His dream was to attend Calvert Hall College High School, but Thomas Roberts initially did not get accepted.

Then Roberts and his mother, Michelle, spoke with the Rev. Jerome “Jeff” Toohey after Mass one Sunday during a tumultuous time in their lives.

Toohey served as chaplain at the private all-boys Catholic prep school in Towson and one week later called him with the news: “Hey, Tommy, you’re in.”

“It was the best day of my little life,” said Roberts, who formerly worked as an anchor for CNN and MSNBC.

Every Tuesday, Roberts said, he stayed with the priest. But Toohey began sexually abusing him when Roberts was 14 and ratcheted up the behavior after Roberts tried to take his own life.

When he was 33, Roberts reported the abuse.

Toohey pleaded guilty to child abuse in 2005 in Baltimore County Circuit Court. He served 10 months in jail before a judge released him early on home detention.

Roberts criticized the Archdiocese of Baltimore for filing for bankruptcy right before a new state law, the Child Victims Act of 2023, took effect. That’s along with invoking the doctrine of charitable immunity to avoid compensating survivors whose claims are not covered by insurance.

“Making us do this is bullshit,” Roberts said Wednesday in the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse in Baltimore. “It’s retraumatizing me all over again.”

Facing church leaders in the courtroom including Archbishop William Lori and Auxiliary Bishop Adam Parker, Roberts added, “I hope you go to confession and ask for God’s forgiveness.”

Roberts spoke during a 2 1/2-hour hearing in the Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy case that was specifically scheduled for survivors to deliver statements. It was the third time they had the opportunity to address the court.

“Today is a listening session,” U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner said.

Survivors recounted how the abuse has affected all aspects of their lives. Some criticized the tactics of the archdiocese, as the bankruptcy case has stretched past its second year.

“You are not trying to equitably compensate us,” said Erin Maze, who reported that a teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas School, David Czajkowski, sexually abused her when she was from 8 to 10.

Czajkowski pleaded guilty to three counts of child abuse in 2002 in Baltimore Circuit Court.

In a statement, Lori said he admires the “courage of those victim-survivors who shared their heart-wrenching experiences.”

“Their traumatic stories resonate with those of us responsible for ensuring the safety and welfare of those in our care, especially young people,” Lori said. “It is our duty and our promise to rid the Church of abuse and to keep children in our care safe. What happened to them must never, ever be allowed to happen again.”

Jonathan Salamone, vice chair of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents survivors in the case, said he’s enjoyed a successful career and lived in cities including Baltimore, New York and Miami.

At the same time, Salamone spoke about the lasting effects of abuse and manipulation.

His abuser, the Rev. Michael Miller, pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography, publishing an obscenity and risk of injury to a minor in 2013 in Connecticut.

“I’m still here. I’m still standing. And still fighting and speaking,” Salamone said.

No predator, he said, can take that away from him.