FOR an Oakleigh mother, there will be no more suffering in silence.
Christine Foster has launched a book detailing the painful battle of her family whose daughters were raped by a priest.
She hopes Hell on the Way to Heaven, co-written with Paul Kennedy, will give a voice to other victims of sexual abuse.
Daughters Emma and Katie were sexually abused at Oakleigh's Sacred Heart Primary School by Father Kevin O'Donnell in the 1990s.
Emma committed suicide in 2008 after a long battle with depression and drug addiction.
Katie developed a heavy drinking problem, was hit by a drunk driver in 1999 and left physically and mentally disabled and requiring 24-hour care.
Father O'Donnell served 15 months' jail for sexually abusing 11 boys and a girl, aged eight to 14, and died in 1997. He was not prosecuted for raping the Foster girls.
Hell on the Way to Heaven details the family's long battle to find out the truth about what happened to their daughters and to receive an apology from the Catholic church.
The Fosters asked the church on a number of occasions to laicise Father O'Donnell, ie. to reduce him to lay status.
"They wouldn't do it," Mrs Foster said. "The church just kept putting up smoke screens, pretending nothing had happened - why?
"It's made me question my faith. The church preaches moral values but still would not admit responsibility and remove the paedophile who was hurting children. It's dumbfounding."
The family eventually received a secret settlement, but no apology, Mrs Foster said.
She hopes the book will be a talking point about sexual abuse for families.
"I want it to make other victims feel like they have a voice and know they're not alone.
"The effects of the abuse are life damaging and life threatening.
"There is too much suffering in silence."
The book also describes the behaviour of paedophiles and warning signs parents can look out for.
"It includes the things I missed, the things many parents miss," Mrs Foster said.
"People who do this to children know how to separate children, to take them into seclusion and threaten them into silence."
Writing the book had been a cathartic experience, she said.
"When there are injustices with no answers, they eat away at you constantly. "So it's been a great process; it's very healing to put all of that into words."
The Fosters launched the book privately last Thursday with other families whose children had suffered at the hands of Father O'Donnell.
In a July pastoral letter on sexual abuse, Melbourne Archbishop Denis Hart said the church was "painfully aware" it was going through "a terrible time of suffering and self-examination".
"The scourge of sexual abuse continues to cause great distress and in many cases a crisis of faith among Catholics," the letter said.
The Journal did not receive a response from the Melbourne Archdiocese by deadline.
Hell on the Way to Heaven will be available from September 1.
Email a friend