The Real Reason These Celebs Abandoned Their Church

When Gabriel Byrne was 11-years old, he joined seminary training, aiming for a life of priesthood. Approximately five years later, however, the actor went to London on a break and discovered that his love for the opposite sex was too strong to ignore. "We got on the bus and I walked up the stairs behind two girls in miniskirts," he described to The Guardian. "That was the end of it for me." Yet, while this monumental moment may have inspired him to leave the seminary training, it was a traumatic experience that left deeper scars.

"Unfortunately, I experienced some sexual abuse," the Hereditary star revealed. "It took many years to come to terms with it and to forgive those incidents that I felt had deeply hurt me." Byrne looks back at this and wonders how much it affected him as a man. "I didn't think it severely impacted me at the time," he began." But when I think about my later life, and how I had difficulties with certain issues, there is the real possibility they could have been attributable to that."

Now, as a father, Byrne isn't in a hurry to introduce his children to the church. "I never discussed religion with them. As far as I'm concerned, it didn't do me any good," he said in an interview with The Irish Times. "I have come to the conclusion that the Catholic Church is a force for evil."

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