In four decades as a journalist, I saw many people do brave things, but I can't offhand think of anything more courageous than the letter I received last night from Sean McSween, a pharmacist and former resident of Talbot House, the addiction recovery centre now closed due to false allegations of sexual misconduct against its former executive director, Fr. Paul Abbass. To whom it may concern: I am a professional (pharmacist) married (since 1999) man. I had some difficulty in life, partly due to an abusive home life while growing up and partly due to poor choices of my own. I spent nearly...

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...

I am increasingly uneasy about the way the Talbot House crisis is playing out. In the space of three weeks this winter, a respected community leader's life was shattered, and an admired institution that had ministered to troubled individuals for 53 years was abruptly closed—all on the basis of an unspecified third-party complaint of unknown veracity that remains shrouded in secrecy two months later. [UPDATE: Fr. Paul Abbass has been exonerated. Please see Community Services Dept. vs. Talbot House] I don't know Fr. Paul Abbass personally, but I admire the grace and candor he displayed when speaking for the Antigonish Diocese during...