Assignment Record – Rev. John Schwartz, s.j.

Summary of Case: John Schwartz was ordained a priest of the Jesuits' Oregon Province in 1981. He was campus minister of Jesuit High in Beaverton through much of the 1980s, after which he left the Jesuits and spent a few years into the 1990s as a University chaplain and assistant at a Salem, OR parish. In 1997 Schwartz was accused of having sexually abused a Jesuit High student over a two-year period in the 1980s. Schwartz denied wrongdoing. The Official Catholic Directory does not index Schwartz between 1993-2003. It does show that he worked in parishes in the San Francisco archdiocese 2002-2005. His accuser sued in 2005 and Schwartz went on a leave of absence. Schwartz re-emerged as a nursing home chaplain in the archdiocese 2007-2011. His whereabouts beyond 2011 are unknown.

Ordained: 1981

     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1981

Portland archbishop was Cornelius Michael Power (1974-1986).

1984 Jesuit High School Beaverton OR campus minister Jesuit High had 520-509 students, all male.
1984 1985         Schwartz is not indexed in the 1985 Directory.

1985

Power was succeeded by William Joseph Levada (1986-1995).

1987 Jesuit High School

Portland

• Schwartz was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of sexually abusing a Jesuit High student in 1986 and 1987. The alleged abuse was reported twice in 1997. Schwartz denied wrongdoing.

OR campus minister Jesuit High had 540-510 students, all male.
1987 1989         Schwartz is not indexed in the 1988 or 1989 Directories.
1989 1993 Willamette University Salem OR chaplain Schwartz left the Jesuits in the late 1980s.
1989 1993? St. Joseph's Salem OR 2/3 St. Joseph's had a school with 257-306 students.

Schwartz is indexed in the 1992 and 1993 Directories as at St. Joseph's but is not listed as there in the Portland pages.
1993 2002         Schwartz is not indexed in the 1994-2002 Directories.

2002

San Francisco archbishop was William Joseph Levada (195-2005).

2004 St. Stephen's San Francisco CA 2/3 St. Stephen's had a school with 310 students and a religious education program with 75 students.
2004 2005 St. Anselm's Ross CA 2/2 St. Anselm's had a school with 265 students and a religious education program with 188 students.
2005 2006 Absent on Leave        
2006 2007         Schwartz is not indexed in the 2007 Directory.

2007

Levada was succeeded by George Hugh Niederauer (2005-2012).

2011 St. Anne's Home San Francisco CA chaplain

Home for the Aged of the Little Sisters of the Poor.




Schwartz is not indexed beyond the 2011 Directory.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons,1982-2011)

• Former Jesuit Student Files Suit, Saying a Teacher Molested Him, By Ashbel S. Green, The Oregonian, October 7, 2005
• Marin Priest Denies Molestation Allegations, CBS5, October 25, 2005
• Group Says Accused Molester Is New Priest at St. Anselm's, By Nancy Isles Nation, Marlin Independent Journal, October 26, 2005
• Sex-Abuse Suits Embroil Jesuits in Northwest, By Ashbel S. Green , The Oregonian [Oregon] , November 14, 2005
• Past Student Settles Suit against Jesuits, High School for $95,000, By Ashbel S. Green, The Oregonian, November 30, 2005
• Sex Abuse Case Could Cost Priest His Marin Post, By Nancy Isles Nation, Marin Independent Journal [San Francisco CA], December 1, 2005
• Portland Claims Table, The Oregonian, November 12, 2006
• Accused Priest to Return to Ross Church, By Nancy Isles Nation, Marin Independent Journal [Ross CA], November 28, 2006
• Protest at Marin Church about Priest's Return, KTVU, November 28, 2006
• News in Brief from California's North Coast, Fresno Bee , November 29, 2006


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 Schwartz' 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 July 5, 2014.