Mother of schoolgirls who were raped by Catholic priest praises conviction of Cardinal Pell 

‘I am in awe of the judicial system’: Emotional mother of two young schoolgirls who were raped by a Catholic priest in the 1980s praises Cardinal George Pell’s conviction – after claims he brushed off their allegations of abuse

  • Chrissie Foster spoke of her ‘awe’ of Australian justice system in speech on Q&A 
  • She said the process to a conviction was one that had to be fought ‘inch by inch’ 
  • Ms Foster’s daughters were raped by a Catholic priest while in primary school
  • The mother has fought against the Catholic church and met with Pell in 1990s

A mother whose two daughters were raped by a catholic priest has said she is in ‘awe of the judicial system’ following Cardinal George Pell’s child sex abuse conviction.

Chrissie Foster’s primary school-aged daughters, Emma and Katie, were sexually assaulted in the 1980s by Father Kevin O’Donnell, and the family’s ordeal was laid out in her book Hell on the Way to Heaven.

Speaking to ABC’s Q&A panel on Monday night, Ms Foster spoke of how the process leading up to Pell’s conviction was one that had to be fought ‘inch by inch’.

A mother whose two daughters were raped by a catholic priest has said she is in ‘awe of the judicial system’ following Cardinal George Pell’s child sex abuse conviction

‘I was really, really happy,’ she said when asked by host Tony Jones about her reaction when she found out about the ruling.

‘I felt as though justice had been done. I felt as though the wheels of justice had turned.

‘I did not think this would happen – it (the verdict) really filled me with confidence in the judicial system.’

Ms Foster and her husband Anthony met Pell, the then-Archbishop of Melbourne, in 1997 to tell him about how their daughters had been raped by Father O’Donnell, in an encounter detailed in her 2010 book.

Ms Foster and her husband Anthony met Pell (pictured), the then-Archbishop of Melbourne, in 1997 to tell him about how their daughters had been raped by Father O'Donnell, in an encounter detailed in her 2010 book 

Ms Foster and her husband Anthony met Pell (pictured), the then-Archbishop of Melbourne, in 1997 to tell him about how their daughters had been raped by Father O’Donnell, in an encounter detailed in her 2010 book 

Chrissie Foster's primary school-aged daughters Emma (left) and Katie (right)were sexually assaulted in the 1980s by Father Kevin O'Donnell, and the family's ordeal was laid out in her book Hell on the Way to Heaven .

Chrissie Foster’s primary school-aged daughters Emma (left) and Katie (right)were sexually assaulted in the 1980s by Father Kevin O’Donnell, and the family’s ordeal was laid out in her book Hell on the Way to Heaven .

Mr Foster later told a Victorian abuse inquiry in 2012 Pell had demonstrated a ‘sociopathic lack of empathy’ towards their grievances.

O’Donnell was convicted in 1995 of indecently assaulting 10 boys and two girls below the age of 16.

He spent 15 months in jail and died in 1997. 

The advocate for sexual abuse survivors was in court for Pell’s trial, and criticised his lawyer Robert Richter’s defence of his crimes as ‘no more than a vanilla sexual penetration case’.

Pell was convicted in December of raping a choirboy and molesting another in the sacristy of St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne in 1996. 

The comments by Ms Foster on the Pell verdict, which was made public knowledge last week following the lifting of a suppression order, came during the panel discussion largely dedicated to discussing the culture of the Catholic church.

Earlier in the program, US rabbi Shmuley Boteach said he thought Australians had been left ‘deeply traumatised’ by Pell’s conviction.

The advocate for sexual abuse survivors (left in Rome to witness Pell's commission appearance in 2016) was in court for Pell's trial, and criticised his lawyer Robert Richter's defence of his crimes as 'no more than a vanilla sexual penetration case'

The advocate for sexual abuse survivors (left in Rome to witness Pell’s commission appearance in 2016) was in court for Pell’s trial, and criticised his lawyer Robert Richter’s defence of his crimes as ‘no more than a vanilla sexual penetration case’

‘As someone who has visited Australia for three decades, I think the country is deeply traumatised by this story,’ he said.

Labor senator Kristina Keneally, meanwhile, said she had ‘long lost faith in the institution of the Catholic church.

‘I think the nation is traumatised, particularly the Catholic portion,’ she said. 

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