Download (14Mb) - VUIR - Victoria University

ethnic culture,'" While a shortage of ItaUan-speaking women on the goldfields had left
men little option but to seek a partner in the wider community ~ choosing from among
the Irish who most closely shared their religious and moral values ~ the later
generations did not face such restrictions. It was their Australian-bom sons and
daughters who broke with marital tradition, often doing so as a symbol of their
independence.
Just as many of the Italian speakers living in the Colony of Victoria had drawn
strength and support from their CathoUc faith, so too did a significant number of
Italians arriving in the 1950s and 1960s, for whom the Catholic Church provided a set
of mles and values which determined the pattem of their daily lives. The Church
offered financial help to those in need and supported immigrants in the adjustment to a
new Ufe, As on the goldfields, the Church's rituals provided the opportunity to
socialise with other Italians as well as to integrate with members of the broader
Australian community. The conflict between Italian-speaking and Irish Catholics had
not, however, been resolved and there was some reporting of racist incidents directed
towards Italian immigrants by Irish Catholic priests, officials and congregations'* The
resuhing integration of new approaches and ethnic traditions, has today, however, led
to a more diverse CathoUc congregation, both culturally and theologically, and given a
new face to Catholicism in Australia. The influx of Italians and other immigrants of
CathoUc background has meant a decline of the Irish stranglehold. At the same time,
there has been a grovvth in the Catholic community's size and influence among young
Australians ~ Catholics, whh 28 per cent of the population (according to census
figures) by the 1990s outnumbering AngUcans,
453