Frank Joseph Dewane

Frank Dewane was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, as the third of the four children of Ben and Eleanor Dewane, Irish Catholics who owned and operated a dairy farm. He attended Denmark High School in Denmark, Wisconsin, where he played lineman on the football team, and worked at an appliance factory during his summer vacations to pay for college.[1]

Dewane studied at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh from 1968 to 1972, where he obtained a bachelor degree, and at the American University in Washington, D.C. from 1973 to 1975, earning a Master of International Administration degree. Dewane worked for NBC in Moscow and then for a subsidiary of PepsiCo in New York City.

Dewane studied philosophy at the University of Notre Dame from 1983 to 1984, then traveled to Rome in 1984to attend the Pontifical North American College. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and canon law at the Angelicum.

Dewane was ordained to the priesthood on July 16, 1988, and then served as assistant pastor at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Green Bay, Wisconsin until 1991. He worked for the diocesan tribunal as well. In 1991, Dewane was named by the Vatican to its Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations in New York City. Dewane entered the service of the Roman Curia upon becoming an official of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum in 1995. From 2001 to 2006, Dewane served as undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. During his tenure as undersecretary, he acted as a Vatican diplomat to numerous international conferences and other events.

On April 25, 2006, Dewane was appointed as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Venice by Pope Benedict XVI. He was consecrated on July 25 by Bishop John Nevins, with Archbishop John Favalora and Diarmuid Martin serving as co-consecrators, in Epiphany Cathedral. He took as his episcopal motto: "Iustitia Pax Gaudium", meaning, "Justice, Peace, and Joy" (Romans 14:17). Dewane succeeded Nevins as the second bishop of Venice on January 19, 2007.

Dewane is considered to be moderate in his views, being theologically conservative yet economically and socially progressive.[1] However, he aroused a certain controversy shortly after his nomination as coadjutor bishop when he stated that communion should not be withheld to Catholic politicians who oppose some of the Church's public policy positions.[2]

During the 2008 presidential election, Dewane stated, "[The] right to life and dignity of every person ... are fundamental to the health of any society and should therefore, be carefully considered when voting for a particular candidate. After all, in voting we are making moral choices." He added, "As Catholics, we are called upon to respect and protect the rights of all, especially, the unborn child, the weakest and most vulnerable among us. At the same time, the family, the basic unit of society, must be safeguarded, promoted, and protected based on monogamous marriage between a man and a woman."