US House of Bishops calls for the Bishop of Pennsylvania to resign: The Church of England Newspaper, Sept 24, 2010 p 6. September 28, 2010
Posted by geoconger in Abuse, Church of England Newspaper, Pennsylvania.trackback
The Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., Bishop of Pennsylvania
First published in The Church of England Newspaper.
The US Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops has called upon the Bishop of Pennsylvania to resign. In a resolution adopted at their Sept 16 to 21 meeting in Phoenix, the bishops called upon the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., to step down for the “sake of the wholeness and unity” of the church.
In a decision dated July 28, but released in mid August, the Episcopal Church’s Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop overturned the conviction of Bishop Bennison on charges of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy. It concluded the conduct in question had occurred more than 35 years ago and the church was accordingly barred from prosecution under the ten-year statute of limitations rule.
The appellate court’s unanimous decision restored Bishop Bennison to office following his June 26, 2008 conviction, dealing a sharp blow to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and her chancellor, Mr. David Booth Beers, who had championed the case.
Protests over the Bishop Bennison’s successful appeal have been made by the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s Standing Committee and lay leaders in the Episcopal Church, and on Sept 21 the House of Bishops passed a resolution that stated they too were “profoundly troubled by the outcome of the disciplinary action” against Bishop Bennison.
The bishops said that while they respected the “decision of the Court of Review” the “ultimate resolution of this matter [was] unsatisfactory and morally repugnant.”
The resolution stated Bishop Bennison had offered a “wholly inadequate response” towards explaining his conduct thirty-five years, and believed his protestations of innocence were an “inexcusable violation of his ordination vows.”
“As the House of Bishops, we have come to the conclusion that Bishop Bennison’s capacity to exercise the ministry of pastoral oversight is irretrievably damaged,” the resolution stated.
“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. 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.”
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Given the divisive nature of some recent actions of the ECUSA House of Bishops, in particular their agreement to the consecration of an openly gay diocesan Bishop, as well as a lesbian female coadjutor Bishop, their call for the Bishop of Pennsylvania to resign “in the interests of Christian unity” is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black. Would their censorious attitude, I wonder, be caused by a possible “traditionalist” attitude on Bishop Bennison’s part? Or am I possibly mistaken in my assessment?