the Rev. James F. Talbot, who pleaded guilty in 2005 to r@pe and assault of two boys. Talbot was sentenced to five to seven years in prison and is scheduled to be released this month. the Jesuit, Fr. Stephen F. Dawber's wake and burial were at the Campion Center, according to his obituary. New England Province Spokeswoman Alice Poltorick has said the Jesuits plan to place Talbot in a secure and monitored location after his release and remove him from the priesthood, after which he will no longer remain at a Jesuit residence.
Link (here) to the full story at Metro West Daily News
9 comments:
I lived & worked with Jim Talbot in the Spring of 1993. At the time, I was a Jesuit novice assigned to Cheverus High School in Portland, Maine.
Fr. Talbot was friendly and helped another novice and I understand our work at the school. He appeared to be an active & concerned teacher.
Little did I understand how much of a front it was. His friendly nature was actually intended to groom the people around him so that we would not notice his suspicious behavior.
Jim Talbot spent weekends away from the community at a local parish - and convinced a local family to let him stay at their house with their children. I didn't know why this was allowed, but it was.
The New England Provincial knew of Jim Talbot's behavior at Boston College High School, but ignored the problem by sending him off to Maine. A far too typical Jesuit response to the problem.
I commend the current Provincial for having the courage to laicize Jim Talbot and remove him from the Jesuits.
Good riddance.
The Jesuits removed Jim Talbot from Cheverus High School in 1998, but didn't make an effort to inform the rest of the New England Province as to why he was removed.
I had no idea what he had done, which led to an awkward meeting that summer when I ran into him at the Jesuit retirement home in Weston, MA.
During that meeting, Talbot simply stated that he had been "reassigned", and never acknowledged what he had done.
In response to Anonymous who stated that the New England Provincial knew of Talbots past behavior at BC High, but chose to ignore it.
Let's be honest here. What the Jesuits chose to ignore were the innocent young boys who were raped and molested by Fr. Talbot.
Moving him to Maine was an opportunity to get him away from the students at BCH. He then promptly began molesting kids at Chevrus.
The Jesuits knew he was a serial molester, but moved him and in effect gave him more victims to add to his notch. Then when they got caught, reacted with the typical "We had no idea!" and shipped him off to St. Luke's Institute for over two years.
Suddenly, now, they announce that they're dumping him? Really.
This bully doesn't scare me anymore. And yes, Fr. Talbot-people DO believe the victims.
Jim Higgins
I apologize that I did not speak as clearly as I should have regarding Jim Talbot's conduct at BC High.
Jim Talbot sexually assaulted multiple young men while at BC High. The Jesuit provincial was aware of his actions, and ignored them. Rather than take action, he kept the matter quiet and shipped Jim Talbot off to Portland, Maine, where he sexually abused other young men.
On multiple occasions during my time in the Jesuits, I lived with sexual abusers - worse, in one community my superior was a known abuser. Among those men were Jim Talbot & Frank McManus. I encountered others at Campion Retirement Home, like George McCabe.
The problem is not merely what these men did, but that Jesuit superiors knew of the abuse and chose to ignore it. I warned superiors on multiple occasions about what I saw, but was ignored. That was the worst betrayal - and the thing that haunts me years after leaving the Society.
I am thankful every day for the support I have received from fellow SNAP members, who have helped me come to terms with what was done to me.
Good and holy Jesuits rise up and fix this problem.
@ ^ "Good and holy Jesuits rise up and fix this problem"
I'm sorry, but there's no evidence of that happening yet
The good and holy Jesuits are out numbered
Talbot was a great mentor to me as well as to my brothers. Talbot, unlike most teachers, had an amazing ability to identify with humanity and real tragedy. The only difference between talbot and all of us is that he has lived thru it.
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