By Mary Frances Schjonberg
Episcopal Life
April 28, 2009
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_107134_ENG_HTM.htm
 |
[Episcopal News Service] Claiming to have "over 200 letters" that prove Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison "was deceived and duped," the convicted bishop's attorneys have asked that the charges against him be dismissed, or that he get a new trial.
In February, the Court for the Trial of a Bishop issued its final judgment and sentence that Bennison should be deposed from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church for having engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.
Bennison, who has been inhibited or barred from exercising his ordained ministry since October 2007 when he was first ordered to stand trial, appealed his sentence of deposition in mid-March.
The appeal is due to be heard by the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop, which is essentially an appeals court. Canon IV.6 of the Episcopal Church's canons outlines the appeal process. The appeal court will not begin its process until the trial court rules on Bennison's latest motion.
The bishop, 65, was tried in June 2008 on charges that 35 years ago as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, California, he failed to respond properly after learning that his brother, John Bennison, a 24-year-old seminary student whom he had hired as youth minister, was "engaged in a sexually abusive and sexually exploitive relationship" with a 14-year-old parishioner. The abuse lasted for more than three years.
Charles Bennison was found to have failed to discharge his pastoral obligations to the girl, the members of her family, and the members of the parish youth group after he learned of his brother's behavior. The court said that he suppressed the information about his brother until 2006, when he disclosed publicly what he knew.
John Bennison, having once renounced his orders, later successfully sought reinstatement as a priest. He was forced again to renounce his orders in 2006 when knowledge of the abuse became public.
Bennison's April 17 request for a new trial or dismissal of the charges, known as the presentment, was emailed to ENS on April 27 along with a news release that claimed the letters prove John Bennison and the victim "did everything possible to hide their relationship from Charles."
"As the trumpet of the priests brought down the walls of Jericho, this latest revelation destroys the foundation of the case against Bishop Bennison," the request suggests.
After reading these letters, it is clear that Charles Bennison was deceived and duped … to the point that he could not possibly have done more than what he did," it argues.
The request also claims that the letters show the victim's mother knew more about the abuse than did the bishop "yet did nothing to stop the interactions" between her daughter and John Bennison. At another point, the request suggests that the victim's parents were "unable to force" their daughter to stay away from John Bennison.
The letters begin, according to the request, just after the bishop was told about "a rumor of an affair" between his brother and the victim. The request quotes some of the letters that seem to show the victim "expressing her love and constantly attempt to arrange meetings" with John Bennison after he left the Upland parish.
The request claims the letters refute the victim's testimony during the trial that she hoped the bishop would intervene. "I wanted out. I wanted help," the request quotes the victim during her testimony.
Bennison's request includes copies of five letters written by John Bennison and the victim between September 1993 and February 1994, but notes that "mindful of the fact that these letters contain intimate, private thoughts" of the victim that "could cause severe pain and embarrassment to her and her family and "out of pastoral sensitivity," the bishop does not intend to make all of the letters public "at this time." The bishop's attorneys did not ask the court to seal the request and they emailed the filing to a number of news agencies.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.