Drunken Bishop Kills Cyclist in Hit-and-Run Collision

 © 2014 The Wired Word

www.thewiredword.com

On December 27, Thomas Palermo, 41, a software engineer and longtime cyclist, was riding his bicycle on a designated bike lane in Baltimore when he was struck from behind by an SUV driven by Heather Elizabeth Cook, 58, an assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Palermo, who was married and the father of two small children, died at the scene.
Cook left the scene without stopping. She returned about 30 minutes later to talk to the police. At that time, she was given a breath alcohol test that resulted in a .22 reading, well over the legal blood alcohol limit of 0.08. Police also learned that Cook had been texting at the time she hit Palermo. She was subsequently charged with manslaughter, leaving the scene, driving under the influence of alcohol and texting while driving. If convicted on all charges, she could face more than 20 years in prison.
The accident has drawn interest well beyond Baltimore, partly because national news programs and bicycle media picked it up, but also because of Cook's position as bishop suffragan (a bishop appointed to help a diocesan bishop), and because she is the first female bishop in that diocese.
An additional factor is that in 2010, at her previous assignment in the Diocese of Easton on Maryland's Eastern Shore, before becoming bishop, Cook was charged in another drunken driving incident. According to a police report, an officer found Cook in the middle of the night driving on three tires. She had vomit on her shirt and was too intoxicated to complete a sobriety test. She was also charged with possession of marijuana.
In that case, Cook pleaded guilty to drunken driving. The drug possession charges were dropped. She was fined and sentenced to probation before judgment on the DUI charge, meaning her record could be cleared if she stayed out of trouble.
Officials from both dioceses are now facing questions from some local Episcopal leaders and clergy who want to know why Cook was selected to be a bishop considering the nature of that 2010 arrest. Those local leaders also want to know why only the search committee, but not the full voting convention, was told about the earlier charge when considering Cook's candidacy for the office of bishop.
According to The Washington Post, the approximately 70 Episcopal clergy from Cook's diocese who attended a closed-door meeting with head bishop Eugene Sutton "were angry that the diocese had not shared more details about Cook when she was elected. Clergy at the meeting were told that the search committee could not tell anyone about the 2010 incident because it was confidential, and that Cook 'was encouraged at least twice' to share it."
"Was she in recovery and was this a terrible relapse ... or was it a situation that no one knew was an ongoing situation?" said the Rev. Megan E. Stewart-Sicking of Immanuel Episcopal Church in Glencoe, Md. "I think those are fair questions to be asking."
Both incidents involving Cook are now spotlighting how churches handle matters of substance abuse, forgiveness and second chances, particularly when the offender is a member of the clergy.
In a statement, Palermo's family said, "We are deeply saddened to learn of the events leading up to the senseless hit-and-run accident that claimed Tom's life, and support the prosecutor's efforts to hold Bishop Heather Cook accountable for her actions to the fullest extent of the law."
Initially, a diocese spokeswoman said publicly only that Cook was on her own time when the accident happened and was "not conducting church business." In a later statement on the diocese's website, Bishop Sutton said, "On behalf of everyone in the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, please know that we are deeply heartbroken over this, and we cry for the Palermo family, our sister Heather and all in the community who are hurting. Our Lord Jesus would be a healing presence in the midst of this tragic situation, and we are seeking ways to walk in his footsteps in the days and months ahead. As we do so we are truly being the church, and we will always be guided by our core Christian values of personal accountability, compassion and respect for the rule of law."
Cook's attorney would not comment on the case, but he did confirm that Cook had turned herself in.
Cook's father, the late Rev. Halsey Cook, was a national leader in the Episcopal Church, who worked to fight alcoholism in the ministry -- including his own.
A $2.5 million bail was set for Cook in a January 9 hearing at the Baltimore City District Court. At last report, she was being held at the downtown Detention Center until bail is posted.
On New Year's Day, hundreds of cyclists pedaled a slow procession along a three-mile route from Baltimore's Episcopal Cathedral of the Incarnation to the site of the accident.
"For the cycling community, this is kind of part of our grieving process," said Nate Evans, executive director of Bike Maryland, which organized the event with Bikemore, a bicycling advocacy organization. "It gives us a chance to get out and celebrate a cyclist's life."
The following is from The Washington Post's coverage of the story:

Diana Butler Bass, a prominent progressive church historian and Episcopalian who lives in Northern Virginia, said she wondered if the denomination's liberal tendencies had been harmful in this case.
"We love to give people the benefit of doubt, 'There but for the grace of God,' and all that. We're not the church that likes to condemn people," she said. "In this case it worked in the wrong direction."
Butler Bass also commented on the role of forgiveness.
"I don't always think church people understand the depth and complexity of addiction. Forgiveness isn't the solution to addiction. And people in leadership should know that," she said. "The question is, does forgiveness qualify someone to be a bishop and an example in the church? She supposedly represents all Episcopalians. When his kids grow up, their narrative will be that this church killed my father. This is why leaders are held to a higher standard. Because they represent something that's bigger than just their own problems."

More on this story can be found at these links:
Md. Episcopal Bishop Faces Manslaughter, DUI Charges in Death of Bicyclist. Washington Post 
Bishop Heather Cook's bail set at $2.5 million. Baltimore Brew 
A Pastoral Letter to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. The Episcopal Churches of Maryland 
Friends, Fellow Cyclists Ride to Honor Palermo. Baltimore Sun 
Maryland Bishop Faces Manslaughter, DUI Charges in Hit-and-Run. Fox News
The Big Questions
1. What prevents us from getting help for our own problems? To the extent that you feel safe doing so, share a problem you or your family have dealt with. How has it affected your life? How has it affected the lives of others? To what extent have you experienced forgiveness and/or tolerance for the problem? How has this affected the way you treat others?
2. If you killed someone accidentally, what role would God have for you? For the victim's loved ones? How might your work in the church change? What should Cook do now regarding her position in the church?
3. What do we expect from church leaders when they are troubled? Does God view them and their needs differently than lay persons, and if so, why? Do we view them differently, and if so, how? Do you think people who help others by profession face additional hurdles when encountering problems of their own? Why or why not?
4. Should a member of the clergy be held to a higher standard than others? Why or why not? Should Cook's earlier arrest for DUI have disqualified her to later be a candidate for bishop? If not, why not? If so, why? What failings, do you think, are more tolerated among clergy, and which are not -- and why or why not? Are certain failings more tolerated by the criminal justice system than others -- and why or why not?
5. What is your reaction to Diana Butler Bass' comments about what she labels "addiction" in the news story above? Do we treat addictions seriously enough? Do we excuse addictions? Are we at a point as churches and as a society where people can talk openly about their addictions? Do more conservative churches have a better outlet to talk about addictions (such as in testimonies) than do progressive churches, which may (though not always) view addictions as physical and not moral failings?
6. Think about the diocese spokesperson's comment that at the time of the accident, Cook was "on her own time" and was "not conducting church business." While this likely stems from the need to "cover your rear" in the event of a lawsuit, why do you think this might or might not be an appropriate statement? Is there a sense in which pastors are always "on duty"? Is there a sense in which Christians are always "on duty"?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Isaiah 28:7
These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused with wine, they stagger with strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in giving judgment. (For context, read 28:1-13.)
The prophet Isaiah was addressing people of the southern Hebrew kingdom, Judah. But here, in warning them of where their sins were leading them, he began with a lament over the then defunct northern Hebrew kingdom, Israel (called "Ephraim" in v. 1, after one of its larger tribes). In verse 7, above, he refers to that kingdom's priest and prophet being "confused" by too much alcohol, and as a result, their vision and judgment were impaired. Thus, they were unable to guide the people of their nation morally and spiritually.
Addiction was not understood as a disease in those days, as many consider it today, but Isaiah was right on about the outcome of alcohol abuse.
Addiction comes in other forms as well. One TWW team member tells this story: "The first church I served 36 years ago had a huge building but its attendance had dropped from around 250 to 50, and no one would tell me why. I was told that the pastor before the more recent one had some financial issues. Three years later someone in the district told me the more prosaic story -- that the pastor had an affair with the organist and at first refused to leave, so everyone else did. It turned out this pastor had serial affairs at all the churches he served but no church spoke about it; they simply passed him on to the next church.
"That's not the case anymore. Pastors are usually dismissed immediately for affairs, and others are told. They must go through treatment before anyone would even think about hiring them. I find it interesting in this case that many people were not informed about the bishop's alcoholism. In previous eras a priest's or minister's abuse of alcohol may have even been something of a comic strain, something to laugh about. It shouldn't be anymore."

Questions: What advice would you give a church leader who you realized was addicted to alcohol or drugs? If the person was in denial or was unwilling to deal with the problem, would you have a responsibility to do anything further? Why or why not? Does a congregation, or at least a search committee, have a right to know in advance about an individual's shortcomings? What is the line between confidentiality and the need to know?

Proverbs 23:29-30, 32, 35
Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining? Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes? Those who linger late over wine ... At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. ... "They struck me," you will say, "but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it. When shall I awake? I will seek another drink." (For context, read 23:19-35.)
These verses picture people with an addiction. Addiction entices those in its grip to keep coming back for more of the addictive substance. It eventually causes its victims grief and "bites like a serpent."
The venom of snakes is designed to paralyze prey so it can be eaten. Because the addict initially feels only the pleasure provided by the drug of choice, he or she craves it all the more.

Questions: Is the line between free will and compulsion static, or in your experience, does it move one way or the other at various times? How important is it for a person struggling with compulsion or addiction to have confidants or programs (like 12-step programs) for support?

Luke 12:48
From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (For context, read 12:35-48.)
This comment from Jesus follows a brief parable in which he praises slaves who are doing their work even when the master returns unexpectedly. In commenting further on the parable, Jesus refers to a manager of the slaves (who likewise was a slave) who was expected to be diligent in his duties, leading to Jesus' remark in verse 48. The slave put in charge of others had been selected because of showing an aptitude and skills for that position. Much had been given him, both in terms of endowed abilities and of responsibilities. By the same token, however, much was therefore expected from that manager.

Questions: How would you apply this parable to church leaders? How would you apply this parable to yourself? Does this parable mean church leaders must be held to a higher standard? Are churches willing to pay for programs that provide support (such as counseling or spiritual direction) if they are holding church leaders to a higher standard? Who counts as a church leader? Pastors and ministers? Sunday school teachers? Music leadership? Board and commission chairs? Maintenance staff? How do you decide which leaders or workers the church should be willing to support financially in such programs?

James 3:1
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. (For context, read 3:1-12.)
James made this comment about those who teach in the church, but we suspect he would say at least this much about those who are the ecclesiastical leaders.

Questions: Is it fair and right that higher standards of integrity and behavior are expected from some professions than from others? Explain your answer. To what standards are individuals from other professions held? Give examples from among the professions of members of your class. What are the compensations for being held to a higher standard? (For instance, doctors and lawyers usually make more money than ministers.)

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (For context, read 1:5-10.)

Questions: This verse is not difficult to understand, but should we even be quoting it in the context of this news story? Is addiction a sin? an illness? both? If sin or both, is God's forgiveness enough to deal with it? If not, what else is needed? Can damage and death caused by addiction-fueled behavior be excused? Can it be forgiven?

Mark 5:18-20
As [Jesus] was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused, and said to him, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. (For context, read 5:1-20.)
These are the concluding verses of the account of Jesus healing a man so demon-possessed that "he lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain ..." (v. 3). After he was healed, the man wanted to join the entourage that traveled with Jesus, but Jesus told him instead, "Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you." In other words, Jesus gave the man a ministry, and as the last sentence states, the man did exactly what Jesus told him to do.
Regarding the demon Bishop Cook is wrestling with, TWW team member Mary Sells says, "It is obvious that the right thing [for Cook] to do is to take the punishment and take the cure; however, the enduring problem will be how we show mercy in a situation where there is no possibility to make true reparation: a husband/father lost his life and that cannot be changed."
Sells continues, "To be a bishop or priest or pastor should mean that service to God means more than anything else and losing that role would be terribly hard -- perhaps it causes one to make worse decisions in order to remain in that role. We historically see this as a self-serving protection for the church, but perhaps it is also the threat of being taken from one's calling that is more personal."
Perhaps the biblical story of this healed man gives one model Cook might consider. She might listen for what different ministry Christ might call her to -- even if it's less prestigious and not a professional career -- where her message might be to tell of what mercy she's been shown.

Questions: If you were on the ministry committee for the diocese in which Cook has been a bishop, what would be your recommendation to her now regarding her future service in the church? Would there be steps you would recommend Cook follow? 
What might mercy look like for the family of the cyclist who was killed in the accident?
Regarding your own calling, profession or job, what sins would be more easily forgiven than others? What failings would result in your having to find other work?

For Further Discussion
1. How does the family whose life was forever changed grant forgiveness and mercy, if that is a possibility, despite their great pain? What prayers would you pray if you were related to the cyclist?
2. How should members of the community respond when a bishop, pastor or other senior church leader is revealed to be as human and imperfect as they are? How does the community rebuild trust for leadership? What prayers would you pray if you were related to the bishop?
3. Calling something an addiction can be used in many ways: as a cause for a person's deeds, as a description of a habit, as an excuse to reduce or eliminate guilt or shame, or perhaps for some other reason -- or a mixture of these. Explain how you have heard the term used, as well as how you use it. How -- if at all -- does the concept of sin as an addiction leading to sinful actions relate to this?
4. Comment on the following from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "I think there is an element of blindness in this story -- people are blind to bicyclists and others who choose to live a different way. Sometimes they are not even seen. Sometimes they are seen and derided. I feel much safer riding a bike on the county roads in my area because people are used to looking out for the Amish, who ride bicycles as well as buggies. But even so, when outsiders drive through our area, they complain -- loudly -- in restaurants and other places, about the presence of those who are going at a different speed of life. I think Christians should be traveling at a different rate than the world at large."
5. Respond to this, from a TWW team member: "I have zero tolerance for anyone who drinks and drives. Wine was a daily part of life for Jesus, but he never got behind the wheel of a car afterward. Alcoholism may be a disease but so is diabetes. I have medicine for diabetes and have to live a certain lifestyle so I don't slump over in the car from low blood sugar."
6. Respond to this, from TWW team member James Berger: "This is not an isolated incident. This is the pattern of a serious alcoholic, not a problem drinker. So I find it incredible that the 2010 incident was never revealed to the larger committee when she was elected. She should have been disqualified and placed in treatment at that time. Denial of a serious problem is an invitation to death, either the drinker's or someone else's."
7. Comment on this, from TWW team member Joanna Loucky-Ramsey: "There are multiple layers of infractions of this bishop. She was not only DUI, but also texting while driving and she left the scene of the accident. It is not just the physical condition of alcoholism that troubles me, which today might almost be excused by some people as a component of a disease. But it is the attitude that underlies the behaviors this woman exhibited that really alarms me: the attitude that says 'My pleasure, my rights, my agenda, my career, my whatever, are more important than living in a way that at the very least does not cause harm to others.'"
Responding to the News
If there is someone in your parish who has a known problem with alcohol, but has either refused to recognize it or refused to get help, now might be a good time to learn about intervention and how you can help. As a place to start, look at this website from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
Closing Prayer

O Lord, please be present with mercy and balm with the family of Thomas Palermo. Please be present in the way most needed with Bishop Cook. Help us all, when we are on the roads, to be aware of and careful of those around us. In Jesus' name. Amen.