By Jerry Hames
Episcopal Life
March 12, 2009
http://www.episcopal-life.org/81803_105855_ENG_HTM.htm
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[Episcopal News Service] The decision by an ecclesiastical trial court that found Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison guilty of two charges of conduct unbecoming a cleric and recommended that he be deposed from ordained ministry will now go before a higher appeals court of the church.
James Parabue, legal counsel for the bishop, said Bennison had exercised his right of appeal after the original trial court last month rejected a request to modify its sentence. The notice of appeal filed by the bishop's legal counsel cites 19 reasons, including the sentence of deposition, which it says is against the weight of the evidence and contrary to applicable law.
The Court for the Trial of a Bishop upheld its decision of Sept. 30, 2008, that deposition was appropriate "in recognition of the nature of the offense and because [Bennison] has failed to demonstrate that he comprehends and takes responsibility for the harm that he has caused."
Bennison has been inhibited, or barred from exercising his ordained ministry, since October 2007, when he was first ordered to strand trial on a presentment, the church's equivalent of an indictment.
In the trial last June, the bishop faced two counts – the first, which formed the basis of the trial, said that 35 years ago, as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, Calif., he failed to respond properly after discovering that his brother, John Bennison, a seminary student whom he had hired as youth minister, was "engaged in a sexually abusive and sexually exploitive relationship" with a young teenager. The abuse continued for more than three years. The presentment said that the bishop failed to discharge his pastoral obligations to the girl, her family and members of the youth group after he learned of his brother's behavior.
The second charge accused him of continuing to suppress that information until 2006, when he disclosed publicly what he knew. John Bennison, having once renounced his orders, later – and with Bishop Bennison's support — successfully sought reinstatement as a priest. He was forced again to renounce his orders in 2006 when knowledge of the abuse and other instances of sexual misconduct became public.
In its judgment and sentence the court said that it was "guided in its deliberations not only by the Canons, and by legal principles, but by our common and private prayer and our understanding of the demands of the Gospel. The court affirms that the Church at every level must ensure safety for all its members and those whom it serves. That is the guarantee of the Church's integrity as a community of love and trust."
The bishop's attorneys emailed a statement to Episcopal News Service on Feb. 4 expressing disappointment at the court's refusal to modify "the unwarranted sentence of deposition" it had imposed.
The case will now go before the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop, which will set the date and place for a hearing. Canon IV.6 of the national church's canons outlines the appeal process.
The Court of Review consists of nine bishops, three of them elected by members of the House of Bishops at each General Convention. Current members are Michael Curry of the Diocese of North Carolina; Clifton Daniel III (presiding judge) of the Diocese of East Carolina; Duncan Gray of the Diocese of Mississippi; Mary Gray-Reeves of the Diocese of El Camino Real (Calif.); Don Johnson of the Diocese of West Tennessee; Chilton Knudsen, retired bishop of the Diocese of Maine; Bruce MacPherson of the Diocese of Western Louisiana; Todd Ousley of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan; and Wayne Wright of the Diocese of Delaware.
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