# The Bishop is a drunkard. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457 "2014-12-29T18:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2015, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/81 "2015-01-10T22:17:12Z")
> [@Cartooniverse](#): > > Off to jail she should go. Stripped of all office and treated like a normal civilian. I think if she goes to prison, she’s going to be treated like any other prisoner whether she’s stripped of her orders or not. Her lawyer might think that her status calls for her being placed in special populations (I doubt it, though, since she will probably be in a minimum security prison), and that would true whether her status as a bishop were past or current. I’d worry more about juries. My cousin is a prosecutor in Chicago, and he once prosecuted a nun for vehicular manslaughter (she fell asleep at the wheel and ran through a pedestrian walkway). He says it would have been a slam-dunk if she hadn’t been a member of an order, but people were reluctant to convict a nun, because G-d might retaliate, and acquitted in about 20 minutes. She didn’t even belong to a sanctioned order, but some kind of unofficial, rogue order that is to real nuns what nuts in the woods with rifles and stockpiles of canned goods are to the real military. Scary. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/82 "2015-02-10T19:36:11Z")
Here’s a statement by the President of the House of Deputies, the rough equivalent of the Speaker of the House in the bicameral policy-making General Convention of the Episcopal Church: [Home - Episcopal Journal](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/letter-from-president-jennings-on-the-death-of-tom-palermo/) ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/83 "2015-02-10T19:43:23Z")
She was also [formally indicted](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-bishop-cook-indicted-20150204-story.html) last week. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/84 "2015-02-10T19:46:50Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Here’s a statement by the President of the House of Deputies, the rough equivalent of the Speaker of the House in the bicameral policy-making General Convention of the Episcopal Church: [http://www.episcopalcafe.com/letter-from-president-jennings-on-the-death-of-tom-palermo/](http://www.episcopalcafe.com/letter-from-president-jennings-on-the-death-of-tom-palermo/) It is a beautifully written letter, I will grant her that. As an ex-catholic, I’m impressed that they can even conceive of the idea of “re-imagining” their church. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/85 "2015-02-10T19:57:34Z")
It’s a good letter, but does the Episcopal church as a whole really bear responsibility for the death of the bicyclist? Has this woman gotten away with lesser crimes that would have gotten her license revoked, if the church hadn’t done some backstage machinations? Or is it the case that if she weren’t a bishop, Mr. Palermo would have been killed by some drunk woman who wasn’t a bishop? Is this comparable, for example, to the RC church’s systematic covering up of child molestations, or is this one woman who got drunk, had it end very, very badly, and it was just a coincidence that she had an unusual job? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/86 "2015-02-10T20:00:37Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It’s a good letter, but does the Episcopal church as a whole really bear responsibility for the death of the bicyclist? … The lawyers will have to huddle together with God to figure that one out. ---
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/87 "2015-02-10T20:41:54Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > It’s a good letter, but does the Episcopal church as a whole really bear responsibility for the death of the bicyclist? Has this woman gotten away with lesser crimes that would have gotten her license revoked, if the church hadn’t done some backstage machinations? Or is it the case that if she weren’t a bishop, Mr. Palermo would have been killed by some drunk woman who wasn’t a bishop? > > Is this comparable, for example, to the RC church’s systematic covering up of child molestations, or is this one woman who got drunk, had it end very, very badly, and it was just a coincidence that she had an unusual job? From the contents of the letter, it appears the problem is not that a bishop was a drunkard, but that a drunkard was _made_ bishop. I read the letter as an apology to the congregation, not to the family of the victim. Even if it’s the case that “Mr. Palermo would have been killed by some drunk woman who wasn’t a bishop,” at least in that scenario the entire church wouldn’t have become entangled in the tragedy. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/88 "2015-02-10T20:49:40Z")
It appears that the bishop may have been drunk at her consecration > **[Episcopal church says it didn’t push for details on bishop’s alcohol issues](https://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)** > > Months after her election, Heather Cook was accused of DUI and manslaughter in a bicyclist’s death. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/89 "2015-02-10T21:01:08Z")
How do you drive on three wheels? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/90 "2015-02-10T21:06:06Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > She was also [formally indicted](http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-bishop-cook-indicted-20150204-story.html) last week. So all the pious disclaimers and you-don’t-knows above to the contrary, she was not only drunk, but texting. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/91 "2015-02-11T01:15:55Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > It appears that the bishop may have been drunk at her consecration > [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](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) Not at her consecration, acc. to that article, but at a dinner two days beforehand. Still very bad. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/92 "2015-02-11T01:41:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So all the pious disclaimers and you-don’t-knows above to the contrary, she was not only drunk, but texting. Do you feel this super special when your assumptions turn out to be wrong? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2015, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/93 "2015-02-11T03:07:56Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So all the pious disclaimers and you-don’t-knows above to the contrary, she was not only drunk, but texting. None of it was pious disclaimers, but rather not jumping to conclusions. You know–or should know–that a conclusion should be based on evidence, especially in a legal matter. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/94 "2015-04-01T03:17:15Z")
The latest developments - the diocesan bishop (her boss) admits he suspected she might have an ongoing problem with liquor: [I could have stopped Cook’s ordination, bishop says, but it would have caused an uproar | Baltimore Brew](https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2015/02/12/i-could-have-stopped-cooks-ordination-bishop-says-but-it-would-have-caused-an-uproar/) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/95 "2015-04-01T13:07:11Z")
Hmmmm… an uproar as big as the one after the hit and run? I’m doubtful. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/96 "2015-04-01T13:11:48Z")
We had a drunk bishop here kill a (drunk) pedestrian mid block, left the scene. He later claimed he thought it was a dog or a rock or something. > **[Phoenix Jury Finds Bishop Guilty in Fatal Hit-and-Run (Published 2004)](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/us/phoenix-jury-finds-bishop-guilty-in-fatal-hit-and-run.html)** > > Bishop Thomas J O'Brien of Phoenix is found guilty of leaving scene of fatal accident after his car hit pedestrian Jim Lee Reed last June; testified he had no idea he had hit anyone until police traced his car two days later; resigned church post... ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/97 "2015-04-01T13:41:39Z")
> [@campp](#): > > We had a drunk bishop here kill a (drunk) pedestrian mid block, left the scene. He later claimed he thought it was a dog or a rock or something. > > [http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/us/phoenix-jury-finds-bishop-guilty-in-fatal-hit-and-run.html](http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/us/phoenix-jury-finds-bishop-guilty-in-fatal-hit-and-run.html) This is a very odd news story. Was the guy not convicted of some form of homicide? The story says he was convicted of leaving the scene, though he apparently admitted that he had actually hit and killed the guy. Also, it said " …who was arrested last year for his role in a hit-and-run that killed a carpenter …". **For his role** in a hit and run?!! Don’t you mean something like “for vehicular homicide”? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/98 "2015-04-01T14:05:01Z")
> [@Mr.Miskatonic](#): > > If your first instinct of panic is to flee when you are not the injured or threatened party you are getting no sympathy from me. Then you have no sympathy for any human being on the planet, as panic is a fight or flight reaction. Everyone has the instinct to flee when they panic in a situation where fight is not possible. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/99 "2015-04-01T15:04:07Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Then you have no sympathy for any human being on the planet, as panic is a fight or flight reaction. Everyone has the instinct to flee when they panic in a situation where fight is not possible. Not in a civilized society, and as a nominally pinnacle member of civilized behavior, she behaved more abysmally than the average person. I remember long ago reading a passage about how someone assumed priests etc. were automatically assured a place in heaven… only to be corrected by a priest who pointed out that since they were indoctrinated in all the rules, their gate was straiter than regular people. I think that applies here. She knew she was doing wrong by drinking and driving (again), and compounded the problem by letting that lead to a more serious offense… and was more obligated than one of her parishoners to stand up to the moral demand. Cave men didn’t drive cars. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457/100 "2015-04-01T15:08:09Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Not in a civilized society, and as a nominally pinnacle member of civilized behavior, she behaved more abysmally than the average person… This I disagree with. If she’s delusional enough to be a bishop in a religion, any religion, who knows what mental processes contributed to her behavior. Maybe she thought it was all the will of God. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-bishop-is-a-drunkard/708457.md?page=6)