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Michael Anthony Hess (July 5, 1952 – August 15, 1995) was a lawyer, deputy chief legal counsel and later chief legal counsel to the Republican National Committee (RNC) in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He was born Anthony Lee to Philomena Lee in Ireland, and spent his first years of life in a convent before being adopted by Marge and Doc Hess of St Louis, Missouri. The issues surrounding his adoption are controversial, as part of a program of forced adoptions practiced by some Catholic religious orders in Ireland at the time, and his story was later told in British journalist Martin Sixsmith's book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'' and the film ''Philomena''. ==Personal life== Hess's birth mother was Philomena Lee. Lee became pregnant at age 18 at a local carnival by a man named John who worked for the post office. She was then sent to the Sean Ross Abbey, a place for unwed mothers, in Roscrea in Ireland. After she gave birth to Hess, she was able to be with her child until she was 22 and he was three while living in the Abbey. As was common practice in Ireland at the time, the church sold him to a Catholic family in the United States.〔 Lee did not know where her son was sent by the nuns when she left the Abbey after being forced into signing the adoption papers. Hess grew up in the Midwest and was raised in a Catholic family. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1974 and earned a law degree at George Washington University. He made three visits to Ireland to try to find his mother but was unsuccessful in persuading the sisters to divulge any information. He requested that his ashes be buried at the convent where he was born in the hope that his mother would eventually be able to find his grave. Hess never learned who his mother was. In the 2000s, journalist Martin Sixsmith, working with Lee, discovered that Hess was Lee's son. He did not publicly acknowledge his homosexuality, particularly in his professional life. He died from complications of AIDS, although this was not mentioned at the memorial service held for him. Hess's partner for the last 15 years of his life was Steve Dahllof. Dahllof credited the book ''The Lost Child of Philomena Lee'' with "about a three out of 10, in terms of accuracy", while the movie ''Philomena'', "in accuracy of spirit, is 10 out of 10." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Michael A. Hess」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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