They did what they were asked to do: An historical analysis of the contribution of two women’s religious institutes within the educational and social development of the city of Ballarat, with particular reference to the period 1950-1980. Submitted by Heather O’Connor, T.P.T.C, B. Arts, M.Ed Studies. A thesis submitted in total fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of PhD. School of Arts and Social Sciences (NSW) Faculty of Arts and Sciences Australian Catholic University November, 2010 Statement of sources This thesis contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a thesis by which I have qualified for or been awarded another degree or diploma. No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgment in the main text of the thesis. This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other tertiary institution. All research procedures in the thesis received the approval of the relevant Ethics/Safety Committees. i ABSTRACT This thesis covers the period 1950-1980, chosen for the significance of two major events which affected the apostolic lives of the women religious under study: the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), and the progressive introduction of state aid to Catholic schools, culminating in the policies of the Whitlam government (1972-1975) which entrenched bi- partisan political commitment to funding non-government schools. It also represents the period during which governments of all persuasions became more involved in the operations of non-government agencies, which directly impacted on services provided by the churches and the women religious under study, not least by imposing strict conditions of accountability for funding. As a contextual history, the thesis draws heavily on explanations of the social, economic and cultural features of the period of time and takes into account the argument of the American sociologist, Todd Gitlin, that the 1950s were “a seedbed as well as a cemetery (because) the surprises of the sixties were planted here”.1 The period provides “…a vantage point for viewing twentieth century Australian Catholicism… a time when significant movements of the century had reached a kind of a balance, and before the turmoil of the 1960s”.2 Scope of the thesis Two of the four congregations of women religious who worked in the city of Ballarat will be studied: the Ballarat East Sisters of Mercy and the Loreto sisters.3 Two other congregations contributed directly to the Ballarat community – the Sisters of Nazareth who conducted orphanages and aged care facilities, and the Sisters of St John of God who managed the private hospital. Their contribution will not be attempted in any detail, due in part to the difficulty of accessing their archives, but more importantly, because an attempt to cover all four congregations is beyond the scope of one thesis.4 1 Todd Gitlin, The 60s: Years of Hope, Days of Rage, Bantam, New York, 1987. I am grateful to Dr. Val Noone for introducing me to the ideas of Gitlin. 2 Ian Howells, SJ, ‘Preface: Vantage Point’ in Val Noone (ed), Golden Years, Grounds for Hope: Father Golden and the Newman Society 1950-1966, Golden Project, Melbourne, 2008, p11. 3 Other institutes of women religious involved in the diocese included the Sisters of Our Lady of the Missions, Presentation Sisters, Brigidines, Good Samaritans, Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (Brown Josephites), Sisters of St Jospeh of Cluny. In 2009, the following women religious are represented in the diocese: Loretos, Ballarat East Sisters of Mercy, Melbourne Sisters of Mercy, Sisters of St John of God, Sisters of Nazareth, Brigidines, Sisters of St Joseph (Brown Josephites), Dominicans, Good Samaritans, Sisters of Sion. 4 The archives of the Mercy and Loreto sisters are housed in Ballarat; St John of God archives are in Western Australia, and are thorough study of the Sisters of Nazareth would require access to their central archives in London. ii The study is set in the city of Ballarat, as a manageable geographical area, although reference will be made to the contribution of the Sisters of Mercy throughout the whole Ballarat Diocese and to the Loretos in Portland. In addition, because the Loreto congregation is a national one, reference will be made to the contribution of a number of Loreto sisters whose leadership and/or influence impacted directly on their members in Ballarat, even though they may not have been based in the city itself. Material and interviews are included about women in this category whose contribution was deemed to be central to change and adaptation within the institute. The thesis does not attempt to provide a comprehensive history of either institute, nor a history of the schools in which they taught. Rather it will evaluate their contribution to the community within a defined period, setting their lives and work in the context of secular changes of that time (government policies and critical social movements) and the changes required of all women religious following Vatican ll. The study is a not a comparative analysis of the two congregations. Any comparisons that may arise from the data are incidental to their combined contribution, and will be analysed within the context of their canonical structures, the visions of their foundresses and their response to the work they were asked to do by the Church. The major focus of the study will be interpreted in terms of the nature and the scope of the changes to their apostolic work, with limited interpretation of spiritual changes. The thesis is not a theological exploration of the lives of the women involved. As an “outsider”, the spiritual life of the women involved can be respected, but understood with all the limitations of an “outside” researcher. One historian argues: “It is hard to speak of a person’s spirituality. In its intensely personal character it remains ultimately untouchable. And yet it becomes transparent in a person’s life”.5 It is hoped that the spiritual dimension of the lives of the women will clearly emerge from the telling of their own stories through interviews, and through the analysis of their work. 5 Roland Faley, ‘A Personal Memoir: The Arrupe Years’, Review for Religious, Vol. 50, No 2, March/April 1991, p167. See also, Bruce Mansfield, ‘Writing Religious History in Australia’, Journal of the Australian Catholic Historical Society, Vol. 27, 2006, p11. iii Key research questions Key research questions include the following: • What was the nature and the extent of the contribution of women religious to the church and the broader community? In what ways did their contribution change and how was the change managed? • In what ways were their lives affected by second-wave feminism or indeed, did they help shape feminism themselves and/or through the young women they taught? In what ways, if at all, were the experiences of these women similar to those experienced by women active in the second-wave feminist movement beginning in the late 1960s? • To what extent were their apostolic priorities constrained by external forces outside their control? In what ways did women exercise their own agency as they adapted to these political, social, economic and religious forces? • What was the importance and the nature of the leadership of the women who steered and lived out those changes? • What were the barriers facing women religious who sought to contribute different skills to the Church after Vatican ll, and did these barriers amount to a squandering of the resources the women could bring to the Church? iv Acknowledgments I wish to acknowledge the untiring support and advice of my three supervisors: Dr Rosa MacGinley pvbm, Dr Sophie McGrath rsm, and Dr John Molony, each of whom showed meticulous concern for my work and offered unstinting personal encouragement. Special thanks are offered to the community leaders of the Ballarat East Sisters of Mercy and the Loreto sisters, Sister Veronica Lawson rsm and Sister Christine Burke ibvm respectively, whose permission to undertake the research was but one indication of their generosity of spirit and the trust they showed to an outsider accessing their respective archives. A special thanks is owed to Sister Margaret Scully ibvm and Sister Anne Forbes rsm, both of whom provided a special welcome into their communities. The archivists, Ms Robin Scott at Loreto and Sister Lesley Dickinson rsm at Ballarat East, provided invaluable support and unending patience, as did each of the sisters and other friends of both institutes who agreed to be interviewed for the work. Both communities offered generous and warm hospitality over the three year period, as did many friends in both Ballarat and Melbourne. In particular, I would like to thank my sister, Carmel, and her family in Ballarat, Jenni and Barry Mitchell in Melbourne and my daughter, Anne Wilson and her family in Canberra. I also acknowledge the friendship and professional advice of Ms Mary Ryllis Clark with whom I spend many profitable hours in the Loreto Province archives as she completed her own work on the Loretos in Australia. Finally, I offer my thanks and love to both my children, Anthony and Anne, who have always shown me the greatest love and respect, not the least during the period of this research. v Table of Contents STATEMENT OF SOURCES.......................................................................................................................I ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................................................II