 Split Saothar 8 46 57 JSTOR 23193797 Retrieved 30 June 2021 Daniel Mannix amp BA Santamaria Shane Maloney The Monthly Archived from the original on 13 October 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Editors Oz s Abbott The Tablet 5 November 2009 21 Maiden Samantha 21 July 2008 Tim Fischer announced ambassador to the Holy See The Australian Archived from the original on 22 September 2008 Retrieved 1 September 2008 Ministry to those living with HIV AIDS downloadable Word document Web Archives Sisters of Charity Australia 2010 Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Welcome to St Vincents amp Mater Health Sydney St Vincent s and Mater Health Sydney Archived from the original on 22 March 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 a b Campion Edmund 19 May 2005 Obituary A father to the poor and dispossessed The Sydney Morning Herald Archived from the original on 2 November 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Father Chris Riley The Drum Australia ABC Archived from the original on 5 February 2010 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Compton Leon Tetlow Miranda 22 March 2010 Guestroom Father Bob Maguire streaming audio ABC News Darwin Australia Archived from the original on 20 January 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Father Bob Maguire presents Sunday Night Safran Triple J Australia ABC Archived from the original on 26 March 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 The Journey of the Catholic Church in Australia Catholic Enquiry Centre 2009 Archived from the original on 22 April 2008 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Pope John Paul II 30 November 1986 To the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in Blatherskite Park Speech Alice Springs Australia Archived from the original transcript on 15 February 2014 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Towards Healing Professional Standards Office Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 1996 Archived from the original on 22 July 2011 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Pope John Paul II 22 November 2001 Ecclesia in Oceania Apostolic exhortation Rome Libreria Editrice Vaticana Archived from the original on 23 April 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Religion Report ABC News Australia 2007 Archived from the original on 10 September 2011 Totaro Paola Gibson Joel 21 July 2008 Pope meets abuse victims The Sydney Morning Herald AAP Archived from the original on 17 May 2014 Pope s apology renews calls for PM to say sorry European Network for Indigenous Australian Rights 24 November 2001 Archived from the original on 19 March 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 World Youth Day 2008 The Sydney Morning Herald 2008 Archived from the original on 31 August 2011 Retrieved 30 March 2012 World Youth Day 2008 ABC News Australia 2008 Archived from the original on 24 February 2010 Bennett Adam 21 July 2008 Randwick s turf survives WYD The Sydney Morning Herald AAP Archived from the original on 25 July 2014 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Perry Michael 19 July 2008 Factbox World Youth Day final Mass facts and figures Reuters Sydney Retrieved 20 July 2008 World Youth Day 2008 Catholic Online 20 July 2008 Archived from the original on 31 January 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 O Neill Sharon 21 July 2008 World Youth Day a logistical success transcript 7 30 Report Australia Archived from the original on 4 March 2016 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Joy for Saint Mary MacKillop The Sunday Telegraph Australia 19 December 2009 Archived from the original on 24 May 2012 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Alberici Emma 18 October 2010 Australians celebrate Mary s canonisation ABC News Australia Retrieved 18 October 2010 Alberici Emma 15 October 2010 First Australians celebrate first Australian saint ABC News Australia Archived from the original on 19 October 2010 Retrieved 16 October 2010 Rudd leads delegation to Vatican Sky News Australia 18 October 2010 Archived from the original on 7 January 2016 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Census Schools Australia 2016 Australian Bureau of Statistics Archived from the original on 27 July 2017 Retrieved 21 March 2018 About Us Catholic Social Services Australia www cssa org au Archived from the original on 14 March 2018 Retrieved 21 March 2018 Catholic Health Australia The Sector Archived from the original on 10 March 2018 Retrieved 21 March 2018 Royal Commission ANALYSIS OF CLAIMS OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE MADE WITH RESPECT TO CATHOLIC CHURCH INSTITUTIONS IN AUSTRALIA Archived 31 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine June 2017 Worst Catholic groups for child sex abuse claims in Australia revealed ABC News 6 February 2017 Archived from the original on 14 February 2017 Retrieved 14 February 2017 ABC News Australian Broadcasting Corporation Proportion of priests and non ordained religious subject to a claim www documentcloud org Archived from the original on 6 February 2017 Retrieved 14 February 2017 Gerard Henderson Media Watch Dog 18 October 2019 url https www theaustralian com au commentary media watch dog abcs right royal opinion on meghan markle and the royals news story ed6296d0f7da8302ec1235205a008317 7C quote according to evidence presented to the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in the period of the 1930s to the 1980s on a per capita basis a child was safer in a Catholic religious institution than in a non Catholic religious institution There are no equivalent statistics for non religious institutions Australian Catholic Charities Australian Catholic Historical Society 2020 Retrieved 29 June 2021 Chisholm s supporters push for sainthood The Age Australia AAP 24 October 2007 Archived from the original on 15 January 2016 Opening Mass underway The Sydney Morning Herald AAP 15 July 2008 Archived from the original on 17 May 2014 Our member organisations Archived from the original on 2 October 2016 Retrieved 2 October 2016 D J Gleeson 2007 Some themes in Australian Catholic social welfare history Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society 28 7 17 Abraham Gavin Nation must respond to looming dementia crisis Archived from the original on 5 September 2017 Retrieved 13 March 2017 Sisters of Charity St Vincent s Health Australia Archived from the original on 2 April 2010 Retrieved 31 July 2012 St Vincent s Hospital history and tradition sesquicentenary sth stvincents com au Exwwwsvh stvincents com au Archived from the original on 21 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Welcome Calvary Care Little Company of Mary Health Care Archived from the original on 13 March 2017 Retrieved 13 March 2017 Little Sisters of the Poor Oceania Archived from the original on 28 April 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 The pioneering Sisters www sjog org au Retrieved 21 October 2022 L A Drake Pigot Edward Francis 1858 1929 Biography Edward Francis Pigot Australian Dictionary of Biography Adb anu edu au Archived from the original on 1 August 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Modern Slavery in Supply Chains Reporting Requirement Archived from the original on 21 March 2018 Retrieved 21 March 2018 Beginnings Saint Mary MacKillop Marymackillop org au Archived from the original on 23 March 2010 Retrieved 31 July 2012 The Purple Economy Archived 17 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine by Max Wallace Our History ACU Australian Catholic University ACU 1 January 1991 Archived from the original on 24 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Notre Dame University Australia About 6 July 2011 Archived from the original on 21 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 A T Yarwood Marsden Samuel 1765 1838 Biography Samuel Marsden Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 8 April 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 T L Suttor Ullathorne William Bernard 1806 1889 Biography William Bernard Ullathorne Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 28 June 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Dominic O Sullivan The Roman Catholic Church and Indigenous Land Rights in Australia and New Zealand Report Department of Political Science and Public Policy University of Waikato Archived from the original on 19 May 2013 Retrieved 14 July 2011 Aboriginal Involvement with the Church Cityofsydney nsw gov au Archived from the original on 22 April 2002 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Jones Philip Unaipon David 1872 1967 Biography David Unaipon Australian Dictionary of Biography Adbonline anu edu au Archived from the original on 30 January 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Civics Sir Douglas Nicholls Curriculum edu au 14 June 2005 Archived from the original on 3 June 2016 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Father Frank Brennan AO Chair 152 91 15 57 Archived from the original on 6 March 2012 Retrieved 31 July 2012 East Timor Cardinal says international response needed immediately Catholic News 7 September 1999 Archived from the original on 11 March 2011 Retrieved 13 March 2017 I ll wear ovaries T shirt again Nettle The Sydney Morning Herald 10 February 2006 Archived from the original on 15 October 2008 Morris Linda 11 October 2005 Churches against changes The Age Melbourne Archived from the original on 4 November 2012 Jones Tony 28 January 2002 Labor rethinks detention stance Lateline Australia ABC TV Archived from the original transcript on 31 July 2016 Retrieved 30 March 2012 Lyons Dame Enid Muriel 1897 1981 adb anu edu au Follett Rosemary 1948 The Encyclopedia of Women amp Leadership in Twentieth Century Australia Greg Sheridan God is Good for You Allen amp Unwin 2018 p 201 205 South Australians mourn Dame Roma Mitchell abc net au 10 March 2000 The voluble and the Word amen to that The Sydney Morning Herald 10 October 2009 Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Arrivederci Rome Welcome Home Tim Fischer Catholic Communications Sydney Archdiocese 20 January 2012 Archived from the original on 19 March 2014 Retrieved 1 February 2012 Albanese courts Christian groups in social justice pitch smh com au Feb 21 2021 Greg Sheridan God is Good for You Allen amp Unwin 2018 p 173 Greg Sheridan God is Good for You Allen amp Unwin 2018 p 185 McDonald D I Wardell William Wilkinson 1823 1899 Archived from the original on 2 April 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a work ignored help The Cathedral Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne Saint Patrick s Cathedral Catholic Communications Melbourne Archived from the original on 27 March 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 About Sevenhill Sevenhill Cellars Archived from the original on 27 February 2015 Retrieved 1 April 2012 New Norcia Tourism North West Region Western Australia Discover West Holidays 2010 Archived from the original on 14 March 2013 Retrieved 1 April 2012 he Monastery New Norcia Benedictine Community 2011 Archived from the original on 25 April 2016 Retrieved 1 April 2012 Conservation Appeals National Trust Queensland Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 Using the criteria a methodology PDF Queensland Government Queensland Heritage Council 2006 p 6 ISBN 0 9775641 0 X Archived from the original PDF on 10 April 2013 Retrieved 1 April 2012 The Church Jamberoo Abbey Benedictine Nuns 2007 Archived from the original on 20 March 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 Thredbo Weddings Thredbo Ecumenical Chapel Archived from the original on 8 May 2016 Retrieved 1 April 2012 The Abbey Australia ABC TV 2011 Archived from the original on 30 March 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 Editorial Policies Relating to Religion on ABC Compass Australia ABC TV 2011 Archived from the original on 17 August 2012 Retrieved 1 April 2012 Who are we Archived from the original on 16 September 2011 Retrieved 31 July 2012 Prominent Australian Catholics Catholic Australia Archived from the original on 22 February 2012 Retrieved 6 February 2012 Graeme Davisons Paper PDF Archived from the original PDF on 6 July 2011 McAuley James 1994 In the Twentieth Century 1969 Collected Poems Sydney pp 242 243 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a CS1 maint location missing publisher link The Catholic Press in Australia Australian Catholic Historical Society 2020 Retrieved 29 June 2021 Lea Scarlett Errol 1979 A Cathedral reaches out the impact of St Mary s music on Sydney life Musicology Australia 5 173 190 doi 10 1080 08145857 1979 10415135 Retrieved 8 June 2020 Austin Steve Sennett Sean 7 October 2005 Musician Paul Kelly ABC Queensland Australia Archived from the original streaming audio on 21 January 2012 Retrieved 6 February 2012 Australian Idol Wrote World Youth Day Anthem Famvin org 17 May 2007 Archived from the original on 8 July 2012 Retrieved 25 June 2011 Christmas season celebrations in Australia About Australia Australian Government 16 July 2009 Archived from the original on 8 April 2011 Retrieved 6 February 2012 Robertson Bryan 29 April 1999 Obituary Arthur Boyd The Independent London Archived from the original on 4 June 2016 Leonard French National Gallery of Victoria Archived from the original on 28 September 2009 Retrieved 31 July 2012 About the Bishops Conference Catholic Australia 13 July 2022 Welcome Catholic Church in Australia Archived from the original on 31 October 2011 Retrieved 31 October 2011 Australian Catholic Bishops Conference Catholic Church in Australia Archived from the original on 16 October 2011 Retrieved 31 October 2011 Catholic Religious Australia Catholic Religious Australia Retrieved 10 March 2019 Further reading EditO Farrell Patrick 1977 The Catholic Church and community in Australia a history West Melbourne Australia Thomas Nelson p 463 Campion Edmund 1987 Australian Catholics Ringwood Australia Penguin p 280 Franklin James 2023 Catholic Thought and Catholic Action Scenes from Australian Catholic Life Brisbane Connor Court Publishing ISBN 9781922815354 Brennan Frank 12 July 2008 The Australian Religious Landscape through Catholic Eyes on the Eve of World Youth Day 2008 Eureka Street Jesuit Communications Australia Archived from the original on 5 March 2011 Retrieved 16 July 2008 External links EditCatholic Church in Australia s official website Australian Catholic Bishops Conference official website Australian Catholic Historical Society Timeline of Australian Catholic History Australian Catholic Biographies Website of Patrick O Farrell historian of Catholic Australia Catholic Church in Australia Catholic Hierarchy Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Catholic Church in Australia amp oldid 1170844603, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.