AUSTRALIA
The Conversation
Kathleen McPhillips first met Anthony and Chrissie Foster at one of the first child sex abuse royal commission hearings in 2014. She was attending in her capacity as a social scientist undertaking field work for her research project The Catholic Church at the Royal Commission. Over the years she had many conversations with the Fosters, sharing publications with them and listening to their analysis of the various public hearings and the response by the Catholic Church.
Today in Melbourne a state funeral is being held for Anthony Foster, who died unexpectedly 12 days ago. His death sent shockwaves around the country and indeed the world. Many people who had known and relied on Anthony’s wise counsel and hard work felt devastated and saddened.
Anthony and his wife Chrissie have been in the spotlight in relation to child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church for more than 20 years.
Their story is a tragic one. The parents sent their three girls to the local Catholic primary school in Oakleigh, a suburb in Melbourne. They had no idea that the parish priest, Kevin O’Donnell, was a serial sexual abuser of children for 50 years between 1942 and 1992.
When Emma and Katie Foster were only five and six years old they were sexually assaulted by O’Donnell over several years, with catastrophic impacts. After years of struggling with the impact of the sexual abuse, Emma died following a drug overdose at 26, and her sister Katie suffered serious injuries in a car accident. She is now disabled and requires round-the-clock care.
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