Mary MacKillop as "Black Joeys". On his deathbed, Sheil instructed Horan to lift the excommunication on MacKillop. On 21 February 1872, he met her on his way to Willunga and absolved her in the Morphett Vale church. An episcopal commission later completely exonerated her. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said in September 2010 that MacKillop had been "banished after uncovering sex abuse" and cited Father Paul Gardiner in evidence of this. Gardiner described this suggestion as false, saying "Early in 1870, the scandal occurred and the Sisters of Saint Joseph reported it to Father Tenison Woods, but Mary was in Queensland and
Mary MacKillop had a somewhat positive outlook toward the Josephites, he removed MacKillop as superior general and replaced her with Sister Bernard Walsh. Pope Leo XIII gave official approval to the Josephites as a congregation in 1885, with its headquarters in Sydney. On 31 May 1886, Mary MacKillop's mother, Flora MacKillop was travelling from Melbourne to Sydney in the SS Ly-ee-Moon, to visit Mary and another daughter who was also a nun. The ship struck a reef near the Green Cape Lighthouse. Flora, along with 70 others, died. Pope Leo XIII gave the final approval to the Sisters of Saint Joseph of