PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
Lawyers for the Philadelphia monsignor accused of enabling priests to molest children have asked the trial judge to step down, saying she compromised her impartiality when she said anyone who doubted there is “widespread” child abuse within the Catholic Church “is living on another planet.”
The attorneys said the remark by Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina during a hearing in open court last week suggests she “harbors a firm predisposed opinion against the Catholic Church and its representatives,” including their client, Msgr. William J. Lynn.
“Perhaps the court actually bears no biases. But that does not matter,” Lynn’s lawyers, Thomas Bergstrom and Jeffrey Lindy wrote in a motion filed Wednesday. “What does matter is that the public’s confidence in the Court’s impartiality is demonstrably undermined.”
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