Making Peace in Baltimore

From PBS- (with video)

The death of Freddie Gray, an African-American man who died while in police custody, set off widespread—and sometimes violent—protests, marches, and demonstrations that have focused the attention of religious and civic leaders on issues of poverty, hopelessness, race, and police violence. Bishop Eugene Sutton, Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Maryland, tells R&E “the cycle of hopelessness and poverty and violence has been building up for years,” but “the church has a moral voice that it can use,” and “eventually justice has to be done in order for there to be peace.”

More here-

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2015/05/01/may-1-2015-making-peace-in-baltimore/25929/

Bishop apologizes for oversights in Cook case

From The Baltimore Sun-

The head of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland apologized Wednesday for failing to recognize "warning signs" that Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook — now facing drunken-driving and other charges in connection with a crash that killed a bicyclist — suffers from alcoholism.

"I regret that my sister in faith, Heather, apparently caused so much damage and suffering due to her disease of alcoholism, and [I'm] sorry I was unable to recognize warning signs of her illness," the Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton said in a message to church members on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a 40-day season of repentance.

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bs-md-cook-sutton-lent-20150218-story.html

Head of Episcopal diocese tries to clarify comments on bishop's drinking

From The Baltimore Sun-

The head of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland sought Thursday to clarify what he knew about Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook's drinking, and when he knew it.

Cook, who became the No. 2 leader in the diocese last September despite an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol in 2010, is accused in the December death of local cyclist Thomas Palermo.

She was indicted this week on charges including automobile manslaughter, driving under the influence and texting while driving during an accident resulting in death or serious bodily injury.

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-bishop-sutton-letter-20150205-story.html

Episcopal leader suspected Cook was drunk days before installation as bishop

From The Baltimore Sun-

The leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland suspected that the Rev. Heather Elizabeth Cook — now facing drunken driving and manslaughter charges in the December death of a local bicyclist — was intoxicated at a dinner two days before she was installed as bishop last year, according to the diocese.

The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, head of the Maryland diocese, quickly shared his concerns about Cook's behavior that night with the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, the diocese said in a timeline posted on its website this week.

"Bishop Sutton suspects that Cook is inebriated during pre-consecration dinner and conveys concern to Presiding Bishop," it reads. "Presiding Bishop indicates she will discuss with Cook."

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-timeline-timing-20150203-story.html#page=1

Also latest fro the Washington Post-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/bishop-accused-in-biker-death-appeared-drunk-during-her-own-installation-celebration-this-fall/2015/02/02/9bb8c5f0-ab4f-11e4-abe8-e1ef60ca26de_story.html

A spiritual leader’s fall from grace

From Baltimore Brew (In Depth)-

They are not totally silent, the people who knew Heather Cook before December 27 – the terrible day when, texting and severely intoxicated, the Episcopal bishop plowed into a bicyclist pedaling along a Baltimore bike lane and killed him.

Online and in conversations with The Brew, they wrestle with how Cook’s actions that day – in particular, fleeing from the scene of the crash – square with the warm, empathetic, down-to-earth person they knew her to be.

“She’s good people,” said Rev. John Morris, in an online forum, recalling Cook from her days as the rector in charge of a suburban parish in York, Pa.

She was funny and smart, said a woman who knew Cook during her tenure at a Bedford, N.Y., parish in the early 1990s. Looking at her arrest photo posted on the Internet, this person said she wasn’t able to reconcile that image with the Heather Cook she knew.

https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2015/01/27/a-spiritual-leaders-fall-from-grace/

Episcopal church to review how bishop now in jail was elected

From The Baltimore Sun-

National Episcopal officials will reassess the process by which the church elected a bishop now accused in the hit-and-run death of a prominent local bicyclist, the head of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland wrote in a letter to members Tuesday.

"A disciplinary process is underway to consider consequences for [Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook] as well as review the process that resulted in her election," Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton wrote in the letter posted online.

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/north-baltimore/bs-md-bishop-letter-20150114-story.html

Bishop summons clergy to meeting after death of bicyclist in Baltimore

From Baltimore-

The Episcopal bishop of Maryland has summoned all the clergy of the Diocese of Maryland to a Tuesday morning meeting in Frederick County after a high-ranking church official was involved in a crash in Baltimore that killed bicyclist Thomas Palermo, a married father of two.

Church spokeswoman Sharon Tillman confirmed Sunday that Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton has called church clergy to a meeting at the Claggett Center near Buckeystown. She said the meeting was closed to the public to "allow clergy time to process the tragic events of the past week that involved a colleague."

More here-

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/north-baltimore/bs-md-episcopal-cathedral-20150104-story.html