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	Da: Zubik Allegations Have 'No Basis in Law or Fact' By Michael Pound Beaver County Times October 5, 2011 www.timesonline.com/your_school/k-12/quigley_catholic/da-zubik-allegations-have-no-basis-in-law-or-fact/article_6dbb7085-2469-5816-8b93-472f6b9f54f3.html David Zubik Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh answers questions after a news conference where he denied accusations of improper conduct Wednesday in Pittsburgh. Zubik said a former student made the accusation in August after the man's request to volunteer in the diocese was rejected. Soon after the rejection, the man alleged that when he was a student at Quigley Catholic High School in the 1980s, Zubik tried to forcibly kiss him. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik spent Wednesday morning denying allegations that he tried to kiss a Quigley Catholic High School student while Zubik worked there in the 1980s. And on Wednesday afternoon, Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said the accusations, made by Aliquippa resident Michael Rock, were without merit. Berosh said the diocese contacted his office about Rock's accusations; an investigation showed that the alleged incident would have occurred outside the established statute of limitations at the time and that there were no facts to support Rock's contention. "There is no basis in law or fact to substantiate the allegations," Berosh said. "(This information) was brought to us by the Diocese of Pittsburgh itself; I believe that says a lot about the integrity of the system." Both Berosh and Zubik said Rock's accusations appeared to be made in retaliation after the diocese turned down Rock's request to serve a volunteer position at St. Blaise Church in Midland. Rock initially reported he had been molested by two other priests — both now defrocked — and, as per diocese policy, Rock was invited to meet with Zubik in June to discuss those allegations. "When we met, though, he didn't appear to be concerned about those incidents as much as he was interested in serving in his parish," Zubik said. "We were aware that there were some red flags that could come up in the background checks for that position, and he asked me, as the bishop and as a former teacher, if I could override those. I said I could not." Zubik would not discuss what the red flags were; a search of court records showed Rock had been accused of several crimes in Beaver and Allegheny counties, including a guilty plea to indecent exposure after a 2004 incident at Freedom Area Middle School. A diocese review board turned down the accuser's application in early August; the man responded days later, Zubik said, with emails to his pastor about "taking down someone big in the church" and, later, in public posts on Quigley's Facebook page and on his blog, titled "Molested by Bishop Zubik." Rock, 45, said via email on Wednesday that he had no comment beyond what was written at the website. Berosh said county detectives tried to contact Rock after the diocese informed him of the allegations. Rock said then he was interested in pursuing a civil suit and would not cooperate with the detectives; late last month, though, Rock showed up at the Beaver County Courthouse to give a statement to detectives. In that meeting, Berosh said Rock said his memory about the Zubik incident was jogged by smelling Zubik's aftershave at the June meeting. "I have never heard of a more convoluted and extenuated series of stories," Berosh said. Besides contacting Berosh's office, the diocese referred the information about Rock's allegations to the Vatican and an independent review board — which includes law enforcement officials, lawyers and psychiatrists — established by the diocese to review allegations against clergy. Zubik said he debated whether to go public with Rock's allegations; the debate ended last weekend, when diocese officials discovered Rock's blog. "We were aware this was going on, and I debated the merits of going public, because there were no legal charges or no civil actions," Zubik said. "But when the blog showed up on Sunday, I thought 'That's it. We're going forward with this.' " Zubik said the decision to go public was driven by a desire to protect the church and the priesthood from false accusations. "I was aware that my reputation would be tarnished here, but I mostly wanted to stand up for the church and my fellow priests," he said. "We take allegations from anyone very seriously, but at the same time we cannot let ourselves become targets to those who would make false claims." Zubik, a graduate of St. Veronica High School in Ambridge, was reluctant Wednesday afternoon to talk about what the charges meant to him personally. But he said he visited his father, 85-year-old Stanley Zubik, on Tuesday night so he would be prepared for Wednesday's news conference. "I will be OK," Zubik said. "More than anything else, I wish my father didn't have to go through this." Contact: mpound@timesonline.com
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