Adapted from the Office of Public Affairs
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued a formal canonical Restriction on Ordained Ministry directed to the Rt. Rev. Heather Cook, Bishop Suffragan of Maryland.
This Restriction was issued as part of the Episcopal Church’s Title IV disciplinary process. Bishop Jefferts Schori wrote:
Pursuant to Canons IV.7(3), (4) and IV.17(2) of this church, I hereby place the following restrictions on your ordained ministry:
You shall not exercise or engage in the ordained ministry of this Church in any respect, shall not participate in any functions of the House of Bishops, and shall not hold yourself out as an ordained person of this Church in good standing, until such time as all matters relating to you that are pending before a panel of the Disciplinary Board of Bishops shall have been finally resolved.
This restriction is being placed upon your ordained ministry because information has been received by the Intake Officer that indicates that you may have committed one or more offenses under Canon IV.4 as a result of your alleged criminal conduct in connection with an automobile accident on December 27, 2014 and misrepresentations you allegedly made to persons in the Diocese of Easton and in connection to your candidacy for the episcopate in the Diocese of Maryland regarding your experience with alcohol.
The Restriction takes effect immediately.
The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton placed Bishop Cook on paid leave, and thus restricted her ministry as his bishop suffragan, on December 28, when the diocese announced her involvement in the traffic accident that killed bicyclist Thomas Palermo.
