The reinstated bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania made clear to the diocese’s standing committee that he did not intend to resign despite their appeal to him. The standing committee had been the episcopal authority in the diocese since 2007 when Bishop Bennison was inhibited by the presiding bishop.
The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:
Although Episcopal leaders in the Philadelphia region are urging him to resign, long-suspended Bishop Charles E. Bennison Jr. told them Tuesday that he intended to stay at the helm of the five-county Diocese of Pennsylvania. At a meeting at Episcopal Church House in Society Hill, “he made it clear to us he would resume his responsibilities,” said the Rev. Glenn Matis, president of the standing committee that has run the 55,000-member diocese during Bennison’s nearly three-year absence.
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For years before his suspension, the committee quarreled with Bennison over diocesan finances and other matters, and had asked him repeatedly to resign or retire.
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Matis declined Tuesday to speculate on future relations between Bennison and the committee. “It’s too early to tell,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve seen him in two years and nine months.” When it became apparent in their meeting that Bennison intended to stay, Matis said, committee members did not broach the question of resignation, but instead “updated him on issues relating to the diocese.”
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Public reaction to Bennison’s return has been largely negative. ..
Read it all.
ENS also has a report.
A new feature of The Episcopal Church website going by the name Perspectives has this as well: http://episcopalchurch.org/perspectives/diopa/. It provides a good background on the Bennison story. Added: In the comments below Torey Lightcap wonders what the objectives of Perspectives are in this case, and more generally.
Addendum.
The embattled Episcopal bishop of Philadelphia said he erred in not investigating his brother’s sexual abuse of an underage girl 35 years ago, but brushed aside calls for his resignation, saying it is more “interesting” for him to remain in office.
Read more of this RNS story.