AUSTRALIA
9 News
The priest and the church stole part of their souls and shattered their lives.
Melbourne priest Kevin O’Donnell, who raped Anthony and Christine Foster’s two daughters while they were in primary school, was “certainly among the worst of them”, Australia’s most senior Catholic admits.
But Cardinal George Pell drew the line at extending the family’s description of the impact of O’Donnell’s actions to all victims of clergy abuse, sparking an angry response from some in the public gallery at Victoria’s abuse inquiry.
“I understand people feel deeply about this,” the Sydney archbishop and former Melbourne archbishop said.
“There’s no doubt whatsoever about the terrible spiritual and emotional turmoil that he produced. It’s totally reprehensible.”
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