"On the Side of the Saints": a History of the Sydney Catholic Pro-Life Organisation Family Life International with Reference to Identity Formation
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The University of Notre Dame Australia ResearchOnline@ND Theses 2017 "On the side of the saints": A history of the Sydney Catholic pro-life organisation Family Life International with reference to identity formation Jocelyn Hedley The University of Notre Dame Australia Follow this and additional works at: https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Copyright Regulations 1969 WARNING The material in this communication may be subject to copyright under the Act. Any further copying or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the Act. Do not remove this notice. Publication Details Hedley, J. (2017). "On the side of the saints": A history of the Sydney Catholic pro-life organisation Family Life International with reference to identity formation (Doctor of Philosophy (College of Arts and Science)). University of Notre Dame Australia. https://researchonline.nd.edu.au/theses/148 This dissertation/thesis is brought to you by ResearchOnline@ND. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses by an authorized administrator of ResearchOnline@ND. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME, AUSTRALIA ‘On the side of the saints’ A history of the Sydney Catholic pro-life organisation Family Life International with reference to identity formation Jocelyn Hedley Supervised by A/Prof. Steven Lovell-Jones, Dr Christine de Matos and Dr Michael Casey PhD Arts and Sciences 2017 Table of Contents ABSTRACT 2 DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 4 ABBREVIATIONS 5 THE THESIS TITLE IN CONTEXT 7 INTRODUCTION 8 FROM EUGENICS TO HUMANAE VITAE THE BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN: THE AUSTRALIAN RESPONSE 43 TENSIONS WITHIN THE CAMP: FORMING A DISTINCT IDENTITY 83 FROM THE ‘SECULAR’ TO THE AVOWEDLY RELIGIOUS: A CLEAR AND CATHOLIC IDENTITY 113 ‘DON’T VOTE FOR ABORTION’: THE POLITICS OF CATHOLIC IDENTITY 159 THE OSBORNE BILL: HOW ONE PIECE OF LEGISLATION SPLIT THE PRO- LIFE MOVEMENT 180 THE THIRD RITE, ROME AND THE SALT OF THE EARTH 218 CONCLUSION 253 APPENDIX: HREC UNCONDITIONAL APPROVAL LETTER 261 BIBLIOGRAPHY 262 1 Abstract Histories of the pro-life movement are surprisingly absent from both historical and social scientific research, something that is remarkable given the movement’s often contentious and sometimes decisive role in contemporary politics. Certainly, there is an enormous body of work engaging with arguments for and against the pro-life position and attendant issues, but as far as histories of the movement are concerned there seems to be a distinct absence of literature. Indeed, until recently, anything like an extended and scholarly engagement with the pro-life movement has been markedly absent throughout the English-speaking world, though this lack has begun to be addressed, notably in the United States. Even so, the number of these works is scant in comparison to other topics in the study of contemporary history. The present thesis addresses this deficiency in that it sets itself to present a history of one part of the contemporary pro-life movement in Sydney: Family Life International. While not claiming to be an exhaustive history of Family Life International, the present thesis is nonetheless unique in that – to the best of the researcher’s knowledge – it would appear that there is no other extended academic study detailing the history (which one might refer to as a microhistory) of the Catholic pro-life movement in Sydney, or, indeed, in Australia. It might be thought that the history of the pro-life movement would be informed and shaped by forces external to the churches, not least because the greater amount of voices in the pro-life movement come from religious circles, usually Christian circles, and more specifically Catholic circles. But what this thesis aims to answer is the question as to what is the greater influence on the formation of the identity of the Sydney Catholic pro-life movement, particularly Family Life International: is it forces external to the pro-life movement in general and to the Catholic Church in particular, or is it forces internal? 2 Acknowledgements My first thanks go to Gail Instance who introduced me to the story of Family Life International; and to all of my interviewees who so generously shared their experiences with me: Michael Baker, Georgina Brazier, Denise Cameron, Joseph and Josephine Cudmore, Vicki Dunne MLA, Most Rev. Anthony Fisher OP, Richard Grant, Paul Hanrahan, Carmel Jeffreys, Lee Kendrick, Rev. The Hon. Fred Nile MLC, Paul Osborne, Sue Russell, Bern and Anne Sadler, Dr Wanda Skowronska and Margaret Tighe. To those at The University of Notre Dame, Australia, unknown to me, who saw value in my proposed thesis and granted me a scholarship, and to A/Prof. Sandy Lynch and A/Prof. John Rees who supported my candidature in the early days. To my supervisors, A/Prof. Steven Lovell-Jones and Dr Michael Casey, who guided me along the way, and to Dr Christine de Matos, who assisted me so ably at the end. To my friends within the pro-life movement with whom I have shared so much and whose prayers throughout this period have been of especial value to me. To the Goldfeder-Lynam-Stanich family who welcomed me into their home and provided me with a place of stability for the duration of my research. And finally to my spiritual companion, Dr Robert Tilley, whose kindness and help, academic and otherwise, has been without equal. 4 Abbreviations ACBC Australian Catholic Bishops Conference ACPLA Australian Catholics/’s Pro-Life Association ACT Australian Capital Territory AFA Australian Family Alliance AFRLA Australian Federation of Right to Life Associations; also ‘the Fed’ ALP Australian Labor Party AMA Australian Medical Association ANF Australian Nursing Federation CDF Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith C-Fam Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute CUF Catholics United for the Faith DOTUC Day of the Unborn Child EV Evangelium Vitae FLI Family Life International FPA Family Planning Association GIFT Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer HLI Human Life International HLPS Human Life Protection Society HLRF Human Life Research Foundation HREC Human Research Ethics Committee HV Humanae Vitae IPPF International Planned Parenthood Foundation IUD Intrauterine Device IVF in vitro fertilisation KSCA The Order of the Knights of the Southern Cross Australia MIMS Monthly Index of Medical Specialties MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly MLC Member of the Legislative Council MP Member of Parliament NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 5 NFP Natural Family Planning NRLA National Right to Life Association OP Order of Preachers PLV Pro-Life Victoria PRI Population Research Institute RTL Right to Life RTLA Right to Life Australia RTLACT Right to Life Australian Capital Territory RTLNSW Right to Life New South Wales RTLV Right to Life Victoria SJ Society of Jesus (Jesuits) SPUC Society for the Protection of Unborn Children TFP The American Society for the Defence of Tradition, Family and Property 6 The thesis title in context The quote in the title of the present thesis – ‘on the side of the saints’ – is made by key informer Gail Instance and is contextualised as follows: Father Minton said to me one day, he rang me up and he said thank you for getting me involved in the pro-life thing because he said I think if I hadn’t I would have gone to hell. Well, I think the same about me. I think it has saved, hopefully will save all our souls. You start out because this has got to be done. Oh, this is a terrible thing; we’ve got to do something about it. But then you realise that you’ve got to do something about you, because that’s the way the world is made up, of the saints and the wicked demons, you know. You’re either on the side of the saints and that means you’ve got to improve … Bob Bergin said this to me in the ’60s: there’s no such thing as standing still in the spiritual life. You’re either going backwards or you’re going forwards. There’s not a plateau. Father Wong said it the other day on the Divine Mercy: there’s no such thing as a plateau in the spiritual life. If you’re not improving yourself you’re going backwards. So that’s what I have found, with all of us within the pro-life movement, within the whole spectrum. It’s not just an organisation we’re part of and we go to meetings and we do this and we do that. It’s a life.1 1 Gail Instance, “Recollections,” 31-32. 7 CHAPTER 1 __________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction One of the more neglected areas of both historical and social scientific research is that which has to do with the pro-life movement, something that is very surprising given the movement’s often contentious and sometimes decisive role in contemporary politics. The present thesis addresses this deficiency in that it sets itself to present a history of one part of the contemporary pro-life movement in Australia, Family Life International. It might be thought that the history of the pro-life movement would be informed and shaped by forces external to the churches, not least because the greater amount of voices in the pro-life movement come from religious circles, usually Christian circles, and more specifically Catholic circles. But what the present thesis aims to answer is the question as to what is the greater influence on the formation of the Sydney Catholic pro-life movement, particularly Family Life International: is it forces external or forces internal to the