PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
September 16, 2016
By Peter Smith / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The state attorney general’s office has subpoenaed any documents relating to sexual abuse by priests from the Diocese of Pittsburgh and other Roman Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania as part of a widening grand jury investigation.
Pittsburgh Bishop David Zubik confirmed Friday evening that the diocese received the subpoena within the last two weeks. The state is asking for any documents related to abuse by priests dating to 1947. Several other Catholic dioceses have received similar subpoenas.
The broad sweep of the subpoena mirrors what a state grand jury investigation obtained last year from the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and a Hollidaysburg-based order of Franciscans, leading to scathing reports earlier this year on the handling of sexually abusive priests by their superiors. In those cases, investigators executed search warrants to seize the documents.
Bishop Zubik said the subpoena gives the diocese time to fulfill the broad request, which was accompanied by a cover letter from Deputy Attorney General Daniel Dye that said, “our efforts do not have to be adversarial. . . . Our work to protect children and seek the truth should be a joint endeavor.”
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