By David O'reilly
Philadelphia Inquirer
November 13, 2008
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20081113_Suspended_bishop_asks_church_court_to_reverse_ruling.html
In hopes of salvaging his career, suspended Episcopal Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. yesterday asked a special church court convened in Philadelphia to reverse its recent sentence removing him from holy orders.
Defrocking a priest or bishop is "the ecclesiastical equivalent of the death penalty," Bennison's attorney, James A. Pabarue, told the nine judges. Their sentence, he said, was "unduly harsh and unsupported by the evidence."
In June, following a four-day trial here, the Court for the Trial of a Bishop unanimously found Bennison, head of the Diocese of Pennsylvania, guilty of failing to intervene in his brother John's sexual abuse of a teenage girl more than 30 years ago in a California parish where Bennison was rector.
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| Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. was "deposed" in September. |
In September, the court passed sentence, ordering him "deposed," or removed permanently from all clerical office in the Episcopal Church USA. Until his appeals are exhausted, he remains nominal head of the 55,000-member diocese comprising Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Delaware and Chester Counties.
Attorney Larry White, representing the Episcopal Church, told the court yesterday that Bennison deserves deposition because he has "failed to demonstrate he comprehends and takes responsibility for the damage he caused" the victim and her family.
White's remarks were followed by testimony from the victim and her mother, both of whom urged the judges to sustain their deposition order.
Bennison "has not shown the godly sorrow that leads to repentance," the victim told the judges, adding that the sentence had provided her with "spiritual healing" and renewed trust in the church.
Bennison, who turns 65 this month, is appealing both his verdict and his sentence. Yesterday's hearing, at the Sheraton City Center Hotel, reviewed only the sentence. He did not testify.
Bennison was suspended as diocesan bishop in October 2007 when the Episcopal Church ordered him to stand trial on two counts of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy" related to his handling of his brother's abuse.
John Bennison was youth minister at St. Mark's parish in suburban Los Angeles when he started an affair with a 14-year-old parishioner.
The Episcopal Church alleges that Charles Bennison ignored warnings and evidence of his brother's affair and failed to intervene. It says he also failed to minister to the girl's needs, or notify her parents or the Diocese of Los Angeles or civil authorities.
Pabarue yesterday tried a variety of arguments to win his client a reduced sentence.
He repeatedly pointed out to the judges that it was John Bennison - not his client - who had abused the girl.
Pabarue complained that Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori, head of the Episcopal Church USA, was using the trial to remove Bennison, whose management style has been controversial within and outside the diocese.
White began his rebuttal by cautioning the judges that a sentence hearing was not a venue for retrying the case. "The court convenes with the understanding that Charles Bennison is guilty," he said, and devoted most of his argument to reminding the judges why they had found him so.
He quoted extensively from Bennison's own trial testimony, in which the bishop had repeatedly defended his handling of the situation. White described it as "literally unconscionable."
"Deposition was correct six weeks ago, and it is correct today," White concluded.
If the court decides to reduce the sentence, it could order a suspension or formally admonish Bennison.
Suspension, officially called "inhibition," could be limited to the 13 months Bennison has already served since the church ordered his trial. That would allow him to return to his duties as diocesan bishop.
The court also could continue his inhibition for seven more years, by which time Bennison would be at the mandatory retirement age of 72. Under that formula, he would never return as diocesan bishop but would retain the title of bishop. It could also order an inhibition of months or years, after which he could return.
If merely admonished, Bennison could return immediately as diocesan bishop.
Contact staff writer David O'Reilly at 215-854-5723 or doreilly@phillynews.com.
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