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	Inside Today's Bulletin By Bradley Vasoli The Bulletin June 10, 2008 http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19760124&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8 Philadelphia - Episcopal Bishop Charles Bennison faced his first day of ecclesiastical trial yesterday over whether he violated church rules by failing to disclose a sexual relationship between his brother and an underage parishioner. The bishop's younger brother John allegedly had illicit sex with a girl beginning in 1971 when she was a 14-year-old member of St. Mark's Church in Upland, Calif., and he was a 24-year-old seminary student. The sexual relationship lasted until 1974, the year she departed for college. On two occasions in the summer of 1973, according to the victim, Charles, then the rector of St. Mark's, walked in on the seminarian and the high school student but did not report what he saw either to the girl's parents or to the police. Bp. Bennison stands accused of violating Title IV of the Canons of the Episcopal Church. His trial is neither civil nor criminal but will determine whether he can continue as bishop of the five-county region. "I participate in this trial sadly, but with a sense of duty and obligation," church attorney Larry White said in his opening statement. "It is a painful case." Bp. Bennison's attorney, James Pabarue, countered that the rector had no recourse at the time but to confront his brother privately. He insisted that the congregation's guidelines in that era did not provide a remedy for such a situation. The future bishop, according to Mr. Pabarue, "decided that the proper and correct thing to do was to avoid scandal." He also asserted that the older Mr. Bennison chose to keep his knowledge confidential "out of concern for the young woman." Mr. White asked the woman, now 50, whether she felt that silence on Bp. Bennison's part ultimately served her interest. She said she strongly thought not. "I think I was hoping that he would tell my parents," she said, noting the fear of judgment that prevented her from telling them. "I wanted out" of the relationship with him. Prosecuting counsel maintained that the Episcopal Church did in fact have clear rules defining the need to disclose instances of sexual abuse. Expert witnesses are scheduled to testify later in the trial, which will run through Thursday. Relatives of the woman also testified yesterday concerning the nearly palpable pain they experienced as a result of Mr. Bennison's actions. "It now seems like ... my whole St. Mark's experience was just a big lie," the victim's brother said. "This is a great injustice that has been done to my family." Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us
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