ABC RN. Topic: Religion. In , on a patch of lawn in the Sydney suburb of Tempe, Cardinal Patrick Francis Moran made an announcement at the opening celebration of a new "retreat for fallen women". The so-called "fallen women" included those who were pregnant outside of marriage, who'd had sex with someone other than their husbands, or who were sex workers. And the place where they would receive "the kiss of peace" was a newly opened Magdalene Retreat of the Catholic Church.
What he left out in this rousing speech were the shocking details of exactly how, in the Magdalene "retreat", that process would play out. The refuge, and its Tempe estate, was owned by the Sisters of the Good Samaritan.
From to the Sisters operated a commercial laundry, a major source of its income, run by unpaid women and girls. The laundry at the Tempe retreat operated until Magdalene laundries for fallen women date back to 12th century Europe. They were Catholic-run institutions to reform wayward women, known as Magdalens, through strict religious observance and unpaid work.
Shocking revelations have come to light about the conditions these women endured, particularly in Ireland. But Dr Toole says it's not as well known that, in the 19th century, the Catholic Church also established Magdalene laundries in every state in Australia.
The Magdalene refuges, also known as retreats or asylums, had a three-pronged mission, says Dr Toole, who has researched Australian Catholic refuges for penitent women. One was based on the idea that for certain "fallen" women, the world was a dangerous place, and they needed protection. Another was to help such women "to morally reform" in the presence of nuns, and through religion and prayer.
