Church trial begins for Anglican/Episcopal bishop
Pastor Dale Morgan
Church trial begins for Anglican/Episcopal bishop*
By JOANN LOVIGLIO,
Associated Press Writer AP
PHILADELPHIA - A church trial began Monday for the bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, who is accused of concealing the
sexual abuse of a teenage girl by his brother, also a priest, in the 1970s.
A panel of bishops, priests and church members will decide whether
Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr., the leader of the nation's fifth-largest
Episcopal diocese, may resume his duties. Bennison, 64, was ordered to
cease all "ministerial and canonical acts" in November.
"(He) didn't put a stop to it ... and didn't alert the church," church
lawyer Larry White said in his opening statement Monday. He said the
sexual relationship started when the girl was 14 and continued for five
years.
"(She) wanted to be rescued from abuse she was powerless to stop," White
said.
The church indictment, called a presentment, charges that Bennison
reacted "passively and self-protectively" and "failed to take obvious,
essential steps to investigate his brother's actions, protect the girl
from further abuse, and find out whether other children were in danger."
The church indictment also charges that Bennison continued to "fail in
his duties" by knowing about the abuse but not stopping his brother's
1974 ordination. John Bennison, who never faced criminal charges, left
the priesthood two years ago.
In 2006, Charles Bennison apologized to the diocese for "lack of action
on my part." He told The Philadelphia Inquirer that he did not report
the matter to civil or church authorities because the girl's parents had
not chosen to do so.
A special Court for the Trial of a Bishop was chosen to hear the
evidence and announce within 30 days its verdict on whether the bishop
may resume his duties.
The nine-judge panel includes five bishops, two priests and two lay
people. The trial is expected to last about four days.
Charles Bennison, 64, was chosen in 1998 to head the Pennsylvania
diocese, which has 53,000 members in Philadelphia and four suburban
counties. At the time of the reported 1973 abuse, he was rector of St.
Mark's Church in Upland, Calif., in the Diocese of Los Angeles, and his
brother was a married lay minister there.
Diocesan conservatives have long criticized Bennison's liberal stances
on gay marriage and gay ordination. The diocesan standing committee has
sought his removal for several years, accusing him of misusing diocesan
assets.
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On the Net:
Presentment:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/Bennison_Presentment.pdf
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania: http://www.diopa.org