It's about the well known case of Emma Foster, who was repeatedly raped by a priest whilst her parents gave the priest their complete trust. Emma Foster ended up killing herself. Her sister Katie was also abused by the church, went into binge drinking and was hit by a car and now lives in a wheelchair. The parents of these two described their dealing with Cardinal Pell:
Anthony Foster told on Friday how they met the cardinal - now Archbishop of Sydney - when he was Melbourne archbishop, in a furniture storage room at a Melbourne presbytery. They were squeezed onto a narrow wooden bench, while he sat in a ''grandiose'' padded leather chair.
He expressed no emotion when shown a picture of the Fosters' daughter Emma harming herself - she later killed herself - and said expressionlessly: ''Hmmm, she's changed, hasn't she?''
''What sort of of people did he mix with, what sort of life did he lead, that he thought this comment was appropriate?'' Mr Foster asked. From the start, he was confrontational and told them: ''If you don't like what we are doing, take us to court,'' Mr Foster said.
Coincidentally, the inquiry posted on its website on Friday a submission by another victim of the priest, Kevin O'Donnell, who raped the Fosters' daughters. This victim (name withheld) also spoke of Cardinal Pell, saying that meeting him and other church staff was ''unpleasant and distressing'' and describing her experience of the church as ''harsh, cold and uncaring'' from her childhood to her time in a convent to reporting O'Donnell to the police.
Another victim, Ian Lawther, whose son was a victim, said that every time Cardinal Pell spoke publicly to defend the Catholic Church, he caused further pain for victims suffering post-traumatic stress disorder. ''[He is] only doing a lot of damage to sufferers.''
He said he had received ''zero'' signs of contrition from the church. ''There needs to be complete accountability. We don't need an organisation that runs and hides behind canon law. There should be one law for all the people in this country.''
Friday was the first time victims themselves gave evidence. Mr Foster, who appeared with his wife, author and advocate Chrissie, and daughters Katie and Aimee, said the sociopathic response was their experience in meeting the cardinal, in watching him discuss their family in the media, and in the fact that neither the cardinal nor his replacement as Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, had tried even once to contact them. Read moreIt's interesting that Pell seems to have the same symptoms as Abbott; no empathy or caring.
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