The mother of two girls abused by a Catholic priest says the conviction of George Pell on child sex abuse charges should lead to the tearing down of the controversial compensation scheme he set up for survivors of clerical sexual abuse.

Key points: Pell is Australia's most senior Catholic cleric and has been convicted of child sex abuse

Pell is Australia's most senior Catholic cleric and has been convicted of child sex abuse Chrissie Foster said the verdict helped her understand Pell's "angry" response to her family

Chrissie Foster said the verdict helped her understand Pell's "angry" response to her family She is calling for the Melbourne Response established by Pell to be dismantled

Pell was last year found guilty of sexually abusing two choirboys at St Patrick's Cathedral during his time as archbishop of Melbourne in December 1996, but the verdict had been suppressed until now.

Chrissie Foster's daughters Emma and Katie were raped by Melbourne priest Kevin O'Donnell while they were at primary school in the 1980s.

Emma suffered from eating disorders, drug addiction and self harm and in 2008 she overdosed on medication and died, aged 26.

Katie became a binge drinker as she reached adulthood and was hit by a drunk driver in 1999. She was left physically and mentally disabled, requiring 24-hour care.

Ms Foster said Pell's guilty verdict helped her understand why Pell had been "so angry" when she and her husband Anthony asked him for help in the late 1990s.

Emma and Katie Foster were abused as girls by their local parish priest Kevin O'Donnell. ( ABC News: Gemma Hall )

'Angry' Pell told parents to prove allegations in court

Ms Foster said they had approached the then-archbishop in 1997 after O'Donnell had already pleaded guilty to committing child sexual abuse against other children.

The child sex abuse royal commission heard that the Catholic Church had been aware of allegations of O'Donnell's abuse as early as 1958.

"[We] thought well, our case you can't argue, Emma was a child at the school, O'Donnell was there," she said.

Kevin O'Donnell abused several children throughout his career as a Catholic priest. ( ABC News )

"He was a paedophile, he pleaded guilty to 31 years of offending. He was currently in prison, pleaded guilty. What could [Pell] argue about it?"

Ms Foster claimed Pell became agitated and told the parents they had better be sure they could substantiate their allegations against O'Donnell in court.

"What proof is there? My five-year-old did not take a video camera with her when O'Donnell took her to there and video it to say 'ah, here's the proof'," she said.

She said the news of Pell's conviction for child sex offences committed in 1996 had shed new light on the interaction.

"Now I look at it and I think, my goodness, this is why he was trying to shut us down then."

'Someone right at the top, committing these offences'



During his time as archbishop, Pell was one of the architects of the church's controversial Melbourne Response, which was set up to compensate victims of clergy abuse.

A 2015 report into the scheme recommended it be operated and administered independently of Melbourne archbishop's office.

Ms Foster said that scheme, which initially capped payments to abuse survivors at $50,000, should be closed in the wake of Pell's conviction.

"I think everything that he has said on this issue and everything he has put in place on this issue, should be torn down."

Ms Foster sat through a number of days of court hearings in the Pell case, and said "it was amazing" when the guilty verdict was handed down.

"This is actually someone right at the top, committing these offences," she said.

"And maybe there's a lot of scared clergy out there, which would be good, because this should be hunted down and punished through the courts, because it should've happened a long time ago.

"We've got a bit of catching up to do."

Former chief executive of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council Francis Sullivan said he was shocked by the conviction.

The council was responsible for coordinating the Catholic Church's official response to the Royal Commission Into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, including detailing the Melbourne Response.

Asked whether he had been lied to regarding Pell's sincerity in wanting to help victims through the scheme, he said: "I don't know. It's a tough day."

"I'm just pretty upset. It's a big shock. It is a really big shock," he said.

"It's really hard for a lot of Catholics, people who obviously know Cardinal Pell well will be devastated and shocked.

"As a Catholic myself, I think God, has it come to this?

"When you have a Cardinal being convicted, it's more than a person being convicted in a way, it's like our whole approach to life has been put through the wringer."

Mr Sullivan said the institution of the church — separate to the church community — had been "brought to its knees" by the issue.

"It has lost its credibility, frankly, it is still struggling to come to terms with that," he said.

"In lots of ways it still uses inertia to manage these issues away. There's an arrogance that's still there about this, in the institutional player, and until they realise the community has turned their back on them then that institution is doomed."

In a statement, the president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Archbishop Mark Coleridge, said bishops were "shocked" by the guilty verdict.

He said the bishops respected the legal system and hoped justice would be served, and had committed themselves anew to making the church a safe place for all, "especially the young and vulnerable".

Sorry, this video has expired ABC Radio Melbourne presenter Jon Faine discusses his audience's reaction to the verdict.

'I'm nearly in tears now'

Melburnians reacted with a mix of emotions following the revelation of the guilty verdict, with local ABC radio inundated with messages and calls on Tuesday morning.

George in Melbourne said he was a victim of abuse and was nearly in tears when he heard the news while driving into the city.

"All my life I've been told I was a liar. I did something wrong. It was my fault from these people in power," he said.

"Today, someone has actually come around — the judge [and] the jury — and said, 'We believe you. We believe what happened. We believe you'.

"I actually cheered when I heard that he had been convicted. But at the same time there's a lot of sadness that has gone on for so long and it's damaged so many people's lives."

Others called for the church to be destroyed and for the police to seize all church documents.

The Richmond Football Club announced they would be removing Pell as a vice patron of the club.

"While acknowledging his right to appeal, the club has formed a view that his association is no longer tenable or appropriate," it said in a statement.

Editor's note: On Tuesday April 7, 2020, the High Court in a unanimous decision upheld Cardinal Pell's appeal and quashed his convictions on all five charges.