A former priest turned whistleblower tells his private experience of clergy abuse and cover-up, what he witnessed on the inside, and what he's doing about it now.
Dr. Robert Hoatson, a native of West Orange, New Jersey, is the Co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families. He is a graduate of Essex Catholic High School in Newark, New Jersey (1970) and was the recipient of the school's highest honor; namely, the "Most Outstanding Essex Man." He spent 23 years as an Irish Christian Brothers and taught in a number of schools in New York and Boston. He holds a Bachelors Degree in English from Iona College, a Masters Degree in English from Manhattan College, and a Ph.D. from Fordham University. He was named Educator of the Year by the Association of Teacher of New York City in 1991 while he was Principal and Director of Total Parish Education at Sacred Heart Parish in Yonkers, New York. In 1994, Bob left the Irish Christian Brothers and became a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey, where he ran into trouble with the Archbishop because of his care for victims of clergy sexual abuse and whistleblowing crimes against children. As a victim/survivor of clergy sexual abuse himself, Bob felt a call to continue the work of Road to Recovery, and was punished for such, leading to his dispensation from the priesthood in 2011. His first and latest book is "The Sacrifice of the Masses," a memoire of his time as a religious brother and priest, and an expose of the Catholic Church's corruption.
