PENNSYLVANIA: Standing Committee asks bishop to heed call to resign
Episcopal News Service. September 22, 2010 [092210-03]
Mary Frances Schjonberg
The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania says that it is "deeply thankful for the supportive statement" of the House of Bishops on Sept. 21 asking the Rt. Rev. Charles Bennison "to tender his immediate and unconditional resignation" as diocesan bishop.
"We pray that Charles will heed the advice of his brother and sister bishops," the committee said.
The bishops announced their request at the end of their Sept. 16-21 fall gathering in Phoenix, Arizona. In a lengthy and strongly worded "mind of the house" resolution, they said they were "profoundly troubled by the outcome of the disciplinary action" against Bennison, and had concluded that his "capacity to exercise the ministry of pastoral oversight is irretrievably damaged."
"Therefore, we exhort Charles, our brother in Christ, in the strongest possible terms, to tender his immediate and unconditional resignation as the bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania," the bishops said. "For the sake of the wholeness and unity of the body of Christ, in the Diocese of Pennsylvania and in the church, we implore our brother to take this action without further delay."
Bennison was present during the discussion leading up to the passage of the resolution, but did not comment, according to Episcopal Church Public Affairs Officer Neva Rae Fox.
As of 2 p.m. EDT, Bennison had not officially responded to his fellow bishops' request. He did not reply to repeated requests from Episcopal News Service for comment.
Bennison resumed his role as diocesan bishop Aug. 16, some 11 days after the church's Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop overturned a lower church court's finding that he ought to be deposed (removed) from ordained ministry because he had engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy. The review court agreed with one of the lower court's two findings of misconduct, but said that Bennison could not be deposed because the charge was barred by the church's statute of limitations.
Episcopal Church canons have no time limit for bringing claims arising out of physical violence, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation of a person younger than 21 years (Canon IV.19.4(a) and (b)). The statute of limitations on other offenses committed by clergy is 10 years, with certain exceptions extending the time period by a small number of additional years.
The decision by the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop is here.
The lower court, the 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 had been inhibited (prevented) from exercising his ordained ministry since the fall of 2007 when the disciplinary action began. The ban expired with the review court's decision.
The diocesan Standing Committee has been at odds with Bennison since the mid-2000s over concerns about how he managed the diocese's assets and other issues. More than once in the past the Standing Committee has called for Bennison's resignation, including on the day he returned to work in August. Most recently, the Standing Committee asked for the help of the House of Bishops for its "support and assistance" in securing Bennison's retirement or resignation.