03 Apr The shaming of Fr. Paul Abbass — a clarification

In my post about the Queen-of-Hearts treatment accorded Fr. Paul Abbass—sentence first, trial later—I wrote that the  Cape Breton Regional Police “said it had begun investigating allegations concerning a Talbot House employee.”

In fact, police spokesperson Desiree Vassallo chose her words more carefully than that.

“We are looking further into [information received from the Talbot House Board] and will determine whether there’s anything that needs a criminal investigation,” she said.

While Vassallo didn’t identify Abbass, everyone knew who she was talking about.

Almost seven weeks have passed since Vassallo made that statement. If the police have determined that the information does not warrant a criminal investigation, then in light of the personal cost to Abbass and the residents at Talbot House, they bear a heavy onus to acknowledge that the case is closed—or indeed, that it never opened.