Bishop Bennison was found to have failed to discharge his pastoral obligations to the girl, the members of her family, and the members of the parish youth group as well as church authorities after he learned of his brother’s behavior.

Attorneys for the Episcopal Church and for the Diocese of Pennsylvania’s Bishop Charles Bennison argued before an ecclesiastical appeals court in Delaware on May 4 about whether the bishop should have been tried and convicted on charges stemming from his response to his priest brother’s sexual misconduct some 35 years ago.

Among the issues facing the eight-bishop “Court of Review for the Trial of a Bishop” after three hours of oral arguments are questions of whether the evidence presented at Bennison’s trial supported his conviction, whether the canonical statute of limitations on those actions had run, and whether the trial court’s sentence of deposition would be unduly harsh because Bennison himself did not engage in the sexual abuse.

The hearing took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Wilmington, Delaware.

Bennison, the alleged victim and her mother were present for the hearing, along with nearly 45 other people, including officials from the Diocese of Pennsylvania.

In June 2008, the church’s “Court for the Trial of a Bishop” tried Bennison on two counts of engaging in conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy and found in February 2009 that Bennison should be deposed or removed from the ordained ministry of the Episcopal Church.

The trial court called for his deposition.