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	Bishop Zubik Denies Priest Sex Abuse Cover-up WPIX December 22, 2010 http://www.wpxi.com/news/26243961/detail.html [with video] A victim's advocacy group is calling for a federal investigation into claims that Pittsburgh’s bishop ordered the destruction of records detailing pedophilia and other forms of sexual abuse by priests while he worked in Green Bay, Wis. The group Survivors Network of Those Abused By Priests, or SNAP, cited a deposition given in November by a high-ranking Catholic Diocese of Green Bay official and wants U.S. attorneys to investigate Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik. In a letter sent to the U.S. attorneys office the group says, "The document destruction was first ordered by Bishop David Zubik. This material would include criminal evidence of child sex crimes by clerics as well as evidence of fraud by the bishops of Green Bay and the senior management of the diocese." The director of SNAP Wisconsin said covering up child abuse under normal circumstances is a crime. He said his group is looking into whether criminal charges can be filed against the Bishop. Zubik denies 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." "This is a priest whose actions were notorious and he is in prison and serving serious time for the crimes he did. The family involved in that particular situation I met with them several times. I was always compassionate with them and wanting to reach out to them and along with that would be the absolute truth that I would never have done anything to falsify records or destroy records," Zubik said. Zubik said the accusations are hurtful to him and insists that the records that were destroyed by the diocese are still available through the district attorney's office in Wisconsin. "Sometimes people will just hear a sentence or two and begin to think I don't have any credibility as a leader and that's what hurtful," Zubik said. "To twist the truth is an injustice." Zubik, who served as bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay before being transferred to Pittsburgh in 2007, is not personally accused of any abuse. Channel 11's news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this report.
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