Outing Cardinal Egan A priest's lawsuit alleges the Catholic Church is hiding pedophile clergy-and offers a stunning reason why by Kristen Lombardi February 7th, 2006 11:40 AM
Who knows whether Cardinal Edward Egan is sleeping soundly these days. But as head of the New York archdiocese-as the top Roman Catholic prelate in the state-he'd have every reason to be restless after the recent advent of a little-noticed lawsuit.
The suit, now pending in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, was filed on December 13 by Bob Hoatson-a 53-year-old New Jersey priest considered a stalwart ally among survivors of sexual abuse by clergy. Hoatson, the now-suspended chaplain for Catholic Charities in Newark, is suing Egan and nine other Catholic officials and institutions, claiming a pattern of "retaliation and harassment" that began after Hoatson alleged a cover-up of clergy abuse in New York and started helping victims.
But that's not all his lawsuit claims. Halfway through the 44-page complaint, the priest-turned-advocate drops a bomb on the cardinal: He alleges that Egan is "actively homosexual," and that he has "personal knowledge of this." His suit names two other top Catholic clerics in the region as actively gay-Albany bishop Howard Hubbard and Newark archbishop John Myers.
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