PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer
Prosecutors in the child sex-abuse and endangerment trial of three Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests say defense lawyers “distorted” a judge’s remarks last week in a misguided bid to oust her from the case.
In a motion Monday, the assistant district attorneys disputed that Common Pleas Court Judge M. Teresa Sarmina forfeited her impartiality when she said anyone who doubted there was “widespread” child abuse in the Catholic church “is living on another planet.”
Lawyers for Msgr. William J. Lynn asked Sarmina to step down, citing her remark as proof she “harbors a firm predisposed opinion” against the church.
But Assistant District Attorneys Mariana Sorensen and Patrick Blessington said the lawyers, Thomas Bergstrom and Jeffrey Lindy, misrepresented the judge’s comments.
“The court merely stated the obvious – that the problem of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church had been worldwide,” they wrote.
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