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	Pennsylvania: Rector Calls on Bishop to "Sacrifice" for Diocese By Mary Frances Schjonberg Episcopal Life August 11 2010 http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_124004_ENG_HTM.htm The rector of historic Christ Church in Philadelphia is urging Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison to "prayerfully consider making the sacrifice of not returning" to the diocese as bishop. In a posting on the church's website, the Rev. Timothy Safford wrote that he does not expect Bennison to follow the advice he gave him in an Aug. 8 letter. "Notwithstanding, he is my bishop, our bishop, and the bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania," Safford wrote. The Episcopal Church's Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop announced Aug. 5 that it had overturned a lower court's finding that Bennison had committed serious disciplinary offenses warranting his removal ("deposition") from the ordained ministry. The court of review concluded that Bennison had engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy; but found that the charge was barred by the church's statute of limitations. The decision by the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop is here. The lower court, Court for the Trial of a Bishop, had called for Bennison's deposition after it found that 35 years ago when he was rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, California, he failed to respond properly after learning that his brother, John Bennison, was "engaged in a sexually abusive and sexually exploitive relationship" with a minor parishioner. At the time, John Bennison was a 24-year-old newly ordained deacon (later priest) whom Charles Bennison had hired as youth minister. The abuse allegedly lasted for more than three years from the time the minor was 14 years old. 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 as well as church authorities 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. Bennison said during a news conference after the Court of Review's ruling was announced that he intends to return to the diocese on Aug. 16. The diocesan Standing Committee said Aug. 6 that Bennison had asked Assisting Bishop Rodney Michel to "continue for a time" and that Bennison plans to meet initially with diocesan leaders "as we enter a new stage in our relationship together." The Standing Committee has been the ecclesiastical authority in the diocese since Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori inhibited Bennison in October 2007. That inhibition expired with the Court of Review's decision. The Standing Committee has been at odds with Bennison since the mid-2000s over concerns about how he has managed the diocese's assets and other issues. More than once in the past, it has called for Bennison's resignation. Safford told Bennison that "your return would further divide our diocese" and would "do more harm than good, create more anger and less reconciliation, and hinder, not advance, the church's mission in our diocese." He warned that even though Bennison did not sexually abuse or exploit the girl, his actions embodied the church's failure to create a safe place for all people. "You were a shepherd then, and to those who have suffered abuse, or care about the safety of our church, it will not matter that these crimes happened decades ago," Safford wrote. "If you return as our bishop, many in your flock will not feel safe, and you will not be able to be our pastor. It doesn't matter that so many others were part of the failure, or that others have viciously used the abuse the woman suffered so long ago to accomplish their own ecclesiastical ends. Truly, I believe the most pastoral act would be, as a sacrifice for the creation of pastoral safety, not to return as our diocesan bishop." In a related development, three members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) protested the court of review's decision outside of the diocesan office in Philadelphia Aug. 10. A SNAP news release said the three people were victims of clergy sexual abuse. Although SNAP primarily advocates for people abused by Roman Catholic clergy, the release did not state the denomination of the clergy involved in the abuse of the three protestors. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Aug. 11 that at least two of the protestors had been abused as youths by Roman Catholic priests. A spokeswoman for Bennison told the newspaper that the bishop maintains -- contrary to the findings of both church courts -- that he handled his brother's abuse of a teenager girl appropriately.
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