They were not "hold ups". It was illegal in Ireland for Irish children to be adopted by foreign parents. Roberts' Irish children were "trafficked" from Ireland to Central America, and the adoption occurred there in order to skirt Irish law so Roberts could have children that were Irish like him.
While the Irish birth parents, Irish lawyers, intermediaries and Justice Roberts all knew what they were doing, it's hard to say who exactly broke the law. Probably only those subject to Irish law. The children are adults now, so it's hard to see how this could still be held against him, or why details should not be made public.
I bet somewhere in their archives, the NYT still has the full story they were going to publish during Roberts' confirmation.
” It was illegal in Ireland for Irish children to be adopted by foreign parents. Roberts’ Irish children were “trafficked” from Ireland to Central America, and the adoption occurred there in order to skirt Irish law so Roberts could have children that were Irish like him.”
That sounds like a hold up that went away to me.
The central American connection was rumored to be “John of God”