Priest was ‘advocate for justice’

Monsignor Daniel Joseph Dever, former superintendent of Hawaii Catholic schools for 42 years, died Oct. 19 at Pohai Nani Care Center in Kaneohe after a lengthy illness, 14 days shy of his 86th birthday.

Dever was a priest for 59 years and Catholic schools superintendent here for 42 years. He "served Hawaii as a philosopher, an ethicist, a visionary, a lover of art, an advocate for justice and a spokesman for peace," said a news release from the Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.

"His tenure rode the tide of major transitions in the church, through the momentous changes brought by the Second Vatican Council and the transformation of Hawaii’s Catholic School system from the responsibility of religious congregations to mostly that of lay educators," the release said.

Dever was born on Nov. 2, 1925, in Sea Isle, N.J., the son of a boat builder. He was ordained on June 7, 1952, by Archbishop Amleto G. Cicognani, who would later become the Vatican secretary of state.

In 1954, at age 28, Dever was appointed superintendent of Hawaii’s Catholic schools and held the position longer than anyone, the release said. He served for 16 years as moderator of the Newman Club at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, the precursor of today’s Newman Center.

Pope John XXIII named him a monsignor in 1962.

In the 1960s and ’70s, Devers founded the Institute for Religion and Social Change, was an arbitrator of labor disputes and created and chaired the ethics committee at St. Francis Medical Center. He lobbied against physician-assisted suicide and protested the Vietnam War and nuclear weapons at Pearl Harbor, the release said.

The Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii recognized him as one of the 1994 recipients of its "Living Treasures of Hawaii" award.

Bishop Larry Silva, who lived down the hall from Dever at St. Stephen Diocesan Center the past six years, said, "I will miss this good and holy priest very much.

"He was a joy to be with and was always very supportive. … It was also inspiring to see how many friends Father Dan had made over the years, people of all generations. They would love to look in on him, and he was always happy to entertain them. Many priests, deacons and lay people have gone to him for spiritual direction, and they have been richly rewarded in the experience," Silva said.

Services will be held Wednesday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace, with visitation at 5 p.m. and a funeral Mass at 6 p.m; reception to follow. On Nov. 4 at 10:30 a.m., a committal service will be at St. Stephen Diocesan Center chapel; inurnment will follow at Hawaiian Memorial Park in Kaneohe.