Letters to the Editor
Not All Accused Priests on List

By Daniel J. Kortenkamp
Telegraph Herald [Dubuque IA]
January 22, 2006

On Jan. 4, the Archdiocese of Dubuque released a list of "priests against whom public accusations of sexual abuse of minors have been made and/or lawsuits have been filed." I applaud the archdiocese for publishing this list.

However, I would like to make a public accusation against a priest missing from this list.

In 2003, I wrote the Archdiocese Review Board for Sexual Abuse of Minors about my sexual abuse at age 13 by the Rev. Robert Swift, Sacred Heart, Oelwein. I told the board I saw him abuse others. The archdiocese said I was the fifth person to accuse Rev. Swift. Since then, a woman told me of her abuse by Rev. Swift at Sacred Heart. Last year, a man told me he and his brother, while in grade school, were sexually abused by Rev. Swift in Holy Family Parish, Mason City.

I also told about boys I knew who were abused by the Rev. William Goltz (on the list) and the Rev. Thomas Knox (not on the list). Rev. Knox, Rev. Goltz and Rev. Swift were priests at Sacred Heart, Oelwein, during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The archdiocese informed me of other accusations against Rev. Knox and Rev. Goltz.

It was 50 years before I told anyone about my sexual abuse by Rev. Swift. I hope my public accusation encourages other sexual abuse victims of priests and nuns to come forward.

Daniel J. Kortenkamp
1916 Plover St.
Stevens Point, Wis.