My sexual abuse has lasted a lifetime
EDWARD Hayes has spent decades fighting for answers from the Catholic church claiming the suffering inflicted on him by childhood sexual abuse has lasted his lifetime.
He was aged just 10 and known as Billy when he was put in the home after being neglected by his parents.
Initially he had viewed his new home as a blessing but life turned sour when Sister Mary Conleth arrived two years later and requested he work alongside her.
Edward said: “I had barely started work there when it happened. I was still 12.
“I hated doing it but she said she’d tell on me if I didn’t, that I’d been a bad boy and I’d be punished. She’d talk dirty to me. I would not let her kiss me. I thought babies were made by men kissing women.”
By the time Edward was 14 he was allocated his own bedroom where the nun started paying him night visits.
In April 1956 the nun became pregnant and he was adopted by a family before a chaotic adult life, marred by alcoholism. He married and had two children but it failed because he was unable to build “normal relationships”.
He attempted Army life, signing up with the Royal Artillery but was medically discharged after five years in 1969.
It was only in 1998 that Edward decided to confront his past but struggled to find anyone to listen, having initially tried the police, a social worker, his MP and, years later, Catholic charity Caritas Care. His life changed when he met Noel Chardon, a retired English history teacher and trained psychologist volunteering at Macsas (Minister and Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors), a support group.
In 2012 he was granted legal aid to make the Church accountable in court but it took until 2016 to win £20,000 compensation.
However Edward believes he has not received proper acknowledgment from the Church.
A spokesman for The Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph said: “We are aware that a reunion between Mr Hayes and his daughter have taken place.
“We will be offering appropriate support via a third party. As this is a private matter we will not be offering further comment.
“The Franciscan Missionaries of St Joseph have offered our sincere and unreserved apology for the abuse Mr Hayes suffered whilst resident at the John Reynolds Home and all the subsequent pain and trauma which followed the actual abuse.
“There is no place for abuse in the Church and along with every other agency caring for children and vulnerable adults we now have stringent safeguarding policies which aim to prevent any possible recurrence of what happened to Mr Hayes.”