A retired Waterloo priest has been defrocked by the Vatican. Pope Benedict the 16th removed William Schwartz from the clergy in November following allegations he sexually assaulted several boys at Waterloo Columbus High School in the 1960s and ’70s.
Schwartz had pastoral and teaching assignments at several Catholic schools and parishes in Iowa during that time. He’s also accused of sexually abusing boys at parish rectories in Waterloo and one other northeast Iowa city — Postville.
According to lawsuits filed against Schwartz and the Dubuque archdiocese, the clergyman befriended teenage boys, took them on walks or drives to secluded areas, then sexually abused them. Schwartz, who’s now 73, is believed to be living in Arizona. He’s the second Iowa priest to be defrocked by the Vatican since 2000.