May 24, 2013

October 9, 2012


Bennison Retiring

It appears that the long nightmare of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania is coming to an end. According to ENS:

Bishop Charles Bennison told the diocese Oct. 9 that he would retire from office at the end of the year.

Bennison said in a letter to the diocese that the Rev. Ledlie I. Laughlin, president of the diocesan Standing Committee, told him that the committee wanted to elect a provisional bishop rather than either have Bennison call for the election of a coadjutor or have the diocese elect a diocesan who would be consecrated on the day of his retirement.

Bennison, 68, could have continued to serve until November 2015, when he turns 72, the church’s mandatory retirement age for all clergy.

“I believe that the interests of the diocese are best served if the process envisioned by the Standing Committee begins sooner rather than later, and therefore I have informed the committee that I will retire on December 31, 2012,” Bennison wrote. “I will do so in the confidence that my work is done.”

Well, if his work was to destroy the diocese, he may not be completely done, but I doubt there will be many tears shed as he heads out the door:

During Bennison’s tenure, the Standing Committee called for his resignation more than once, including on the day he returned to work in August 2010 after the church’s Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop overturned a lower church court’s finding that he should be removed from ordained ministry because he had engaged in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy. The review court agreed with one of the lower court’s two findings of misconduct, but it said that Bennison could not be deposed because the charge was barred by the church’s statute of limitations.

From virtually everything I’ve ever read about or by him, I would say that Charles Bennison was a disgrace to the ministry, to the episcopacy, and to the church as a whole. When one considers how many clergy have been driven from TEC simply for being orthodox in theology and practice, it is a measure of the denomination’s dysfunction that Bennison is retiring on his own accord.

(Hat tip: Maineiac.)

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16 comments

Note the utterly delusional cheery chatter from Bennison on how great and successful and unified the diocese is.

Just like all the other TEC bishops say.

Incredible.

It’s like mental illness just runs in TEC bishop veins.

[1] Posted by Sarah on 10-9-2012 at 07:25 PM · [top]

Bennison should be rotting in a prison cell somewhere for his complicity in covering up his brother’s sexual assault of a minor in the 70’s.

But no, in the Episcopal Church he’s a bishop, retiring with a fat pension.

[2] Posted by Greg Griffith on 10-9-2012 at 08:54 PM · [top]

I was wondering what all that cheering and jumping coming from that direction as all about.  Explains a lot.

[3] Posted by Jackie on 10-9-2012 at 09:18 PM · [top]

I almost wish he’d stick around.  As I think Sarah so aptly put it, for those watching TEo auger deeper into the ground, we can only say, “Faster Please.”

[4] Posted by Bill2 on 10-9-2012 at 09:34 PM · [top]

Greg,
“But no, in the Episcopal Church he’s a bishop, retiring with a fat pension. “

True enough, but then, eternity is a very long time, and judgment awaits us all.  And at that judgment, there is no statute of limitations.  For the sake of his soul, and our own, we should pray that in whatever time he has left on this Earth, he comes to see himself for what he really is, confesses and repents.

[5] Posted by tjmcmahon on 10-9-2012 at 09:38 PM · [top]

“It’s like mental illness just runs in TEC bishop veins.”

This is from a study of troubled Episcopal clergy referred to a top psychiatrist.  Bottom-line: there is a small but real number of clergy with very serious mental health problems.  Axis II disorders include sociopathy, narcissism, and borderline personality disorder.  Thirty priests in that department is probably below the population average but given the outsize damage they can wreck far too many to welcome into positions of trust.  Clearly, the Church needs to do a better of admitting that these people exist and do a better job of identifying them earlier and a faster job of removing them from ministry.  God save us all.

In this communication, we review 70 cases of Episcopal clergy who came for psychiatric evaluation with the mental health team of one of the co-authors (GOG) over the past twenty years. Our examination of these cases illustrates the diverse reasons for evaluation, the common psychiatric problems leading to referral, the variations on professional boundary violations that are involved, and the role played by problems with mentalizing…

As the table notes, the majority of the referrals to the evaluating team did not have substance abuse disorders (82.9%). The Axis I diagnoses, which focus on clear psychiatric syndromes, were common, with mood disorders being the most frequently diagnosed disorder at 55.7%. While major depression or depression not otherwise specialized were most common, there were some cases that involved bipolar illness or variants thereof. Anxiety disorders and cognitive disorders were less common (11.4% for both conditions). Among the anxiety disorders were generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety disorder not otherwise specified. The cognitive disorders included variants of dementia and cognitive disorder not otherwise specified, meaning there were difficulties with memory, attention, or executive functioning, but the cause could not be determined.

Axis II diagnoses reflect longstanding personality disorders and personality traits that do not reach the level of true personality disorder. These traits may significantly influence the clergy member‟s functioning in the work setting and in personal relationships. Of those evaluated, 42.9% had a diagnosable personality disorder, 47.1% had significant personality traits, and only 10% had neither a personality disorder nor detectable traits. Of those who had a diagnosable personality disorder, a mixed diagnostic category was most common. In the DSM-IV language, the term “personality disorder not otherwise specified” is used for situations where there is a mixture of personality characteristics rather than a pure diagnostic entity. The specific personality disorder most common was narcissistic personality disorder (10%), and 1% had obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. With 42.9% having a personality disorder and 47.1% having personality traits, it is clear that longstanding characterological features play a key role in the referral of clergy to assessments…

Recommendations
What are the implications of these findings for educating, preventing, and responding
to problems of this nature? Space considerations necessitate brevity. The cornerstone of prevention is education. Seminaries must systematically teach the concept of professional boundaries in the priesthood, the nature of transference in the pastor/parishioner relationship, the power differential inherent in the interaction between the clergy and their congregations, and the nonsexual boundary violations that may lead to sexual misconduct. In addition, we recommend seminars that focus on identifying and empathizing with the other person‟s point of view. The role of education must transcend the walls of the seminary and continue throughout the pastor‟s career. Probably the most important preventive measure is the avoidance of professional isolation. Those clergy who attempt to solve all problems arising in the parish on their own are at particularly high risk for engaging in boundary violations. As we noted in the introduction, too many clergy work in the absence of supervision. In some cases, consulting with a trusted colleague, even one outside one‟s own denomination, may be vital to maintaining the objectivity one needs to address complex interpersonal problems that occur in every church. In some cases small groups of clergy may serve as a support system for one another. Common problems encountered can be shared in a setting of like-minded peers who have a good deal of empathy for the pastor‟s struggles.

 

http://www.ishtmc.com/sites/default/files/Mentalizing_and_Professional_Boundaries_Gabbard_Crisp_Han.pdf

[6] Posted by The Plantagenets on 10-9-2012 at 09:52 PM · [top]

I hear there’s a nice beachfront villa on the Lake of Fire waiting for him.

[7] Posted by Newbie Anglican on 10-10-2012 at 07:30 AM · [top]

Phillies fans finally have something to cheer!

[8] Posted by Undergroundpewster on 10-10-2012 at 08:08 AM · [top]

Cross-posted from T19:

A very small irony - hover on the article link, look at the bottom edge of the window, and you will see an unintended word play caused by the need to omit apostrophes in web links.  wink  Prayers that it not be so.

[9] Posted by Milton on 10-10-2012 at 10:33 AM · [top]

Oops, that works in the T19 linked article but not in the ENS article.  Wonder if someone noticed it!

[10] Posted by Milton on 10-10-2012 at 10:35 AM · [top]

Well, I guess even he realizes that he can’t live forever…need a new rear to keep the seat warm.

[11] Posted by All-Is-True on 10-10-2012 at 11:19 AM · [top]

Newbie - there’s a nice beachfront villa on the Lake of Fire waiting for each one of us.  Some of us abandon ours, some of us never get there becs we take the ‘road less travelled’ from day 1.  Pray that it gets pounded to dust by many travelling up it, and that many leave that beach. 

Wdn’t it be great to find Spong and Bennison at the eternal celebration w/ Jesus?

[12] Posted by maineiac on 10-10-2012 at 11:20 AM · [top]

True enough, but then, eternity is a very long time, and judgment awaits us all.  And at that judgment, there is no statute of limitations.  For the sake of his soul, and our own, we should pray that in whatever time he has left on this Earth, he comes to see himself for what he really is, confesses and repents.

I second that, and I hope and pray he does so in time to make amends to those hurt by his actions.

[13] Posted by the virginian on 10-10-2012 at 01:35 PM · [top]

I guess I should send him a retirement gift.  How about a framed copy of the Epistle of Jude?

[14] Posted by R. Scott Purdy on 10-10-2012 at 03:55 PM · [top]

I shudder to say this, but each time I see “Lake of Fire” in the comments, for a split second, I actually see “Lake Erie.”

[15] Posted by Reformed Wanderer on 10-10-2012 at 10:24 PM · [top]

15 = Maybe Eerie Lake?  though w/ however/which pollution is in Erie, perhaps it cd be a lake of fire?  I’m not up to date on that.

[16] Posted by maineiac on 10-10-2012 at 11:23 PM · [top]

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