February 4, 2009
By Mary Frances Schjonberg

PENNSYLVANIA – An ecclesiastical trial court has issued its final judgment and sentence that Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison should be deposed from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church for having engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.

The Court for the Trial of a Bishop upheld a decision it had made on September 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 30, 2007 when he was first ordered to strand trial on a presentment, the church's equivalent of an indictment.

The trial court spent four days in June hearing the case against Bennison and determined later that month that he had engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy.

Bennison, 64, faced two counts in the presentment. The first count that formed the basis of the June trial said that 35 years ago Bennison, as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland, California, 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.

The presentment also said Charles Bennison 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 second charge accused him of suppressing 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.

The February 2 ruling came as the result of a November 12 hearing on Bennison's request that the court modify its sentence. The court rejected Bennison's request, issuing a 17-page memorandum and decision outlining its reasons.

In its brief final 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 Court also notes that withdrawing responsibilities and authorities conveyed by Holy Orders do not alter the Church's deep and abiding compassion and concern for [Bennison]," the members continued. "To the contrary, we pray Almighty God that this Final Judgment and Sentence will allow him to renew the covenant of his baptism and seek the reconciliation and peace which are precious gifts of life in Christ's love."

Bennison's attorneys emailed a statement to ENS on February 4 saying they are "disappointed by the court's refusal to modify the unwarranted sentence of deposition it has imposed upon Bishop Bennison."

"The court's unwillingness to recognize the victims' desire over 30 years to not see the bishop punished and its disregard for both the evidence presented at trial and the additional evidence uncovered after trial amount to a grave injustice against a man who has served the Episcopal Church faithfully for four decades," they said, noting that Bennison intended to exercise his canonical right to appeal the court's decision.

Bennison has 30 days from the day the final judgment and sentence was entered (February 2) to appeal. If he does appeal, a different court, known as the Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop, will set the date and place for a hearing. Canon IV.6 outlines the appeal process.

On June 25, 2008, the nine-member Court for the Trial of a Bishop unanimously convicted Bennison on the first count of the presentment and six of the members voted to convict him on the second count. The church's Canon IV.5.25 requires an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the court on each count.

Bennison, the victim, her mother and brother, and Lawrence White (the church attorney who acted as prosecutor for the Episcopal Church) and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori had until July 30 "to offer matters in excuse or mitigation or to otherwise comment" on the sentence that the court would impose by a two-thirds majority vote. The sentence possibilities ranged from an admonition to deposition.

In its decision of September 30, the trial court said that Bennison showed a "fundamental lack of professional awareness" and that his conduct represented "very significant failure to fulfill his responsibilities" as a member of the clergy. The court said Bennison caused "severe" damage to the minor, her family, to other individual victims and to the parish.

"Even today," the court said, Bennison "has not shown that he comprehends the nature, significance and effect of his conduct and has not accepted responsibility and repented for his conduct and the substantial negative effects of that conduct."

Bennison has been inhibited from all ordained ministry since October 30, 2007 when Jefferts Schori acted after the Episcopal Church's Title IV Review Committee issued the two-count presentment against him. The Standing Committee of the diocese consented to the inhibition, as is required by the Church's Canon IV.1(6).

The Court for the Trial of a Bishop consists of five bishops, two priests and two adult lay communicants: Bishop Andrew Smith of Connecticut (presiding judge); Bishop Bruce Caldwell of Wyoming; Bishop Gordon Scruton of Western Massachusetts; Bishop George Wayne Smith of Missouri; Bishop Catherine Waynick of Indianapolis; the Rev. Marjorie Menaul, Diocese of Central Pennsylvania; the Rev. Karen Anita Brown Montagno, Diocese of Massachusetts; Maria Campbell, Birmingham, Alabama; and Jane R. Freeman, Akron, Ohio.

The Court of Review of the Trial of a Bishop consists of nine bishops, three elected by the House of Bishops at each regular meeting of General Convention. Current members are: North Carolina Bishop Michael Curry, East Carolina Bishop Clifton Daniel (presiding judge), Mississippi Bishop Duncan Gray, El Camino Real Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, West Tennessee Bishop Don Johnson, former Maine Bishop Chilton Knudsen, Western Louisiana Bishop Bruce MacPherson, Eastern Michigan Bishop Todd Ousley and Delaware Bishop Wayne Wright.

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Episcopal Church governance, structure, and trends.