by John Luttrell. Published by St Pauls Publications, 2017. Reviewed by Paul Gilroy

I was drawn to this biography as Cardinal Gilroy, though no blood relative, was a presence in my early years and we share a family name.

John Luttrell offers an intriguing insight into the life of the first Australian to be named a cardinal — Norman Thomas Gilroy.

An Obedient Life begins with a description of the celebration of the April 1953 National Eucharistic Congress in Sydney, described as the Cardinal’s “finest hour”. Luttrell then traces the life and challenges of Gilroy who was from working class stock and had aspirations to be a parish priest working with people. However, his life took a different course. He was ordained at a time when Rome was seeking to change the “mission” status of the Australian Church and to “promote” locally-born clerics to leadership instead of those “imported” from places like Ireland (along with many of their prejudices).

During his seminary formation and early priesthood, Gilroy exhibited many of the qualities Rome was seeking in an Australian-born leader. He readily accepted the authority of the Pope and bishops in the Church. And despite personal misgivings of his ability and his dream of his priestly vocation, he accepted his appointments with obedience to Rome.

Gilroy was 39 when he was ordained the bishop of the diocese of Port Augusta, South Australia. Later he was appointed Archbishop of Sydney (1940-71). His episcopate covered three decades: the Great Depression, World War II, the post-war immigration population explosion, the Cold War and the changes of Vatican II.

His handling of the many difficulties associated with each of these events and his championing of the Catholic place in society are described in the later chapters of the book.

This book is an excellent read. The stories come to life and will even be a trip down memory lane for some readers. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in biography, the challenges of Church and society pre- and post-Vatican II and the history of the Church in Australia.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 235 March 2019: 27