Rev. John F. Dority, O.F.M.

Summary of Case: Dority was accused in a 2010 lawsuit of having sexually abused two Massachusetts boys between 1966-1972, beginning when the boys were ages 10 and 13, respectively. Dority admitted to the abuse. Dority was a Franciscan priest in Brazil during those years and abused the boys during trips home to MA, where he was a fill-in priest at a parish. He also worked at parishes in Ringwood, New Jersey and New York City. He left the Franciscans in 1976, and was convicted in 2005 of sexually abusing a 12-year-old boy in Rhode Island. He had also been charged with the sexual assault of a 19-year-old male. He served two years of a 20 year prison sentence, and was released in 2007. He was known in March 2011 to be living in Coventry, CT. He died in August 2019.

Ordained: 1967
Died: August 31, 2019

   

Start Stop Parish Town/Accusations State/Country Position Notes
1967 1973 St. Anne's Friary Anapolis Brazil The 1972 and 1973 Directories index Dority as in Anapolis Est. Goias Brazil C.P. 160 (HNProv), and do not refer to St. Anne's Friary, so it's possible he was elsewhere from 1971-1973.
1968 1969   Jatai Goiaz, Brazil    

1967

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

1973 Holy Name

Roslindale

• Dority was accused in a 2010 lawsuit as having sexually abused two Massachusetts boys, one from 1968 or 1969, beginning when the boy was 13 years old, until 1972. The second boy was said to have been sexually abused by Dority beginning when the boy was 10 years old in 1966 or 1967, and continuing until about 1971. Dority admitted he had abused them.

MA fill-in Dority worked at this parish during his leaves from Brazil to visit family.
1969 1971     Ceres, Brazil   The 1969, 1970 and 1971 Directories each index Dority twice, placing him in two different locations in Brazil.

1973

New York archbishop was Terence James Cooke (1968-1983)

1975 St. Stephen of Hungary New York (Manhatten) NY 4/12 Parish had a school with 284 students.  

1975

Paterson bishop was Lawrence Bernard Brennan Casey (1966-1977)

1976 St. Catherine of Bologna Ringwood

• Accused in a lawsuit in July 2020 of abusing a child, ages 13-14, at St. Catherine's 1975-76. 		 NJ

3/3 Parish had a school with 372 students.

Dority is not indexed beyond the 1976 Directory.

 
1976 2003         Dority left the Franciscans in 1976. At some point he moved to Rhode Island.
2003 2005  

Woonsocket

• Dority was arrested in Sept. 2003 and charged with molesting a 12-year- old boy, and for the sexual assault of a 19-year-old male youth.

RI   Dority was convicted in 2005 of molesting the 12 year-old, was sentenced 20 years in prison, with 3 years to serve and 17 years suspended.
2005 2007       inmate Dority was released from prison in 2007.
2007 2019   Coventry CT   Per the sex offender registry in March 2011, Dority was living in CT. He died August 31, 2019.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1967-1976)

• Man Faces 2nd Molestation Charge, By Elizabeth Gudrais, Providence Journal-Bulletin, September 15, 2003
• John Doe No. 70 & John Doe No. 71 vs. Order of Friars Minor Province of the Most Holy Name, Aug. 2, 2010
• Groups: Ri Diocese Should Name Accused Priests, Turn to 10, March 28, 2011
• Update: Advocates Want Information on Accused Priests, Buffalo News, March 29, 2011
• Plaintiff v Diocese of Paterson et al, July 30, 2020
• Introvigne Funeral Home, August 31, 2019

 


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 Dority's'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 March 28, 2021.