Sydney, Australia, Jul 16, 2008 / 19:42 pm
Bishop Anthony Fisher, the auxiliary bishop of Sydney and coordinator of World Youth Day, is under fire for his remarks about World Youth Day being overshadowed by “old wounds” related to clerical sexual abuse. Cardinal Pell, the archbishop of Sydney, has responded to the situation by repeating his apology about the case in question.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that when asked about the Church’s response to the crimes of Father Kevin O'Donnell in Melbourne, Bishop Fisher responded:
“Happily, I think most of Australia was enjoying delighting in the beauty and goodness of these young people and the hope - the hope for us doing these sorts of things better in the future - as we saw last night, rather than, than dwelling crankily, as a few people are doing, on old wounds.”
Father O’Donnell was accused of sexually abusing Emma and Katie Foster between 1988 and 1993. Emma went on to suffer from anorexia and drug abuse and committed suicide earlier this year. The younger sister became alcoholic and was hit by a car. She now requires 24-hour care.