Thomas Carr: Archbishop of Melbourne by T. P. Boland (review)

BOOK REVIEWS603 nities and an opinion survey of fifteen different Managua CEBs) how revolutionary Christians tried to reinterpret traditional images of the Virgin Mary, martyrdom ofFSLN heroes, and popular religious celebrations such as the Purísima, or the patron saint festival of Santo Domingo. Sabia might have considered at greater length the goals of pastoral agents such as the Dominican, Franciscan, andJesuit priests, or nuns she interviewed, and how their attempt to transform religious and political culture was received by CEB members. Sabia's and Canin's studies suggest that popular religious culture is not highly malleable. Contradiction and Conflict deserves careful reading regardless of its limitations . The closing discussion on how much the weakening of the popular church was caused by too little "critical distance" from the FSLN or opposition by the institutional church is insightful. The legacy of CEB activism in Nicaragua for the emergence ofa democratic political culture among the poor needs to be examined further, and has implications for the remnants of the popular church in El Salvador, Mexico, Brazil, and throughout Latin America. Andrew J. Stein Tennessee Technological University Cookeville Australian Thomas CamArchbishop ofMelbourne. By T. P Boland. (St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press. 1997. Pp. vü, 495. $39.95.) Thomas Carr was remembered for the completion ofMelbourne's impressive St. Patrick's Cathedral in 1897 but for little else before this impressive biography by the prize-winning author oíJames Duhig appeared. Boland's expert use of Carr's diaries and personal papers breathes unexpected life into the portly figure whose portrait hangs dimly in a cathedral sacristy. Unlike many of his colleagues, Carr (1839-1917) was not born into the austerities , defeatism,, and nationalist resentments of the Irish tenant-farming culture . In his family there were twelve mouths to feed but his father, a Galway landlord, ensured that the table was always well-laid. From boyhood he developed a love of horse-riding, hunting, tennis, cricket, and nude swimming. Carr's scholastic ability and social connections led to his appointment as canon law lecturer at Maynooth, where he also helped to revive the Irish Ecclesiastical Record. To mark his consecration as Bishop of Galway in 1883, he treated 126 of his establishment friends to turtle soup, Kromeskies à la Russe,York Hams, and 117 bottles of champagne. In 1887, a somewhat reluctant Carr was translated to Melbourne, where he would remain for thirty years. Ruddy, social, smiling, genial, he was already well 604book reviews on his way to reaching 300 pounds. However, early predictions that Sydney's steely Cardinal Moran would be the 'head' side of the Australian church while Melbourne's Carr would provide the soft, motherly 'heart' proved to be unfounded . In fact, Carr did not think very highly of Moran's administrative ability. Several times he blocked Moran's premature attempts to carve up the Australian interior into uneconomic dioceses. Even more problematic for Carr was Moran's lack of discretion and tact in addressing public issues. Carr's careful management of finance was necessary in his rapidly expanding archdiocese. Despite the depression of the 1890's, he was able to leave behind an architectural heritage of dignity and devotion. His new electrically-lit churches began to fill with more educated, sober, and socially integrated congregations . Education was Carr's special interest, especially for orphans and the industrial poor. Visits to NewYork's Catholic Protectory and the Sisters of Charity Foundling Hospital in 1899 provided him with ideas for buildings and programs . On the parish level, schools and Sunday schools, devotional and self-help confraternities were vigorously promoted, but the real test ofVictorian respectability was temperance. By 1910, 80,000 of Carr's adult Catholics had taken the pledge. Carr's priests understood his policies and for the most part supported them. At his Golden Jubilee celebrations, Monsignor O'Hea quipped goodnaturedly : "If you retire me, Carr, I shall open a hotel in the middle of the parish!" Some mistook Carr's practiced neutrality for weakness, but he was not always silent on controversial issues. Penned in a bolthole above the Cathedral sacristies, his Lectures and Replies (1907) remain a pioneering classic of Australian Catholic apologetics. Carr's gentlemanly influence on...