Comments on: Mother Mary McKillop – excommunicated nun up for canonization

By: Michael Doyle

Michael Doyle — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:34:03 +0000

Having picked up Blessed Mary’s biography (by Father Gardiner) while visiting Australia for the first time, and having had a Sister of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart as spiritual director of the St. Vincent de Paul group I belonged to, I want to speak a bit about this great lady and her legacy.
Father Julian Tennyson Woods noticed, while in France, a group of Sisters who taught children in areas, called the Sisters of St. Joseph. He decided to replicate this community in Australia, so that Sisters could teach and catechize in poor rural areas and in poor parts of the city as well. He and Blessed Mary founded such a group.
The ‘Brown Joeys,” as the Josephite Sisters were nicknamed, would go into schools only in the poorest areas, and would only make foundations in places where no other religious community wanted to go.
If memory serves, Father Gardiner’s take on Bishop Sheil’s actions is that the poor man was unfit for the job, knew it, and both of these factors worked in a vicious cycle to make him irrational.
Later troubles with the two brother Bishops Quinn were more serious, as was Mary’s estrangement from her co founder Father Julian Tennyson Woods.
In 1996, while I was living in Australia, an article was published in America, the Jesuit magazine, written by a member of a well known religious order of Sisters, claiming to be about Mary MacKillop. This person’s life bore very little resemblance to the person I had become familiar with. There were so many inaccuracies that I lost count. I hope America does some fact checking this time.
And, Annie, yes, I wear a St. Benedict medal outside of my shirt. The who is more Catholic game can be played by those who advocate no habits as well, would you not agree?
Sr. Hildegarde, quite a few of us do have a good dose of Church history, and realize that it has always been composed of sinners like me-and you.

By: Dave Vanderah

Dave Vanderah — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:47:54 +0000

Thanks for this and all your information. The story of the australian
leader of a women’s community is compelling As was said, su h
arrogant treatment was not that uncommon. When I started researching a small Iowa community thata was suppressed and
placed under inderdict I realized how many other communities
suffered through to better times. The Iowa sisters were known
as the Sisters of the Holy Ghost and their leader was Mother
Isabel Melvin. For historians: the triennial conference of the
history of women religious will be in June, 27-30 2010 in Scranton, PA. website is http://www.chwr.org.

By: Peggy

Peggy — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 19:03:40 +0000

Julie, thanks for the reference to Jeanne Cover’s book. I was happy to discover that it’s in the Syracuse University library, so I’m having it delivered to me (one of the neat faculty advantages, still in effect even though salaries are frozen ) and look forward to reading it SOON. Sounds terrific.

By: Annie

Annie — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 14:52:05 +0000

I agree. Those who play the game “Who is more Catholic ” haven’t read the lives of the saints. I always wonder if those who advocate that all nuns wear the habit are themselves wearing an outward sign of their faith: a crucifix outside their shirts, for instance. We are all called to evangelization.

By: Sister Julie

Sister Julie — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:17:40 +0000

Thanks for the link, Christine H — how cool to know nuns who knew Mother Mary and to see her letters, etc. You are blessed to have entered with time to interact with those nuns. I can’t wait to learn more about Mother Mary.