BRIDGEPORT (CT)
Darien Times
By Susan Shultz on August 24, 2012
A protest against the Diocese of Bridgeport is being organized by Road to Recovery founder Robert Hoatson and others who allege past abuse by St. Thomas More’s parochial vicar.
According to a press release, the Saturday afternoon protest has been organized to call on the Diocese of Bridgeport to remove Father Robert Post “and keep him away from kids.”
The further purpose of the demonstration is to “alert parishioners and the public to the accusations of sexual abuse” against Father Post. …
Brian Wallace, spokesman for the Diocese of Bridgeport, said the diocese was not aware of the the planned protest but said that information on Hoatson’s website, the Road to Recovery, has been challenged in terms of accuracy and the motivations behind it have been questioned. Calls to the office and the pastor at St. Thomas More were not immediately returned.
Wallace said Hoatson’s website was investigated and it was “full of inaccuracies and misrepresentations” and said a 2005 lawsuit filed by Hoatson was thrown out of court and and his attorney was sanctioned.
“Father Post is a priest in very good standing in our diocese and has served there for 20 years without a blemish or any impropriety,” Wallace said, adding Hoatson’s alleged accusations are “baseless and misleading.” Wallace added that Father Post had stepped down from his advisory position this summer because he had other responsibilities to attend to and clarified it had nothing to do with any of the allegations.
According to the press release, Hoatson said it took “three years of whistleblowing” to get Father Post transferred “because of Post’s behavior around teenage boys.” Hoatson claims he was then retaliated against for his whistleblowing and was transferred himself.
Hoatson reports that the abuse allegations come from three adult men, at least one is a former student at Blessed Sacrament. Hoatson outlined his experiences with Father Post, his observations and the retaliation he experienced in another lawsuit filed in 2007 that named the Archdiocese of New York, the Diocese of Newark and the Diocese of Albany among its defendants.
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