In 2008 Bennison was found guilty of covering up a sexual relationship that his younger brother, John, a youth leader in the church, began with a 14-year-old girl while Bennison was rector of St. Mark's Church in Upland, California in the Diocese of Los Angeles. Bennison appealed and lost. This is his final stand.

John Bennison was deposed in 1977 when his sexual relationship came to light, but was reinstated two years later. In 1993, he survived a church investigation by Bishop Williams Swing of California, whose diocese John Bennison was currently in. Bennison resigned in 2006 after Swing and other officials were pressured by the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), which had began protesting outside John Bennison's church in Clayton, Calif.

"John Bennison caused a great deal of pain and suffering and to hold Charles Bennison up is wrong. While it is good PR for the church, the clear convincing proof is that it is an erroneous verdict and a violation of his rights," Pabarue told the eight Episcopal bishops arrayed before him. Of the eight, only one, Bishop D. Bruce MacPherson of Western Louisiana, is known to be orthodox in faith and morals.

Parabue blasted the guilty verdict, telling the Court of Appeal that there is no factual basis for the verdict of deposition, that there were errors on appeal and that the verdict violated the Statute of Limitations. He called on the bishops to reverse the sentence of deposition. "The Canons are not applicable, they only apply to persons who commit the acts of abuse," he said. "The verdict mandates a reversal.

"[This is] a trial that should never have taken place, it violated the statute of limitations. It was taken out of place. These events took place 30 years ago. There are no proper grounds for dismissal." Pabarue said the case marks only the fourth trial of a bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church.

Pabarue replayed the events of Bennison's trial, putting the best face on his client. He said the Diocese of Los Angeles had deliberately withheld documents that would have cleared his client. He also accused The Episcopal Church of "scheming and plotting to effect a miscarriage of justice by withholding those documents - some 200 letters." This makes the case for dismissal, he said.

Pabarue said he has uncovered more evidence, that the (Episcopal) Church still refuses to produce, and which he has obtained in the last eight weeks; evidence he said would vindicate his client.

Pabarue said that church officials turned over documents from the Diocese of Los Angeles only in March of this year, even though he had requested such documents more than two years ago.

"These files, we believe, contain documents that are extremely important to our defense," Pabarue said, adding that they show the "scheming and plotting that took place to effect this miscarriage of justice."

Opposing Bennison, Church attorney Larry White argued that the sentence was just and that the victim could have been spared 17 months of additional abuse had Charles Bennison alerted his bishop and the victim's parents.

"Bennison stumbled in on the two engaged in sexual relations and then did nothing, later telling his brother to 'get out', but not forcing him from the church and not reporting his conduct even to the point of saying nothing when his brother John was presented for ordination to their own father an Episcopal bishop", said White.

"At John's ordination he vouched for John's fitness. Out of concern for his career and to avoid embarrassment and scandal he failed to protect the victim. He wanted to bring a curtain of silence over these events."

White said Bennison suffered that abuse to continue to protect his own career. In earlier testimony, Bennison said he would have acted exactly as he did to protect the girl's privacy and her parents pain and to prevent scandal in the church.

Bennison failed to tell the search committee when he was a candidate for bishop, even until the trial of this case he did not once inquire of the victim even at the trial. He failed to comprehend the nature of his conduct, said White. "Bennison did not want to risk his own career."

The bishop "has made and perpetuated serious and grievous mistakes for which he should be held responsible, he doesn't comprehend the gravity of what he has done and doesn't belong in the company of the spiritual leaders of the church."

Church attorneys urged the panel to uphold the decision of the trial court, arguing, that the canon law time limit for filing charges does not apply when the charges involve sexual abuse of a minor. "The Stature of Limitations is the trial court constituted sexual abuse of a minor. We are interpreting the canon by the plain language of the canon. The canons are fastidious."

White's colleague Ralph Jacobs described to the court how Bennison failed to minister to the people harmed by his brother's conduct, including showing "no concern whatever" for 30 years about the victim's physical, emotional or spiritual well-being and how he "actively vouched" for his brother at the time of his ordination as a priest by their father, Bishop Charles Bennison, Sr., of the Diocese of Western Michigan, after leaving St. Mark's.

"He knew the toxicity of secrecy and yet he continued to pull a curtain of secrecy tightly around him," Jacobs said.

"This trial was thorough, and it was fair, and the verdict was just. The trial heard four days of testimony and the panel saw the facial expressions of everyone."

White said that defrocking Bennison would send a strong message that the church will not tolerate such conduct.

Following the hearing Bennison claimed high-ranking church officials and accused factions within the Pennsylvania diocese of trying to oust him because of differences over theology and the handling of church finances were railroading him.

"I came here today optimistic, and I remain optimistic about this court reversing the judgment and the sentence of the last court."

Bennison said he believes the panel can be more independent and more objective than the nine-person trial panel of bishops, priests and church members who found him guilty of two counts of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy and that he deserves to be ousted from the clergy.

The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania had also filed its own Presentment charges against Bennison alleging that he had mis-managed the diocese's assets and other issues. The Standing Committee also called for Bennison to resign.

The Appeal ended without a decision from the panel of bishops. A decision is expected within 60 days.

END