I have added a number of bits and pieces of information to the Father Howard Chabot page. There are still a number of gaps to fill in. Anyone who has information which fills in any gaps please post a comment or send me an email at: cornwall@theinquiry.ca
First, I want to commend the complainant who went to police. Good for you! Good for you!! Stay strong now, and prepare yourself for a fairly long wait before this goes to trial. It will probably be around two years. If it’s sooner, well, that’s fantastic 
Meanwhile, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
And to anyone else who has allegations against Father Chabot (or any other priest for that matter), always remind yourself that you have nothing to be ashamed of – you were a child, just a child. And remind yourself to put the shame where it belongs – right on the shoulders of your molester, and right on the shoulders of all those who may have covered up on his behalf. Talk to your family. Talk to trusted friends. When you are ready, get rid of the shame which you have carried for so long. Put it smack dab where it belongs. You can do it.
Now back to Father Howard Chabot.
I am surprised to learn that Father Chabot worked as a probation officer full-time – after he was a priest. I truly have never heard of a priest working as a probation officer. That doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened elsewhere, but I’ve never heard of it and, to be quite frank, I find it bizarre. How did that ever come to be? Was their a glut of priests in the Pembroke Diocese at the time? is that it?
Also, while on that subject, does anyone know if Father Chabot was working as a probation officer around 1980? The 1980 Ontario Catholic Directory gives his address as c/o St. John Chrysostom Roman Catholic Church in Arnprior, but it looks as though he was not there officially as an assistant. Is that because he was living in the rectory, and perhaps helping out from time to time in the parish, but was actually working as probation officer? And, if that’s the case, how did that ever come to be?
And, speaking of Father Howard Chabot and St. John Chrysostom in the 1980 directory, Father Tardiff is listed as Pastor, and Father Dan Miller as assistant.
In the 2002 Canadian Catholic Church Directory Father Chabot is listed as Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church, Pembroke, Ontario. Also at that address is, … Father Dan Miller.
I don’t by any stretch have all the directories so am unable to check every single one to see who was where when, but, it looks as though Fathers Chabot and Miller were at OLL together at least for one year (In the 2000 directory Father Miller ‘s address is listed a c/o the diocesan centre)
I realize fully that there are many priests who wind up serving in the same parish over a lifetime in the priesthood, but it is known that Fathers Miller and Chabot were good friends, and that Fathers Tardiff and Miller were frequent dinner guests at Father Chabot’s Westmeath home. I also realize that Father Tardif may well have accompanied Father Miller out of a sense of duty to monitor him (after it was presumably revealed that Father Miller had molested ). I don’t know how far that monitoring went, but do know that for ages wherever Father Miller was, there was Father Tardiff. Monitoring or friendship? Who knows?
It’s true, there are other clergy who were frequent dinner guests at the Westmeath home of Father Chabot, however, Father Daniel Miller, as a convicted child molester, is of interest.
I see too that Father Howard Chabot was Chaplain to the Pembroke Police Service for nearly 20 years. I think it was Father Michael Mullins who was Chaplain to the Ottawa Police Service and Father Kenneth Keeler Dale Crampton who was Chaplain to the RCMP? Do I have them right? or, is it vice-versa? No matter, those two clerical molesters served as Chaplain to the RCMP and Ottawa police. I don’t for a moment believe that all chaplains to police are molesters – I am however concerned at the influence a Chaplain who happens to be a molester could have on police officers and/or on any police investigations of clerical molesters.
Now, another question. Does anyone know what studies Father Chabot undertook in New Mexico? also in England.
According to the media he studied in Toronto, Montreal, New Mexico and England. I know that he was in Toronto at St. Augustine’s Seminary for a spell. And I know that he spent time at the Grand Seminary in Montreal. I have no idea what he was studying in New Mexico. Ditto England. Can anyone help?
As an item of minor interest, it is known that Father Chabot was a great advocate of Leaves of Absence of three to four months.
And finally, I have been told Father is a gifted speaker, and that he was involved at some point in Marriage Preparation classes.
Please look through the information on the page and see if there is anything you can add to fill in the gaps. In truth all of this information should be supplied by the diocese as part of a CV, but, that just generally does not happen in Canada. Not yet.
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Please also look through the information on the Father Thomas C. O’Flaherty page. It’s now late and I want to call it a day so will not get into my questions and comments here, but do take time to read through. There are many questions here.
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If anyone was trying to reach me yesterday our phone line has gone kaput. At one point in the day the phone rang once, and then there was nothing but buzzes and crackles on the line, and the window showing the phone “In Use” and “Charging.” I finally contacted Ma Bell – someone will be out to fix things up between 8 am and noon.
Oh joy!
Enough for now,
Sylvia