John Joseph Nevins
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Bishop John Joseph Nevins (January 19, 1932 – August 26, 2014) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as an auxiliary bishop of the
Archdiocese of Miami The Archdiocese of Miami ( la, Archidioecesis Miamiensis, es, Arquidiócesis de Miami, ht, Achidyosèz Miami) is a particular church of the Catholic Church in the United States of America. Its ecclesiastical territory consists of Broward County, ...
in Florida from 1979 to 1984 and as the first bishop of the new Diocese of Venice in Florida from 1984 until 2007.


Biography


Early life

John Nevins was born on January 19, 1932, in New Rochelle, New York. He received an early education from the
Irish Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...
, but was forced to transfer to a seminary for the
Fathers of Mercy The Congregation of the Priests of Mercy ( la, Congregatio Presbyterorum a Misericordia), commonly called Fathers of Mercy is a Catholic clerical religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men (missionary priests) founded by Jean-Baptiste Rauz ...
when the Irish Brothers disbanded. Nevins received a master's degree at
Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
in New Orleans, then attended
Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Roman Catholic research university in Washington, D.C. It is a pontifical university of the Catholic Church in the United States and the only institution of higher education founded by U.S. ...
in Washington, D.C. Nevins was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Miami on June 6, 1959 when he was 27 years old.


Auxiliary Bishop of Miami

On January 25, 1979, Nevins was appointed by
Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
as auxiliary bishop of Miami and as titular bishop of Rusticiana. He was consecrated on March 24, 1979 by Archbishop
Edward A. McCarthy Edward Anthony McCarthy (April 10, 1918 – June 7, 2005) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the second archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami in Florida from 1977 to 1994. He previously served as bishop of the Dio ...
, Bishop René Gracida, and Bishop John Fitzpatrick.


Bishop of Venice

On July 17, 1984, Nevins was appointed by John Paul II as the first bishop of the Diocese of Venice in Florida. Nevins was a member of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...
. In 1992, he sponsored a special collection to help
Croatians The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
and
Bosnians Bosnians (Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...
who were suffering from the
Bosnia War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
. In August 2003, three Florida siblings sued the diocese and Nevins alleging sexual molestation by William Romero, a former priest in the diocese. Between 1979 and 1982, while in an improper relationship with their mother, Romero sexually abused the three siblings in
Hobe Sound, Florida Hobe Sound is an unincorporated area and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States, located along Florida's Treasure Coast. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010. Geography Hobe Sound ...
. In November 2005, a
St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the fifth-most populous city in Florida and the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay Area, after Tampa. It is the ...
man filed a lawsuit against Nevins and the diocese, claiming that he was sexually abused as a minor by George E. Brennan, a diocesan priest. The plaintiff claimed to have been sodomized in 1984 four times at Incarnation Catholic Church in Sarasota. The suit said that Nevins covered up the alleged crime. Pope Benedict VI accepted Nevin's resignation as bishop on January 19, 2007. John Nevins died in Venice on August 26, 2014. The
Bishop Nevins Academy Bishop Nevins Academy is the campus that houses St. Mary Academy and St. Martha Catholic School in Sarasota, Florida. It is named for Bishop Emeritus John J. Nevins. The present facility opened in 1999. The school buildings were designed by archite ...
in
Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...
, is named after him.


Viewpoints


Gambling

Nevins opposed efforts in 1994 to amend the
Florida State Constitution The Constitution of the State of Florida is the document that establishes and describes the powers, duties, structure, and function of the government of the U.S. state of Florida, and establishes the basic law of the state. The current Constitu ...
to allow casinos and
riverboat gambling A riverboat casino is a type of casino on a riverboat found in several states in the United States with frontage on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, or along the Gulf Coast. Several states authorized this type of casino in order to en ...
, concerned about the potential side effects on people who gambled.


Abortion

In a 1992
pastoral letter A pastoral letter, often simply called a pastoral, is an open letter addressed by a bishop to the clergy or laity of a diocese or to both, containing general admonition, instruction or consolation, or directions for behaviour in particular circumst ...
, "Reverence for God and the Human Person," Nevins condemned
abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
for women Although Americans "live in a pluralistic society," he said, there are not two standards of morality -- there is only one."


References

* ''Priests Renew Vows, Nevins: 'We're not perfect; Sarasota Herald-Tribune - March 27, 2002 * ''Marching to Orlando''; St. Petersburg Times - February 23, 2000 * ''Bishop Couldn't Offer Safety A Lawyer Argues That Bishop John Nevins Of The Catholic Diocese Of Venice Was Not Negligent''; Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) - April 17, 1997 * ''Bishop apologizes for not taking enough action to protect victim''; Sarasota Herald-Tribune (FL) - June 19, 2002 * ''Bishop John Nevins of the Diocese of Venice receives Eternal Light Award Special to the Sun''; Charlotte Sun (Port Charlotte, FL) - February 22, 2004 * ''Division of Dioceses A Challenge''; Miami Herald, The (FL) - October 19, 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Nevins, John 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Roman Catholic bishops of Venice in Florida Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Miami 1932 births 2014 deaths Religious leaders from New Rochelle, New York Catholics from New York (state) Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre