Two more lawsuits filed against Dubuque Archdiocese
Posted: Saturday, June 04, 2005
WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) -- Two more lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese of Dubuque alleging sexual abuse by former priests in the 1960s and '70s.
One lawsuit names the Rev. Patrick McElliott, who served as pastor of St. John's Catholic Church in Waterloo from 1954 to 1963. It is the fourth lawsuit filed this year naming McElliott, who died in 1987.
A second lawsuit names the Rev. William T. Schwartz, who was stripped of priestly duties in the 1980s by former Archbishop Daniel Kucera and now lives in Arizona. It is the fourth such lawsuit filed within the past year naming Schwartz, who served as spiritual director at Columbus High School from 1975 to 1979 and as associate pastor at St. John's in the early 1960s.
The lawsuits, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, seek unspecified damages. Both lawsuits allege that the archdiocese "either knew or should have known" of each priest's alleged conduct "and purposefully or intentionally failed to take action."
Schwartz, contacted at home Thursday evening, referred all questions to his attorney, Robert Day, of Dubuque, who did not immediately return a telephone message left Friday.
In the past two years, the Dubuque Archdiocese has received more than 30 reports of abuse dating as far back as 1950.
Archbishop Jerome Hanus has referred seven priests to the Vatican for possible sanctions, with the most serious penalty being removal from the priesthood. None of the seven men currently are working as priests.
The archdiocese is facing a spate of lawsuits that claim it tolerated years of abuse, a trend seen across the country as part of the nationwide scandal in the Catholic Church.
Fourteen lawsuits remain pending against the Dubuque Archdiocese, Msgr. James Barta, vicar general of the archdiocese, said Friday. One of the cases was filed out of state.
The lawsuits name seven different priests who worked in the archdiocese at one time. All but two of them are dead, Barta said.
In addition to Schwartz, the other priest still living is the Rev. William A. Goltz, who worked at Sacred Heart parish in Oelwein in the mid-1950s and St. Ludmila's in Cedar Rapids in the mid-1960s. He worked at several other parishes between 1970 and 1984, but spent much of his time in treatment. He now lives in Wisconsin, Barta said.
One lawsuit names the Rev. Patrick McElliott, who served as pastor of St. John's Catholic Church in Waterloo from 1954 to 1963. It is the fourth lawsuit filed this year naming McElliott, who died in 1987.
A second lawsuit names the Rev. William T. Schwartz, who was stripped of priestly duties in the 1980s by former Archbishop Daniel Kucera and now lives in Arizona. It is the fourth such lawsuit filed within the past year naming Schwartz, who served as spiritual director at Columbus High School from 1975 to 1979 and as associate pastor at St. John's in the early 1960s.
The lawsuits, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, seek unspecified damages. Both lawsuits allege that the archdiocese "either knew or should have known" of each priest's alleged conduct "and purposefully or intentionally failed to take action."
Schwartz, contacted at home Thursday evening, referred all questions to his attorney, Robert Day, of Dubuque, who did not immediately return a telephone message left Friday.
In the past two years, the Dubuque Archdiocese has received more than 30 reports of abuse dating as far back as 1950.
Archbishop Jerome Hanus has referred seven priests to the Vatican for possible sanctions, with the most serious penalty being removal from the priesthood. None of the seven men currently are working as priests.
The archdiocese is facing a spate of lawsuits that claim it tolerated years of abuse, a trend seen across the country as part of the nationwide scandal in the Catholic Church.
Fourteen lawsuits remain pending against the Dubuque Archdiocese, Msgr. James Barta, vicar general of the archdiocese, said Friday. One of the cases was filed out of state.
The lawsuits name seven different priests who worked in the archdiocese at one time. All but two of them are dead, Barta said.
In addition to Schwartz, the other priest still living is the Rev. William A. Goltz, who worked at Sacred Heart parish in Oelwein in the mid-1950s and St. Ludmila's in Cedar Rapids in the mid-1960s. He worked at several other parishes between 1970 and 1984, but spent much of his time in treatment. He now lives in Wisconsin, Barta said.
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