Dear Brothers and Sisters,
www.virtueonline.org
June 8, 2006

Once again the two Bennison brothers, Charles and John took center stage this past week, each on opposite coasts, and in doing so demonstrated that it is possible to reach new levels of cupidity, venality, shamelessness, dysfunction and just plain sin.

The Rev. John Bennison, besides admitting he had sex with a minor and with other women, he is, VOL has learned, been divorced twice and married three times (not unlike the new Bishop of Northern California). When SNAP (victims of clergy abuse) turned up to St. John's Parish in Clayton on Sunday, with signs and flyers, they found Bennison more unrepentant than ever. He gave a sermon about forgiveness, and told the congregation that the survivors outside want to be victims. He had absolutely no intention at all of resigning, and he was bold and cocky, and said that the survivors slander him; the relationship was a long time ago, and Jesus is all about forgiveness. His vestry told SNAP members that the stories were not true, and they were called names the whole time by most of them. You can read this eyewitness report in today's digest.

You can also read about why a group of survivors of clergy abuse have called on Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison to "resign immediately" as bishop because he covered up his brother, the Rev. John Bennison's, sexual misconduct!

Victims of clergy abuse wrote a letter to the Bishop of Pennsylvania, a copy of which was sent to VirtueOnline, saying he should resign "for healing and to obtain closure after many years of profound suffering." The letter was sent to Bishop Bennison, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Bishop Clayton Matthews and the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. You can read that story in today's digest.

There was yet another Open Forum on Bennison's running of the diocese following a $28,000 audit of the books, and the truth is the diocese is in financial free fall. The Bishop of Pennsylvania has spent more than $8 million for Camp Wapiti, with clergy and lay leadership learning that the diocese does not actually own the land, having paid $3 million in order to secure a $4 million option to buy the land. The diocese has already spent $5 million on site improvements on property they do not even own. VOL has been told that the Standing Committee is "absolutely committed" to getting rid of Bennison one way or another, even if it means isolating him, cutting his salary, reviving latent lawsuits against him, even to the point of setting up a para diocese with monies funneled into a separate account to support smaller parishes by the larger ones. Now the one person who could do a lot to undo Bennison is strangely silent. He is the rector of St. David's in Wayne, PA, the Rev. Frank Allen, rector of the wealthiest parish in the diocese. He, like a lot of fence sitting rectors just doesn't want to get involved. But he may have to if there is going to be a concerted effort to bring Bennison down. Presentments take time and with Griswold shortly out the door, there is little initiative at the national level to get rid of him. Furthermore Bennison has consistently refused to resign, when repeatedly asked to do so by the Standing Committee. He wants to revive mandatory giving but that won't fly, says a lay diocesan delegate. So for the moment it's a continued stand off with Bennison seriously weakened, unable to govern, but steadfastly refusing to go.

The BISHOP OF LEXINGTON, the Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls will probably not make the short/short list of Presiding Bishop wannabes. VOL learned this week that he got his call to the ministry while visiting a strip club in New York City way back when. He claims he heard the voice of God, or whatever, when a near naked go-go dancer appeared in front of him with a sequined garter belt on which were written the words 'Go For It'. He apparently did and now he's a bishop! You can read that story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4161

ANGLO-CATHOLICS hoping for some relief from the heresies of the Episcopal Church and unity with Rome with an Anglican Use Rite, were disappointed when they learned this past week, that such will not be the case. Your scribe attended an Anglican Use Conference in Scranton, PA and heard the Rev. William Stetson say that if you want to cross the Tiber you can do so and a Pastoral Provision, which has been in place for some 25 years, will there to greet you with an Anglican liturgy and more...and you can even be married, but that's as far as Rome will go. To appreciate your Anglican heritage within the Roman Church you must first convert, therein lies the rub. Some 150 Episcopalians and former Episcopalians who had crossed the Tiber heard such illustrious speakers as Cardinal Avery Dulles, and newly minted Episcopal convert David Mills give testimony of the trip. You can read the full story in today's digest or click here: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4177

THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. ANDREW'S will hold its convention in Orlando, Florida in July and there are two interesting resolutions being proposed. Resolution 14 would change the Constitution by discontinuing the Presiding Bishop as the Honorary President of the Brotherhood, and Resolution 16 changes the Constitution as follows: "The name of this fellowship shall be the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, Inc., (hereafter referred to as the Brotherhood). It is a ministry to and for men and youth within the Episcopal Church of the United States of America, any church within the fellowship of the Anglican Communion, or churches with the Historical Episcopate but not in communion with it." Clearly the Brotherhood is not optimistic about Frank Griswold's successor being orthodox. They may well be right. The ONLY candidate who would pass muster for the Brotherhood is the Bishop of Louisiana, Charles Jenkins.

REPARATIONS. Episcopalians will consider reparations to black members at the upcoming GC2006 for its history of racism. It is expected to approve a resolution expressing regret for supporting slavery and segregation. But not everyone is pleased about this including a number of Black clergy. The Rev. Harold Lewis, an outspoken black liberal priest at Calvary Episcopal in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. He called the idea of reparations outrageous and impractical. "The better thing to do is to talk about how we can work to eradicate racism and how we can fight to eliminate economic disparities regardless of racism," said Lewis, the denomination's former longtime staff officer for black ministries.

A VOL reader wrote: "I think this idea of Reparations for the sins and crimes of others, committed in the distant past, is a counterfeit of repentance. In the midst of a religious teaching which proclaims repentance as the path to holiness, "reparations" allows a warm feeling of being holy, without actually believing that I have done anything wrong. In fact, I have done something noble, praiseworthy, and good. I have repented, so God should like it, I have undone the sin of the dead, so they should praise me, and I have presumably helped the descendents of the victims, so they too should praise me. Last of all, noticing all the praise which is due unto me (even if withheld by the ungrateful) I should praise myself." You can also read a scathing critique, "Taking Whitey to the Cleaners" by Canon Gary L'Hommedieu at this link: http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=4183

CLERGY PETITION. The final count is in. The clergy petition at BCP526.org has been printed with ECUSA priests' signatures and was delivered by FedEx to all diocesan bishops on Wednesday, June 7. The final number of signatures was 1,062, representing 89 dioceses with a total of 22,490 years of ordained ministry, says Jill H. Kinsella, Director of Communications for Christ Church Episcopal in Plano, Texas. Now we wait and see what the national church does with this sizeable body of orthodox believers. Under the guidance of Canon David Roseberry they have signed a petition urging ECUSA's bishops not to approve any more gay bishops or bless same-sex unions. Putting it positively, they are calling on the bishops to uphold the recommendations of the Windsor Report as a roadmap for maintaining full communion with the worldwide Anglican Church and by turning the attention of the church to the mission of reaching the lost for the sake of the Gospel.

THE NATIONAL CHURCH has no stake in the enforcement of the Dennis Canon, said Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold. Speaking to a forum for clergy and laity at St. James' Church, Alexandria in the Diocese of Western Louisiana recently, Griswold said most legal disputes over the ownership of parish property are internal diocesan matters.

Griswold told the gathering that bishops and other diocesan leaders are primarily responsible for deciding how to respond to disputes over property ownership, and that there have been instances in which such disputes have been resolved amicably. The Episcopal Church Center in New York City becomes involved in a legal dispute only after it has been invited by the diocese, Bishop Griswold said.

"There is nothing in the so-called Dennis Canon that prevents a diocesan bishop from reaching an amicable settlement with a congregation that wants to leave the Episcopal Church and retain its building, basically he said it was up to the individual diocese," said the Rt. Rev. D. Bruce MacPherson, Bishop of Western Louisiana. "It [the Dennis Canon] provides room for the bishop, standing committee and the local congregations to decide what they think is best. It leaves room for conversation."

But the Rt. Rev. William Wantland, a canon lawyer and retired bishop of Eau Claire, now living in Oklahoma, told VOL that if the diocese gets into a dogfight with the local parish and doesn't have the money, they can appeal to the national church for financial help and Griswold will deliver. In talking with attorneys, he estimates that as much as $1 million has been spent by the national church helping revisionist bishops defend disputes from orthodox clergy willing to go to the mat for their properties.

PROPERTY issues are unlikely to go away. The Executive Council of the National Church has authorized $100,000 from its short term reserves for an ad hoc task force of the HOB to look at ownership claims.

"It is the belief of the ad hoc task force that in the event parishes are successful in taking without just compensation the Episcopal Church's real and personal property, some dioceses and parishes will confront and experience severe financial situations which could result in jeopardizing of their financial existence, integrity and stability," council said in resolution AF-112, which was adopted March 8 in Philadelphia. "The ad hoc task force is also of the belief that some dioceses and parishes may not have the financial resources to support litigation to undertake appropriate legal actions to prevent a taking of their property."

After GC2006 this figure could escalate into the tens of millions of dollars in legal fights with orthodox clergy deciding to flee their dioceses, if the HOB does not fully repent, according to the Windsor Report.

In the DIOCESE OF FLORIDA, a VOL reader and a member at Christ's Anglican Church went over to Grace Episcopal Church in Orange Park near Jacksonville out of curiosity to see how many people had remained after the Rev. Sam Pascoe left with his congregation. According to what he saw, there were only five people there for worship. Clearly the ringers are not returning.

ANGLICANS FOR ISRAEL have launched a New York Chapter of AFI in the New York City/Tristate area, to help combat anti-Semitism and hostility to Israel in the Episcopalian Church of the USA (ECUSA). The New York Chapter will be headed by Colin Fergus, a British-born Episcopalian, who is a devoted friend of Israel and the Jewish people. He is assisted by Elliott Pollack, a Connecticut-based attorney, who will help build bridges between the Jewish community and the Church in a spirit of ecumenical fellowship in support of Israel. Their AFI-USA president is our Patron, Professor Denis Hale. The NYC Chapter will be associated with the work of Fair Witness, a coalition of mainstream Christians, including Presbyterians, Episcopalians and Catholics, who are concerned at the increasing demonization of the Jewish State. More information about the work of AFI in the US can be obtained from Colin Fergus at nyc@anglicansforisrael.com. Their website cane be found at: www.anglicansforisrael.com

THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT got a blast from the Rev. Susan Russell, an Episcopal priest, lesbian and Integrity leader when she journeyed to Washington D.C. to oppose what she called discrimination in the Constitution if the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, passed. "As an Episcopalian I have taken vows to respect the dignity of every human being and as an American citizen I have pledged allegiance to a flag symbolizing liberty and justice for all. The Federal Marriage Amendment violates both of those principles and so I believe it is imperative that people of faith opposed to legislating inequity step up and make their voices heard in this critical debate.

"We have heard a lot about Christian moral values in the marriage debate and as a pastor I want to say that moral values are of deep concern to me. I am deeply concerned by the shocking lack of moral leadership offered by those who would focus the energy, resources and attention of this Congress on writing discrimination into the Constitution while the war in Iraq continues, the Gulf Coast reels from Katrina's after effects, the AIDS pandemic worsens in Africa and genocide continues in Darfur. These are the moral issues my congregation wants Congress to be considering -- not a Federal Marriage Amendment which is clearly a political move to bolster sinking poll numbers."

Clearly the lines in the Culture Wars are being drawn more sharply. GC2006 is going to be a doozy when it opens next week.

IN ENGLAND, the Bishop of Southwark, the Rt. Rev. Tom Butler got a black eye when the Archbishop of Canterbury told him that he had to return the Rev. Richard Coekin's licence which Butler had pulled following Coekin's 'irregular' ordination by a bishop from a church in South Africa with which the Church of England is not 'in communion'. The summary procedure followed by the Bishop was technically flawed, even though the young priest had acted outside the authority of the diocesan bishop. Well, the left wing Guardian writer Stephen Bates got all in a huff about this and said the bishop almost resigned. Dr Butler was said by friends to be furious at being instructed to reinstate Mr. Coekin and told colleagues that he came close to resignation on being presented with the archbishop's decision when he arrived at a diocesan bishops' meeting in Leicester. He is said to have told them: "I nearly said good night and left." Oh dear. He should have. An orthodox vicar wrote VOL and said, "Bates has unwittingly given us all a great deal of pleasure in solemnly advising us of the state of Bishop Butler's blood pressure. A lovely couple - they deserve each other."

OH, OH CANADA! Dying parishes are becoming commonplace in the DIOCESE OF TORONTO. A reader told VOL this past week that not only is St. Stephen-in-the-Fields about to close, but St. Clements Riverdale Congregation has been closed and its congregation disestablished. Others will follow, he writes. The Anglican Diocese has announced they intend to close ten congregations in the downtown area, and are moving forward with those plans. Perhaps the bishop should take a trip to London, England and visit All Souls, Langham Place, and then pop down to Dick Lucas's church and see how inner city churches can thrive if you have a clear fix on what the gospel is.

AND IF you want to know how the stresses and strains of priests who are in conflict with revisionist bishops is going, VOL learned that Fr. David Bollinger of the Diocese of Central New York suffered a heart attack this week. Mercifully he is out of hospital. "It came as a shock to me although I have been under extraordinary stress these past several months. [But] I am feeling better and my prognosis is good. I had one blocked artery that was reopened through the catheter in my heart and medications given. I am grateful for the excellent care and kindness of everyone from the emergency personnel to the doctors and nurses. Above all, I am grateful for the care of Kelly, Sarah, Liz and Anne." The priest has a $4.35 million lawsuit against the bishop for, among other things, wrongful dismissal.

A SPLIT HAS OCCURRED in the Charismatic Episcopal Church. The Great Lakes Province (under the leadership of Archbishop Frederick Fick) has disassociated itself from the Charismatic Episcopal Church -- he and his Auxiliary Bishop (Donald Miles) and the 20 or so churches under his headship. The word is that he has taken all his churches out of the CEC -- all except for Church of the Redeemer (formerly the Cathedral parish now pastored by Father Kenneth Tanner, son of Archbishop Austin Randolph Adler and founder of the Charismatic Episcopal Church). Archbishop Fick's Pro-Cathedral site does not have any mention of CEC on his website: VOL spoke with Bishop Miles and confirmed the split, but could not get Archbishop Fick to return a call. Archbishop Fick and Bishop Miles will be the 4th and 5th bishops respectively to have left or asked to leave the CEC. Sources still in the CEC say that there is a meeting of the Patriarch's Council (selected bishops and archbishops) in Atlanta happening this week for some serious decision-making. VOL will keep you informed.

THE Indonesian Earthquake which has claimed over 5,000 lives has been horrendous an eyewitness from the British Barnabas Fund reports. The Barnabas Fund representative visiting the earthquake-devastated area around Yogyakarta, central Java, reports that "the devastation here is horrific. Houses, government buildings, shopping centers and, I estimate, many hundreds (if not thousands) of churches have been completely destroyed. The churches, like other buildings, are just piles of bricks, mortar and other rubble where there was once a building that testified to the love and presence of the Living God."

VOL got stung with a hoax item about V. Gene Robinson and a hymnal in New Hampshire. VOL credited the item to "Recoil magazine." This statement appears at the website: Recoil^TM is a satirical newspaper published by Blue V Productions.

GC2006 STARTS in Columbus Ohio, next week so this will be the last digest before General Convention begins. If you haven't made a tax deductible donation to VOL perhaps you might consider doing so. We are fielding the biggest team of reporters and commentators ever and your help is truly needed to keep the news coming to you in a timely fashion.

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David W. Virtue DD