After abuse by a priest he entered the gay lifestyle, but God’s love pulled him out
By Mark Ellis, Special to ASSIST News Service
(ANS - Southern California, January 16, 2015)
-- He was the surprise baby his mother never really wanted and he grew
up in an abusive family environment. Later the abuse became sexual
outside the home, which began a downward spiral until God's love rescued
his soul.
"I was emotionally and mentally
abused by my mother and brothers," says Charlie Edwards, author of
"Broken Trust: a journey from survivor to victor and beyond."
He attended Catholic school in
New England until the second grade and is thankful for a nun who
instilled a love for reading that persists to this day. But after he
finished second grade, his mother told him: "We're not going to waste
any more money on you in Catholic school because you're stupid."
Actually he had a very high IQ, and was later invited to join Mensa, the organization for people with very high intelligence.
His father was a stockbroker and
a good provider for the family. Edwards has fond memories of his dad,
but the busy financial advisor worked hard and traveled frequently,
which crowded out time with his kids.
"When I turned 10 I wanted to
become an altar boy," Edwards recalls. Unfortunately, the priest
overseeing the program was also a predator who began to molest him for
the next two years.
The priest was reassigned to another parish, which spared Edwards further indignities, but the damage was done.
One year after the priest's
transfer, Edwards sought out his first sexual encounter with an older
boy. He links the abuse at the hands of the priest with his sexual
inclinations. "Because of the abuse I sought out the homosexual
lifestyle," he asserts. "I didn't get the affirmation I needed at home
from my father. This was the reason I went the way I went."
Edwards felt there was no other alternative. "I knew this was the way I was going to be."
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