MARYLAND
The Baltimore Brew
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland formally called on Heather Cook to resign as an employee of the diocese for “the best interests of the church and its people.”
While Cook cannot resign as Bishop Suffragan until after the conclusion of the church’s Title IV disciplinary investigation, her superior, the Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, called on her to step down from her $120,000-plus-a-year job.
The request was made in a short one-page letter to Cook by the diocese’s Standing Committee and seconded in a separate statement by Bishop Sutton.
The letter was sent to her criminal attorney, David B. Irwin of Towson. Bishop Cook was charged with manslaughter, drunk driving and leaving the scene of a fatal accident with bicyclist Tom Palermo on December 27.
Bishop Heather Cook (Diocese of Maryland)Bishop Heather Cook (Diocese of Maryland)
She is now staying at Father Martin’s Ashley, an alcohol and drug addiction center near Havre de Grace, after former Episcopal priest Mark Hansen posted $2.5 million bail for her release from city jail.
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