Bishop Bennison Survives Calls for His Resignation
11/15/2006

A coalition of clergy and laity called unsuccessfully for the resignation of the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., during the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s convention Nov. 11.

Members of the group stood on nearby street corners and near the entrance to Philadelphia Cathedral to hand out pamphlets and to hold protest signs. The bishop’s opponents, including elected members of the standing committee, accuse him of spending more than $10 million in unrestricted funds “without canonical authority and without the consent of the standing committee.”

During the convention, however, the calls for Bishop Bennison’s resignation focused on how he responded when, as a rector in California more than 30 years ago, he learned that his brother, John, had engaged in sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl. He dismissed his brother as the parish’s youth minister, but did not inform the girl’s parents or police.

One call for the bishop’s resignation occurred during the Holy Eucharist that began the convention. Priests came forward two by two and took turns announcing their parish name after dropping the church’s financial pledge into an offering envelope. As the Rev. Marek Zabriskie announced his parish of St. Thomas’, Whitemarsh, he added that the pledge included “a letter of deep concern about your leadership, Bishop.

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