Behind Sacred Walls

When the Roberts family's favorite priest started inviting himself to dine at their dinner table weekly, they were delighted to oblige. Then, when the priest started inviting their teenaged son, Michael, on day trips, none of them realized the priest's hidden objective. He was grooming Michael for what would become years of ongoing sexual abuse. It was afterall, God's will, the priest told him. In Behind Sacred Walls, Michael Roberts reveals how he was abused by not just one priest, but several. As a young teenager, he saw no way out of the continuing abuse. He was riddled with shame and guilt, and feared God's wrath. But, most if not all, he feared the pain it would cause his parents if they ever found out. Roberts was eventually able to extricate himself from the abusive relationship with the priest and has spent years recovering from the emotional scars. He tells how he recovered and how he spent years seeking justice from the church in Behind Sacred Walls.