It’s been three weeks since I wrote a column entitled “Struggling” about the incident in which the Rev. Heather Cook, second in command of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, killed a 41-year-old bicyclist in Baltimore.
Bishop Cook has been charged with manslaughter, driving while drunk, texting and leaving the scene of an accident. She has been indicted.
In 2010 Heather Cook was charged in Caroline County for driving under the influence. She apparently was so drunk she could not stand up and take the breathalyzer test. At the time she was serving in an administrative position in the Episcopal Diocese of Easton.
During the past few weeks, news reports have disclosed that the Presiding Bishop is investigating whether Heather Cook had been honest with the Easton Diocese about her alcohol history. The national church also is looking into whether the Episcopal Church encourages a culture of drinking among clergy and parishioners.
The constant stream of information and revelations seems to get worse. It’s increasingly difficult to find grace in this affair.
A high-ranking priest in the national church issued a statement saying that ‘“many people in the church have struggled to understand better how our systemic denial about alcohol and other drug abuse in the church may have contributed to Bishop Cook’s election and coordination as a bishop even as she seemed to be struggling with addiction,” ‘according to an article in the Baltimore Sun.
In the weeks since writing my original column, I have encountered anger and frustration with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland for failing to conduct due diligence in naming Heather Cook as Suffragan Bishop.
Meanwhile, Bishop Eugene Sutton, who heads the diocese, continues to point fingers at the Diocese of Easton for being insufficiently forthright in disclosing Heather Cook’s struggles with alcohol. He also said he noticed that the Rev. Cook seemed to be drinking heavily at a social occasion two nights before her installation in the fall of 2014.
I am struggling because Heather Cook is clearly at blame for having a drinking problem that she failed to reveal first to the Diocese of Easton and then to the Diocese of Maryland. Consequently, Thomas Palermo is dead.
I am struggling because Heather Cook seemed to ignore all the danger signs, ones that would be difficult to deny. Yet, I realize that denial is a common characteristic of addicted individuals. It’s the first and largest hurdle in addressing addiction and trying to beat it. Many have attained the mountain-top experience of sobriety and reclaimed their lives.
I am struggling because leaders in the Episcopal Church failed to question Heather Cook about her addiction. The Diocese of Maryland is facing strong criticism for what appears to be lax employment procedures.
Finger-pointing is senseless. Diocesan leaders must look inward and claim responsibility.
The Very Rev. Gary Hall, dean of the Washington Cathedral, said in an article in the Washington Post concerning the Episcopal Church’s approach to alcohol, ‘” I think the fact that the Diocese of Maryland could elect a woman who clearly has had an alcohol issue and how no one could speak about that publicly was a symptom of a bigger problem. The Heather Cook event is making us sit back and think…How do we find a way to be more intentional about our relationship with alcohol?”
So, we have a clergyperson with a history of alcohol abuse named to the second highest position in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, now charged with killing a bicyclist as she was driving drunk and texting in Baltimore. She failed to inform two employers about her addiction.
And we have a church undergoing strenuous soul-searching as it determines whether a culture of tolerance toward drinking contributed to the elevation of Heather Cook as Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Maryland and the tragic death of Thomas Palermo. At the same time, the church is examining its employment procedures, specifically whether it should have been more aggressive in examining a candidate’s readiness for promotion.
I also would suspect that the church also is asking itself—or it should be—whether it provides a safe haven for priests to admit their addictions or frailties without jeopardizing their careers.
A fatal hit-and-run accident involving a priest with ties to the Eastern Shore has wide-ranging, painful ramifications.
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