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	Catholic Church Wants Judge Removed in Priest Abuse Case WCAX May 5, 2006 http://www.wcax.com/Global/story.asp?S=4864600&nav=4QcS Burlington, Vt. - Vermont's Catholic church wants a judge to step down from a clergy sex abuse case. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington said Judge Ben Joseph's decision to remove a gag order involving church paperwork in a recently settled case make it difficult for the church to have a fair trial. David Cleary, the church's attorney, said lifting the gag order has led to widespread media coverage. "It is now absolutely impossible for the diocese to receive a fair trial in these matters because of the pre-trial publicity surrounding these events," the court motion said. "The present court (Judge Ben Joseph) should recuse himself from this case." Joseph would not comment on the church's request after receiving the sealed motion. The trial is expected to start July 1. The lawsuit claimed the diocese was aware that Rev. Ed Paquette had a history of sexual abuse when it placed him at the Christ the King Church in Burlington in 1976. Michael Gay, who said he was molested by Paquette while he was an alter boy, filed the lawsuit. Cleary said the church believed the evidence would not be released if the case was settled. "It was the primary incentive for our decision to settle the case," Cleary said. Gay's lawyer Jerome O'Neill, who also is representing plaintiffs in future case, said the church's request to have the judge step down is a desperate one. "They don't like the rulings, but the rulings were correct," O'Neill said. "They're flailing about, desperately trying to find a way to delay the proceedings for as long as they can." In the upcoming case, Rev. George Paulin is accused of molesting an altar boy at St. Mary of the Sea Church in Newport in the 1970s.
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