Episcopal Church upholds ouster of Pa. bishop

2/4/2009
By JOANN LOVIGLIO
The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An Episcopal Church panel announced on Wednesday that it had upheld its decision to defrock a bishop from Pennsylvania for covering up his brother's sexual assaults of a teenage girl in the 1970s.

The special Court for the Trial of a Bishop rejected a request by Charles E. Bennison Jr. to reduce the sentence, but added that his ouster "does not alter the church's deep and abiding compassion" for him. The nine-person panel of bishops, priests and church members said it hoped the ruling would allow Bennison to seek "reconciliation and peace."

After a four-day trial in June, the panel found Bennison guilty of two counts of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." the rest