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	Episcopal Bishop Verdict Due in July By Bradley Vasoli The Bulletin June 13, 2008 http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19770974&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8 Philadelphia - Ecclesiastical Court proceedings to determine whether Charles Bennison may remain Episcopalian bishop in the five-county region concluded yesterday. Two counts against Bp. Bennison concern whether he committed "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." Church prosecutors allege that he failed to protect underage parishioner Martha Alexis from sexual predation by John Bennison, his younger brother, and kept the matter a secret from the girl's parents. The abuse continued nearly throughout Ms. Alexis's high school years in the early 1970s when John served as youth group leader in St. Mark's Church in Upland, Calif. The elder Bennison, then rector of the church, hired his brother for the job as he worked on his seminary studies. If the panel of nine priests and bishops finds that Bp. Bennison failed in his priestly duties, he could lose his standing as bishop and face further sentencing. They will issue their ruling within 30 days. Church attorney Ralph Jacobs noted during closing arguments the victim's recollection that Charles walked in on her and John, then a married man, on two occasions in the Summer of 1973 immediately after the latter two had intercourse on church grounds. Bp. Bennison testified that he did not recall those incidents but Ms. Alexis, now 50, said he "seemed very flustered and surprised" upon walking in. Mr. Jacobs also referred to an utterance Bp. Bennison made to parishioner Ann Pottorff, who became apprised in 1975 of the possibility that Ms. Alexis and the seminarian had a sexual relationship. The future bishop expressed his appreciation that she did not tell the parents about the rumor, which she heard from her son, because it could hurt the elder Bennison's career. Both defense and prosecution concur that Charles knew about the abuse in 1977 from John's then-wife Maggie, but he did not divulge his knowledge to the victim's parents until he heard the following year from June Alexis, Martha Alexis's mother, that the relationship transpired. Bp. Bennison said that he would have handled the matter differently today given changes in church guidelines and community standards. "It seemed to me that were [initial rumors of an illicit relationship] true," he said in testimony, "Martha would bear as much culpability for it as John ... "He expressed a welcoming view toward the currently more sympathetic treatment of sex abuse victims. Mr. Jacobs countered that there was nothing about the prevailing notions of the 1970s that would have prevented the rector from reporting such activity to Ms. Alexis' parents. "As a result of Fr. Charles Bennison's failure to live up to the most basic standards, the abuse continued," he said. Ms. Alexis left high school for the University of California, Los Angeles in 1974 and went on to complete her education in nursing. She married in 1982. But even as she gained relative equanimity, she attested to the abuse taking a heavy psychological toll. Depression and alcohol abuse persisted throughout college. Defense lawyer Jim Pabarue cautioned the Court against conflating the undisputed misconduct on John Bennison's part with the behavior of Charles Bennison. "This trial is not a trial about John Bennison's conduct," Mr. Pabarue said. "John Bennison's conduct was reprehensible, criminal and sinful." Mr. Pabarue said that Charles concerned himself not only with his reputation and that of his parish but that of Ms. Alexis as well. Bradley Vasoli can be reached at bvasoli@thebulletin.us.
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