SNAP Response: Bishop declines request to resign

AN IMPORTANT PRESS RELEASE FROM SNAP (survivor's network of those abused by priests)

For immediate release Thursday, September 23

Statement by Barbara Dorris, Outreach Director for SNAP 314 862 7688

(America’s Episcopal bishops have formally urged PA Bishop Charles Bennison to resign, because Bennison ignored and concealed his brother’s child sex crimes. Late yesterday, Bennison said he would NOT step down.)

Bishop Charles Bennison insists on rubbing even more salt into the already deep and still fresh wounds of clergy sex abuse victims by minimizing their suffering and selfishly clinging to his personal power and prestige.

Three time in his short, formal statement, Bennison refers to hurtful and illegal child sex crimes as a “relationship.” When an adult sexually violates a child, it is a devastating crime. Calling it “a relationship” is, at best, sorely misguided. At worst, it is insulting and degrading, implying that a child somehow consented in his or her own victimization.

If I rob a bank, even repeatedly, no one talks of my “financial relationship” with that institution. No adult should ever diminish the horror of abuse or cast doubt about who’s responsible for it by using words like “relationship” to describe it.

Bennison claims to care about his brother’s victim: “If there were any way that I could help her now, I would do so." He also claims that his resignation "will not ease her pain or remove the sting of the abusive relationship."

In fact, his brother’s victim HAS urged Bennison to resign, via an on line petition that she signed and has been mentioned in numerous media stories about Bennison’s scandal. And many other clergy sex abuse victims find it healing and comforting when those who ignore or conceal child sex crimes are held responsible, ousted or step aside.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/retirebishopcharlesbennison/

If Bennison insists on staying, we strongly urge him to work hard to close the absurd loophole in Episcopal policies ('canons') that enabled him to be restored to his post because of an archaic, arbitrary and predator-friendly statute of limitations.

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. We’ve been around for 22 years and have more than 10,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell,SNAPclohessy@aol.com), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, SNAPblaine@gmail.com), Peter Isely (414-429-7259, peterisely@yahoo.com), Barbara Dorris (314-862-7688 home, 314-503-0003 cell,SNAPdorris@gmail.com)