MARYLAND
Baltimore Brew
In a release closely coordinated with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, the presiding bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church has announced that disgraced Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook has accepted a “sentence of deposition” that will strip her of rights as an ordained priest of the church.
U.S. Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said today’s action was the culmination of the church’s Title IV disciplinary proceeding that began after Cook was revealed to be the driver of the hit-and-run crash in Baltimore that killed bicyclist Thomas Palermo.
Cook, who registered a breath alcohol reading nearly three times the legal limit when she returned to the crash scene, was charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident, and DUI by Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby.
This afternoon, in a separate press release, Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, announced that Cook had resigned her position as the No. 2 diocesan leader.
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