True Confessions

Michael Hawkes was trafficked out of Ireland with the approval of the Archbishop. He was then abused by one of the most famous clergymen in California. This is his extraordinary, heartbreaking story.

It was supposed to be the California dream. Unplanned twins, born to an unmarried mother in the repressed Ireland of the late 1950s, were handpicked for adoption by one of the most powerful Catholic clergymen in America and given to his older brother to raise.

Monsignor Benjamin Hawkes was seen as the go-to priest for the stars. In fact he was a bit of a star himself: Robert De Niro’s character in the film True Confessions was modelled on him.

But instead of finding sunshine, surfing and the so-called American dream, that young boy from Dublin, named Michael Hawkes, ended up living the ultimate American nightmare.

His biological mother, who lived on Synge Street, close to the notorious Christian Brothers school and just around the corner from the Olympic Ballroom, where she met the married musician she fell for, decided to give up the twins for fear of being denounced from the pulpit.

Bizarrely, it was Monsignor Hawkes’ who would ultimately be denounced. Several altar boys came forward after his death to report him as a sex predator. Subsequently, his diocese in LA was forced to pay several million dollars to his victims. And in total, the Los Angeles Archdiocese has had to fork out a staggering $1.5billion in compensation, according to a recent report in the LA Times. Michael Hawkes was himself abused by his adoptive uncle. He is now suing the LA diocese – and has hired John Manly, the top lawyer who famously represented victims abused in the major US swim coach scandal.

Mike, who has worked as a graphic artist and a copywriter, is now finally prepared to tell his story. He was, as he puts it, a human trafficking victim, groomed by his depraved uncle. “You know, outside of talking to you, Jason, I haven’t talked a lot about it at all,” he said when we met in LA – with follow-up meetings taking place in Luton and Dublin for a documentary I’m making on him.

This is Irish-American Mike Hawkes’ first major interview. Here’s the link to read my full Q&A interview with Michael Hawkes in Hot Press magazine:

https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/michael-hawkes-the-catholic-church-were-not-the-only-ones-lying-they-were-helped-by-the-irish-state-23058956