By Bob Bauder
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
December 22, 2010
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_714841.html
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| Bishop David A. Zubik |
A victims' advocacy group Tuesday called for a federal investigation into claims that Pittsburgh Bishop David A. Zubik ordered the destruction of records detailing pedophilia and other forms of sexual abuse by priests in Green Bay, Wis.
Zubik denied the allegations.
Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests cited a deposition given in November by a high-ranking Catholic Diocese of Green Bay official calling on U.S. Attorney James Santelle to investigate Zubik and Green Bay Bishop David L. Ricken.
"Our first concern is the destruction of criminal evidence," Peter Isely, SNAP's Midwest director, said shortly before a news conference yesterday outside the federal courthouse in Green Bay. "We want (Santelle) to order them to stop doing it. We also want him to look for possible criminal charges."
Dean Puschnig, spokesman for Santelle's office, said Santelle has agreed to meet with SNAP after Jan 1. Santelle had not seen the deposition, Puschnig said.
Zubik, who served as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay before being transferred to Pittsburgh in 2007, issued a written statement denying the allegations.
"There was never an order issued by me -- nor anyone else -- to destroy documents or evidence contained in the files of priests accused of abuse while I served as bishop of Green Bay," Zubik said. "To the contrary, it had been diocesan practice in Green Bay not to destroy documents in priest files -- even after a priest had died -- if there was litigation involving that priest or any pending claims."
The Rev. John Doerfler appears to dispute Zubik's statement, in part, in his deposition, a copy of which the Tribune-Review obtained.
Doerfler, who serves as chancellor and vicar general for the Green Bay diocese and did so under Zubik, was called by attorneys representing a Las Vegas man identified only as John Doe 119 in a suit claiming priest sexual abuse.
In the Nov. 5 deposition, Doerfler said Zubik ordered destruction of certain records, including psychological reports of living priests and confidential files of dead priests, after a policy change in 2007.
Doerfler in the deposition cited the federal Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 as the reason why the diocese destroyed the psychological records. He did not say why it destroyed the other records, which included written telephone messages and priests' biographical information.
HIPPA prevents the release of an individual's health records without his or her permission.
Doerfler said among the psychological records that were destroyed were ones belonging to John Feeney, 83, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence for abusing several children, including John Doe 119, during the 1970s.
But Doerfler, echoing what Zubik said, also testified that the diocese did not destroy records of priests with pending claims against them.
In a statement issued yesterday, the Green Bay diocese said it always reports allegations made against priests to law enforcement.
Jeff Anderson, an attorney representing John Doe 119, said the diocese's records policy was designed to get rid of evidence that might be used in future lawsuits. He said Catholic Church canon law requires the retention of priest records.
"What they're really doing is destroying the evidence of their crimes of cover-up," he said.
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