Marie Theresa Foale rsj, Think of the Ravens: the Sisters of St Joseph in Social Welfare South Australia 1867-1980.
Hughes, Lesley
MARIE THERESE FOALE rsj, Think of the Ravens: the Sisters of St
Joseph in Social Welfare South Australia 1867-1980. Sisters of St Joseph
of the Sacred Heart (SA) Inc., Kent Town SA, 2001; ix + 45pages.
This short book is a welcome addition to the too-sparse literature
on the social welfare work of women religious in Australia, which has
often been overshadowed by their significant role in education. Marie
Therese Foale, herself a Josephite Sister, has written a very accessible
account of the Josephites' charitable work in South Australia. The
book is grounded in careful research, being a revised edition of the
author's honours thesis.
Foale places the Sisters' work in its historical context. She
provides us with sufficient information to understand the effect on the
Sisters' work of Mary's short-lived excommunication and the
temporary disbandment of the institute. The author also paints a picture
of the prevailing social conditions in South Australia as well as
responses to poverty and disadvantage. This is useful because South
Australia was quite different from other states in a number of respects.
Foale notes that the Sisters of St Joseph were involved in social
welfare from the beginning. Within twelve months of commencing work in
Adelaide, they were managing three charitable institutions. The book
outlines the development of the Sisters' work with four different
disadvantaged groups--women, orphans, the destitute, and delinquent
girls. The Refuge was initially for women newly released from prison,
but it soon catered for unmarried mothers 'of all denominations or
none'. This work continued for nearly one hundred years. The
Sisters work with orphans commenced when they were asked to take charge
of the girls from the Church's St Vincent de Paul's orphanage
to relieve overcrowding. The 'Providence' Home for destitute
elderly women and homeless children was the third work the Sisters
embarked upon. Foale discusses the negative reaction of some of the
populace to the sight of the Sisters begging in the streets for
donations to support their works. The episcopal ban on this was
short-lived because there was little alternative. The fourth work of the
Sisters was a girls' reformatory. This was the most challenging and
the least successful of their charitable ventures. Foale argues that its
closure was due to Bishop O'Reily's clashes with the State
Children's Council.
It was interesting to note the way in which social and political
conditions affected the Sisters' work. Notable differences from the
New South Wales situation included the South Australian government
requesting the Church's assistance in specific areas of social
welfare and the 1895 legislation enabling churches to establish
reformatories, which the government subsidised. This was in some
respects the opposite of the Catholic social welfare experience in New
South Wales.
On the other hand, many of the elements of the Josephites'
work with the poor in South Australia are also found in the stories of
women religious elsewhere. The Sisters' enthusiastic response to
manifest social need and the struggle to find the money to keep the work
going are common themes. Overcrowded institutions, turning needy
applicants away, the necessity of repeated moves to other premises, and
hindrance from various quarters outside the institute are also familiar.
Foale's account of the significant, but not well-known, early
social welfare work of the Sisters of St Joseph in South Australia is
informative and highly readable and it adds to our knowledge of the
wide-ranging mission of the numerous 'socially active'
Sisterhoods which commenced in the nineteenth century.
Lesley Hughes
School of Social Work, University of New South Wales
