Rosemary Goldie Summary Outline

ROSEMARY GOLDIE

Summary sheet:

1. A basic Biography:

Rosemary Goldie was born in Manly, New South Wales on the 1st of February 1916. She was raised by her grandmother, the youngest of four children and the only daughter. Goldie’s mother was a Bohemian writer who abandoned her (they reconnected later in life) to lead a nomadic lifestyle. She was an Australian Roman Catholic theologian and attended high school at Our Lady of Mercy College, Parramatta. She then carried on to study Arts at the University of Sydney where she joined the Newman society at the University Catholic group. She gained a scholarship from the French government which took her to Paris and studies at the Sorbonne University at the age of 20 (1936-1938).

She passed away at the age of 94 on the 27th of February 2010.

2. Outline of their contribution to Christianity/ religion in Australia:

Throughout her life Rosemary Goldie worked hard to help spread the word and love of God to all, she did this through many different things

• She was a strong supporter of the Golding center which had just begun

She was a pioneer in the sense that she held a number of important positions in the hierarchy of the Church, at a time when women were struggling to be given positions of influence in any arena. A highlight of her 50 years as a Church bureaucrat was in 1964, when she became one of the first women appointed an auditor at the Second Vatican Council. In 1962/1963 only men attended the Council sessions in the capacity of auditor, and until the time of Rosemary’s appointment this type of involvement for women in the Church bureaucracy was unprecedented. She then worked for several years as Under-Secretary of the Pontifical Council of the laity. At that time, no other woman had ever worked in a higher position in the Roman Curia. So for these reasons alone she is an inspiring role model to Catholic (and non-Catholic) women all over the