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Dr Tracy McEwan awarded ACU’s inaugural Catholic history fellowship

Theologian and sociologist of religion Dr Tracy McEwan has been awarded the inaugural Australian Catholic History Fellowship at ACU.

Hosted by ACU’s Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences (IHSS), Dr McEwan will spend the next two years researching historical evidence of harm recorded by Australia’s first congregations of women religious in archived documents and letters.

The research will contribute to an Australian-first book by Dr McEwan acknowledging abuse experienced by Catholic women religious in the 19^th century.

The new fellowship follows Dr McEwan’s ongoing research at the University of Newcastle into sexual violence of current and ex-Catholic women religious in Australia, funded by the Australia-Germany Joint Research Cooperation Scheme (Universities Australia and DAAD) and the Brigidine Sisters, Good Shepherd Sisters, and Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart.

Dr McEwan and her colleague Dr Kathleen McPhillips, along with scholars from the University of Regensburg and Te Kupenga Catholic Theological College Auckland, ran a series of seminars for Australian women religious in 2024 and 2025 exploring the risk factors contributing to harm, and how to advocate for greater safeguarding and safety.

Dr McEwan’s interest in the harm experienced by women religious in the Early Australian Church came about during her PhD research into the religious identity of Gen X lay women.

After hearing many anecdotal stories of abuse among Australia’s first women religious Dr McEwan began to investigate archived material from the 19^th century which indicated both direct and indirect experiences of spiritual, emotional, sexual and financial harm.

Dr McEwan said the abuse of Catholic women religious in the 1800s was complex, heightened by factors like class, colonialism, and the lower status of women in society.

“When you read these archival documents, you realise the harm and hardship that these women experienced, as well as their strength in overcoming adversity,” Dr McEwan said.

“Yet, it's more than a simple story of adversity and resilience. It’s empowering to know that these women experienced harm, and that they got through it. There are learnings that could be enormously helpful for women – lay and consecrated – who experience harm in the church today.”

Dr McEwan said while historical abuses against Australia’s early Catholic women religious were largely unknown, there was a growing body of global research into the pervasiveness of harm.

Both Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV have acknowledged that Catholic women religious experience sexual and spiritual abuse. Many survivors of such abuse are also involved into the international #NunsToo movement.

Dr McEwan said it was time to have “an honest conversation” about this hidden history of Australian Catholic women religious.

“Not every religious sister in the 19th century was sexually assaulted or harmed in some way, but there were circumstances and situations where women were, and that’s the part of the messy story that we need to tell,” Dr McEwan said.

The Australian Catholic History Fellowship was launched in October and called for Australian or global scholars to pursue research that would be appropriate for book length publication.

The fellowship is valued at $80,000 for the next two years. Dr McEwan is the first recipient of the new fellowship.

Professor Joy Damousi, director of ACU’s Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, has welcomed Dr McEwan as the inaugural Australian Catholic History Fellow.

“ACU is delighted to announce Dr McEwan as the inaugural Fellow of the Australian Catholic History Fellowship to carry out significant research into the harm experienced by Catholic religious women,” Professor Damousi said.

“Dr McEwan has already achieved impressive sociological and theological research particularly on the study of women and gender in the Catholic Church, and her work is respected internationally by both church and secular leaders.

“Her book will undoubtedly make a significant contribution to the emerging global research on abuse of Catholic women religious and activate a necessary conversation in Australia.”