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| -Signs, Portents, and the Weather- |
| Episcopal Church Suspends Pa. Bishop |
| 2007-11-04 |
| The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has been ordered to cease his duties until a church trial about accusations that he concealed a relative's sexual abuse of a 14-year-old girl in the 1970s, a newspaper reported Thursday. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. on Wednesday that he was to "cease all episcopal, ministerial and canonical acts" as of Saturday night, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The deadline will allow Bennison to lead Saturday's annual diocesan convention. The presentment, or church indictment, alleges that Bennison reacted "passively and self-protectively" and "failed to take obvious, essential steps to investigate (the relative's) actions, protect the girl from further abuse, and find out whether other children were in danger." A special church court is to hear the charges against Bennison sometime next year and decide whether he may resume his duties. Until that court acts, the diocesan standing committee is to assume Bennison's duties. Bennison, 63, was rector of a parish in the Diocese of Los Angeles at the time. He has been bishop for 11 years in the Pennsylvania diocese, which has 80,000 members in Philadelphia and four suburban counties. Bennison did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday night. Last year, Bennison apologized to the diocese for "lack of action on my part." He told The Inquirer that he had told the relative "to leave the parish's employ" but did not report the matter to civil or church authorities because the girl's parents had not chosen to do so. Diocesan conservatives have long criticized Bennison's liberal stances on gay marriage and gay ordination. The diocesan standing committee has sought his removal for two years, accusing him of misusing diocesan assets. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |