Assignment Record– Rev. James F. Talbot, s.j.

Summary of Case: James F. Talbot was ordained a priest of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in 1968. Prior to ordination he worked for five years in Jamaica. He went on to work in Boston, primarily at Boston College High School, as a teacher and wrestling coach. In 1980 he was assigned to Cheverus High School in in Portland, ME. Talbot is accused of sexually assaulting at least fourteen teen-age boys. When a former Cheverus High student accused him of sexual abuse in 1998, Talbot was removed from ministry and sent to St. Luke's Institute in MD for treatment. In 2005 he pleaded guilty to the rape and assault of two boys, both former students at Boston College High School in the 1970s. He was sentenced to five to seven years in prison. In November 2015 Talbot is a registered sex offender living at Vianney Renewal Center in Dittmer, MO.

Ordained: 1968

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
1962 1968   W.I. Winchester Park Kingston,
Jamaica		 Although ordained in 1968, Talbot is listed at this assignment in the Directories. He joined the Jesuits in 1955.

1968

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970), followed by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1971 Immaculate Conception (Collegiate Church) Boston MA

27/31, 32/36, 33/36

 
1968 1971 Boston City Hospital Boston MA   chaplain
1968 1971 Boston University Hospital Boston MA   chaplain
1971 1980 Boston College High School

Boston (Dorchester)

• Accused in 2002 of having sexually abused "many" B.C. High students during the 1970s. The accusers said Talbot would get them to wrestle him in the locker room on Saturdays, and that he would pin them down and sexually assault them. (Boston Globe
January 14, 2003)

• Accused of having sexually assaulted two teen-age boys at his home in Boston's South End. (The Associated Press, carried in Providence Journal [Boston MA]
Downloaded May 13, 2004)

MA teacher, coach B.C. High had 1,109-1,259 students, all male.

1980

Portland bishop was Edward Cornelius O'Leary (1974-1988), succeeded by Joseph John Gerry, O.S.B.(1988-2004).

1998 Cheverus High School

Portland

• Accused in 1998 of having sexually abused a Cheverus student. (The Associated Press, carried in Providence Journal [Boston MA]
Downloaded May 13, 2004)

ME   Cheverus had 420-265 students, all male.
1998 2000 St. Luke Institute Silver Springs MD patient This was a treatment center for troubled priests. Talbot was removed from his position at Cheverus High School in 1998 and sent to St. Luke's, where he remained for 26 months. (Boston Globe
April 16, 2003)

2000

Boston archbishop was Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002), replaced by Sean Patrick O'Malley. O.F.M. (2002-).

2005 Campion Jesuit Community Weston MA   Talbot was indicted in 2002, and living at the Campion Center while out on bail. (Associated Press, carried in Telegram & Gazette [Boston MA]
January 10, 2005) He pleaded guilty in 2005 to raping and sexually assaulting two B.C. High students and was sentenced to five to seven years in prison. (Boston Globe
October 1, 2005)
2005   Massachusetts Treatment Center for the Sexually Dangerous Bridgewater MA inmate Although the Directories continue to list Talbot as at the Campion Center, he was last known to be a resident of this treatment center within Bridgewater State Prison. (The Patriot Ledger October 20, 2008)
2015   Vianney Renewal Center Dittmer MO resident The Missouri State Sex Offender Registry in November 2015 shows Talbot's address to be that of Vianney Renewal Center.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963-2009 )

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Talbot's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on November 4, 2015.