A nine-member church court has ruled unanimously that the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., the inhibited Bishop of Pennsylvania, should be deposed from ministry in The Episcopal Church.

The court ruled on June 25 that Bishop Bennison was guilty of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy. The court found that Bishop Bennison failed to report that his brother, the Rev. John Bennison, had engaged in sexual relations with a female member of the youth group at St. Mark’s Church, Upland, Calif., when Charles Bennison was rector there in the early 1970s. The court also found that he failed to protect the young woman from further sexual advances by his brother, or to provide adequate pastoral care to the young woman or her family.

Brad Babbitt and Hamilton Doherty, Jr., two attorneys who helped the Court for the Trial of a Bishop conduct the trial, released the sentencing documents late Friday morning. The two documents — the sentence and an order denying Bishop Bennison’s final motions to dismiss the case — are both dated Sept. 30.

“The Court finds that the Respondent should no longer serve as a member of the Clergy of the Church,” the court’s sentence said. “The conduct which supports the Offenses represents very significant failures to fulfill his responsibilities as a Member of the Clergy and a fundamental lack of professional awareness.”

The court denied three motions by Bishop Bennison’s attorney, James A.A. Pabarue of Philadelphia, which asked the court to:

1. Declare a mistrial because the Presiding Bishop made a public statement favoring Bishop Bennison’s deposition. “The Presiding Bishop is, for all practical purposes of this case, the Complainant,” the court ruled. It added in a later paragraph, “As the Complainant, the Presiding Bishop had a right to be heard with respect to sentencing.”

2. Declare a mistrial because of a pre-sentencing statement by the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s standing committee. Instead, the court granted a motion to disregard the standing committee’s statement, which the court said addressed “alleged misconduct and alleged Canonical Offenses that were not the subject of the Presentment or Trial.”

3. Grant a pretrial hearing in which up to six people would plead with the court on supporters of Bishop Bennison’s behalf.

Pabarue declined an opportunity to discuss the sentencing with The Living Church, but he issued a statement to all media covering the case.

“We are extremely disappointed with the Court’s decision today,” Pabarue’s statement said. “Bearing in mind the evidence presented during the trial, we believe the Court’s decision against Bishop Bennison last July was completely wrong. Furthermore, we find a sentence of deposition now to be utterly immoral in light of the Bishop’s four decades of faithful service to the Episcopal Church. We fully intend to pursue a reconsideration of the sentence, and ultimately, an appeal of the entire case.”

Pabarue’s statement cited testimony by family members that they had not sought Bishop Bennison’s removal from office in the years since his brother’s sexual abuse came to light. John Bennison’s victim was among the parties who asked, in pre-sentencing filings, that Bishop Bennison be deposed.

The court has “disregarded the documented remorse Bishop Bennison has repeatedly expressed for the pain the victims suffered. And it has sided with the Bishop’s still unknown accusers and the Presiding Bishop’s biased call for his deposition, turning a blind eye to the overwhelming level of support Bishop Bennison received from clergy and laity during and after the trial,” Pabarue’s statement said.

“Worst of all, the court’s decision confirms the fears of many in the Church: That this entire process has been basically engineered to rid the Diocese of Pennsylvania of a Bishop whom some of its members oppose because of his prophetic leadership — and not to provide any comfort or assistance to victims of clergy sexual abuse.”

Douglas LeBlanc