He grew up in a society where survival depended on mutual assistance, witnessing firsthand the hardships faced by people living in extreme poverty.

[1] Despite their own limited means, Ormonde's parents, especially his mother, displayed remarkable generosity by providing food and shelter to both relatives and strangers during the Depression and the war.

Coming from a family of journalists and Australian Labor Party activists, he was surrounded by discussions centered on politics and social justice.

These topics included the Vietnam War, Birth control, Clerical celibacy in the Catholic Church, women's ordination and equality, poverty, and the evils of excessive capitalism.

[3][8] In 1967, he assumed the role of the founding chairman of Pax Christi, an organization of Catholics dedicated to formulating peace and war policies that often clashed with the prevailing views of church authorities in Australia.

[3] Notable subjects during this period include articles on the life of the melbourne publisher Lloyd O'Neil (founder: Lansdowne Press), on the Catholic intellectual Niall Brennan,[10] the correspondence of B.A.

[5] Following his death, his journalist son Tom Ormonde paid tribute to his father,[2] describing him as someone with an extraordinary ability to make others feel acknowledged and listened to.

This remarkable quality, along with his deeply held values, nurtured and inspired his children, friends, and anyone fortunate enough to have known him.Ormonde is the author of a number of books, including: The Movement[6] DESCRIPTION:(The Movement) "saved Australia" from the "red menace", fought the "yellow peril", started the rift that split the Labor Party and the Catholic Church, turned layman against Bishop, and caused the greatest scandal in the history of Catholicism in Australia.

He is best remembered as a leader of the movement against Australian involvement in the Vietnam War, for his affair with Junie Morosi and for his later renunciation of conventional politics.

Ormonde edited the book and wrote the last chapter of James Griffin's:DESCRIPTION: (This) biography is unique for exposing the Archbishop's human flaws, previously avoided or brushed over by other biographers.

Giving Mannix credit for his many achievements, Griffin analyses controversies such as conscription in the Great War, State Aid for Catholic schools and his association with entrepreneur John Wren.