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Assignment Record– Rev. John J. Dewire
Summary of Case: A priest of the Boston archdiocese ordained in 1946, Dewire had numerous assignments in parishes throughout the archdiocese and was a juvenile court chaplain. He retired in 1991 and died in 1994. Dewire was accused in a 2003 lawsuit of repeatedly
of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old boy in 1967, while assigned to a Waltham MA parish. The case was settled, as announced in 2011 by attorney Mitchell Garabedian.
Ordained: 1946
Died: 1994
| Start |
Stop |
Assignment |
Town/Accusations |
State |
Position |
Notes |
1946
Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970). |
1948 |
St. Bridget's |
Abington
|
MA |
2/2 |
|
| 1948 |
1949 |
St. Benedict's |
Somerville
|
MA |
4/4 |
Parish had a school with 364 boys and 338 girls. |
| 1949 |
1951 |
St. Mary of the Assumption |
Hull |
MA |
2/3 |
|
| 1949 |
1951 |
St. Ann's |
Waveland
|
MA |
|
St. Ann's was a mission of St. Mary of the Assumption |
| 1949 |
1951 |
St. Mary of the Bay |
Pemberton
|
MA |
|
St. Mary of the Bay was a mission of St. Mary of the Assumption |
| 1951 |
1957 |
St. Joseph's |
Needham
|
MA |
2/3 |
Parish had a school beginning in 1954 with 82-154 boys and 84-142 girls. |
| 1957 |
1958 |
Sacred Heart |
Watertown
|
MA |
4/4 |
Parish had a school with 202 boys and 209 girls. |
1958
Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1973 |
St. Mary's |
Waltham
• Dewire was accused in a 2003 lawsuit of repeatedly raping a 10-year-old boy in 1967. |
MA |
4/5,3/5,3/4,2/4,2/5,1/4
|
Parish had a grade school with 450-88 boys and 430-86 girls and a high school with 251-19 boys and 219-0 girls. |
| 1973 |
1981 |
St. Lawrence's |
Brookline
|
MA |
1/3,1/2 |
|
1981
Bernard Francis Law follwed Sousa as Boston archbishop (1984-2002). |
1985 |
St. Ann's |
Wayland
|
MA |
2/2,3/3 |
|
| 1985 |
1986 |
St. Mary Star of the Sea |
Beverly-Danvers
|
MA |
3/3 |
Parish had a school with 245 students. |
| |
|
East Middlesex County Juvenile Court |
|
MA |
|
This assignment is per news reports. |
| 1986 |
1989 |
St. Anthony's (Italian) |
Revere
|
MA |
2/4,2/3 |
|
| 1989 |
1992 |
Immaculate Conception |
Marlboro
|
MA |
2/3,3/4,4/4 |
Parish had a school with 257 students. Dewire listed in 1992 Official Catholic Directory as retired and in residence. |
| 1992 |
1993 |
Regina Cleri |
Boston |
MA |
|
Regina Cleri was a retirement home for priests. |
| 1993 |
1994 |
St. Joseph Home |
Dorchester |
MA |
|
St. Joseph's was a nursing care facility.
Died Oct. 28, 1994
|
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York:
Kenedy & Sons, 1947-1994).
• Rev. John Dewire, 73, Was Pastor at St. Lawrence, The Boston Globe, October 31, 1994
• 16 Priests Named for First Time in Sexual Abuse Lawsuits, By Michael Rezendes and Matt Carroll, Boston Globe, January 30, 2003
• Bishop Hart Named in New Lawsuits, Norwich Prelate Seen As Negligent Supervisor in Sex Abuse Legal Claims, By Kenton Robinson, The Day [New London CT], January 30, 2003
• Boston Archdiocese Posts Sex-Abuse Database Online, By Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register, August 25, 2011
• North Shore Priests on List, Salem News, August 26, 2011
• Boston Archdiocese: 15 Accused Priests Had Worked in Somerville Parishes, By Andy Metzger, Wicked Local Somerville, August 30, 2011
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 &
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 Dewire'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 September 23, 2015.
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