Pa. Episcopal bishop to face his accusers

A church trial will decide if he hid sexual abuse by his brother.
By David O'Reilly
Inquirer Staff Writer

Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr., 64, still wears a purple vest, a pectoral cross, and an engraved gold ring - symbols of his stature as leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

But tomorrow morning this white-haired and controversial prelate, suspended from office in the fall, will step off an elevator at the Philadelphia Marriott Hotel and into a Court for the Trial of a Bishop.

There, nine judges from around the country will consider whether Bennison improperly concealed his brother John's sexual abuse of a minor decades ago, and decide if he may continue as head of the five-county, 55,000-member diocese. the rest image