Ex-Australian PM: Catholic family’s stunning forgiveness of their children’s killer inspired the nation

LONDON (LifeSiteNews) — Former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison told LifeSiteNews that a Catholic family who forgave the killer of their children has inspired him and the entire country.

In an exclusive interview with LifeSiteNews during the ARC Conference in London, Morrison recalled the story of Leila and Danny Abdallah forgiving the man who killed three of their six children while driving drunk on February 1, 2020.

READ: Catholic mom of 3 kids killed in car crash: I forgive the drunk driver, my kids are in heaven

“[Leila]  instinctively, as a product of her very deep Maronite Christian faith, said, ‘In my heart, I forgive. I know I forgive,’” Morrison said, recalling the interview the mother gave shortly after the death of her children.

Morrison was inspired by the extraordinary act of Christian charity and became good friends with the Abdallah family. He said the entire country was affected by the news and the saintly reaction of the Catholic parents.

”It pretty much stopped the nation because no one could conceive [it], particularly in a more secular society, which Australia now is,” Morrison told LifeSiteNews. “This was such a remarkable witness and such a remarkable thing to say.”

Three of the Abdallah’s six children – Anthony, 13, Angelina,12, and Sienna, 9 – died when they were struck by a car in the Oatlands suburb close to Sydney on February 1, 2020. Their 11-year-old cousin, Veronique Sakr, was also killed in the crash. Three other children were taken to hospital at the time, with one boy in critical condition.

Morrison, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, said that Danny Abdallah also eventually forgave the drunk driver, but it took great sacrifices:

If he did not forgive the driver and release all of the anger and the hate and the loss handed over to God and also forgive as he knew his faith instructed, then he could not be a good father to his remaining children.

So it was an extraordinary sacrifice on his part, and that has transformed their family. It’s transformed the entire community and church community in that area.

He said that the witness of the Catholic parents forgiving the drunk driver “ literally saved his life in prison because he probably would’ve been killed in prison by other prisoners.”

“ And they [the prison inmates] said, ‘Well, if they have forgiven you, we have no right to take that any further.’”

“So, it literally saved Sam’s life. But far more than that, it ended up through their Christian witness saving his eternity as well,” Morrison stated.

Danny Abdallah visited the driver, Samuel Davidson, in prison, and through his witness of forgiveness, Davidson eventually converted to the Catholic faith.

READ: Drunk driver who killed 4 children converts to Catholicism after their family forgave him

In a “Stand for Truth” podcast episode, Abdallah said that Davidson told a priest, who was also the spiritual director of Abdallah for a long time, that he “was able to see life in a different way” because the family had forgiven him even though the “whole world should have hated me.”

“That’s what has changed my heart,” Davidson said, according to Abdallah.

In the podcast, Abdallah said Davidson now “prays the Rosary three times a day, he goes to Mass, he’s doing Bible study, and he wants to become a Maronite Catholic.”

The Abdallahs founded the i4Give Foundation, a non-profit organization that aims to increase forgiveness in communities. The organization hosts the i4Give Day every year on February 1, the anniversary of the tragic accident.

Morrison said that Davidson’s parents attended the most recent i4Give Day and  ”were welcomed with open arms” instead of being confronted with anger.

“That was quite overwhelming for them because, as Danny says, when these tragedies happen, the families of both the victim and the perpetrator all suffer.”

“Sometimes people mistake forgiveness for forgoing justice,” the former Australian leader said. “That’s not true. You forgo your own vengeance; you forgo your own loss, and you hand that over so you can be at peace. But the justice system still has to operate.”

Davidson was sentenced to 28 years in prison in April 2021. Upon appeal, the sentence was reduced to 20 years, with the possibility for parole after 15 years.