Brother John Dority
Diocese of Paterson (Franciscans)
Ordained: 1967
Left Order: 1976
Laicized: 1980
Assigned as follows:
- 1967-1973: St. Anne’s Friary (Annapolis, Brazil)
- 1967-1973: Holy Name (Roslindale, MA)
- 1973-1975: St. Stephen of Hungary (New York, NY)
- 1975-1976: St. Catherine of Bologna (Ringwood, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Brother John Dority:
Br. John Dority was a Franciscan Friar priest. In the 1960s through the early 1970s, he spent six years as a missionary in Brazil. When visiting family in Massachusetts, he worked as a fill-in priest at Holy Name in Roslindale. He also worked at parishes in Ringwood, New Jersey, and New York City. He left the Franciscans in 1976 and was laicized in 1980.
According to the lawsuit, in 2005 Dority was convicted 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. His name is listed on the Connecticut sex offender registry.
In 2010, a civil suit was filed that alleged Dority abused two boys in Roslindale. The abuse occurred when he would go on leave to visit family. It started when the boys were ages 10 and 13, from 1966 to 1972. Dority admitted he had abused them, and in October 2011, the plaintiffs were awarded $3 million.
Dority’s name was not included in the Archdiocese of Boston’s Database of Publicly Accused Priests in the United States. In February 2019, his name was included on the Diocese of Norwich’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. It noted that as of 2019, he was living in the diocese, but was never affiliated with it.
In October 2021, the Holy Name Province published a list of Franciscan friars with substantiated child sexual abuse and misconduct claims following a review of its files by an advisory firm. John Dority was one of 23 the friars named.
He died in 2019.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Paterson. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Paterson, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Paterson now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.