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ehaviour of some Italian speakers undermined the tmst of their compatriots and
served to further weaken ethnic identification.
The moral decUne among Italian speakers (as was the case for many unmigrants
to Australia) was partly attributable to their isolation from stmctured religious life: the
Catholic mles and rituals which normally govemed the pattem of their daily lives. The
difficulty most faced in attending church services, or in receiving sacraments such as
confession, resulted in a general apathy vis-a-vis the Church (although, it was also
noted that many Italian speakers possessed a tradtional scepticism of the Church clergy
or had arrived in Australia with political views which conflicted with a Catholic faith).
Alessandro Pozzi noted in a letter to his home how few compatriots were willing to
travel all the way to Melboume to attend Mass (cf above p, 244), There were no
Italian-speaking priests on the goldfields and only Irish clergy, whose approach to
Catholicism alienated many of the Italian speakers. Unlike the Irish Catholics, who
adopted harsh and introspective devotional practices, the southem Europeans practised
their faith more as an expression of commuruty values, concepts and symbols. Like the
Irish, Italians prayed to the saints for help ~ as did the boatload of travellers on the H
Ludwina (cf above p. 83) ~ but unlike the Irish, the Italian speakers found more social
outlets for their devotion in the form of religious celebrations and parades. Faced with
a domineering Irish clergy, who did little to alleviate the misery of the goldfields, the
Italian speakers only grew more resolved to hasten their retum to their homes and
famiUes.
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