Once abused, a priest now wants zero tolerance.
Still, it has taken years of therapy, for Father Hayes to stop blaming himself for what happened. The abuse went on for two years, he said. He entered the seminary in upstate New York as a deeply troubled young man who drank too much, and he defied the authority of seminary officials at every turn.
During a session with a psychologist at the seminary, who was also a priest, he revealed the source of his pain for the first time.
"At the next session, I started telling him about the abuse again," Father Hayes said. "He said, `You told me that last week. Let's move on.' "
