AUSTRALIA
Bendigo Advertiser
ANNIE YOUNG
1 Jun 2017
One story above all others which can reduce me to tears is the story of Anthony and Chrissie Foster.
What heartbreak after so many years of fighting the Catholic Church for justice for their daughters, two of whom were sexually assaulted by a priest, that Anthony Foster died unexpectedly last week.
This is a man who endured years of stonewalling to find justice for the survivors of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, including two of his three daughters. As chairman of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, Justice Peter McClellan said: “With dignity and grace, Anthony and Chrissie generously supported countless survivors and their families whilst also managing their own grief”.
Anthony Foster was a tireless advocate for the survivors of sexual assault by priests. He died following a stroke. It is such a tragic loss for those still seeking a way through the grief and anguish they have suffered at the hands of appalling out of control predatory priests. His wife Chrissie was by his side, as she has been through every step of this heartbreaking, tragic story. Their marriage only became stronger as they fought for justice for the survivors, where many other relationships broke down irretrievably.
It was years before their daughters could describe to their parents the sexual assaults they experienced at the hands of local priest Kevin O’Donnell, which then explained something of their own behaviours as teenagers.
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