Episcopal Church leaders have asked for the resignation of a Pennsylvania bishop accused of covering up sexual abuse by his brother more than 30 years ago.
The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church said in a resolution late Tuesday, issued after a meeting in Arizona, that it was asking the Rev. Charles Bennison Jr. to step down as Bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.
"We have come to the conclusion that Bishop Bennison's capacity to exercise the ministry of pastoral oversight is irretrievably damaged," the statement said. "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."
Spokeswoman Anne Rudig said the church had not gotten a response from Bennison, who released a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
"Resigning my position as Bishop of Pennsylvania will not ease (the victim's) pain or remove the sting of the abusive relationship," he said in the statement. "Instead, I hope that the suffering I have endured during the past three years has strengthened me and will enable me to work for reconciliation within the Diocese." (My emphasis)
The suffering that Bishop Bennison has endured is as nothing compared to the suffering of the person whose abuse by the bishop's brother was covered up by the bishop. The president of the Standing Committee of the diocese, the Rev. Glenn Matis, expressed his wish that the bishop resign. How will Bennison's hanging on in the face of the request by his fellow bishops and members of the diocese for him to step down lead to reconcilation within the diocese?
Charles Bennison has said he was being railroaded by other church officials who were trying to cover up their own involvement in his brother's case, and that some had been trying to oust him due to differences in theology and the handling of church finances.
Oh, please, spare us the martyr, Bishop Bennison.