Fall-out from Episcopal financial scandal

Christian Century, May 24, 1995

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Edmond L. Browning said May 12 that criminal prosecution of the denomination's former treasurer Ellen Cooke, accused of embezzling $2.2 million, is "both inevitable and appropriate." In a later statement published in the denomination's national newspaper, Episcopal Life, Browning said, "Responsibility for [criminal] prosecution rests with the government." The bishop maintained that the responsibility of Episcopal leaders "was to bring all of the facts to [civil authorities'] attention ... and not pre-empt or interfere with their careful process.

Cooke, who served as treasurer of the national Episcopal Church from November 1986 until January 31, 1995, has been accused by the church of diverting some $2.2 million in church funds to her personal use. The money allegedly was used to purchase and remodel a house in New Jersey and a farm in Virginia, to pay the private school tuition of her two teen-age sons, and to buy gifts, jewelry and other items. Though acknowledging "deep remorse and regret" over her actions, Cooke has claimed that they were caused by a "breakdown precipitated by many factors external to me and related td the workplace." One of the highest-ranking women in U.S. religious circles, Cooke earned a $125,000 annual salary. Only Browning earned a higher salary in the Episcopal Church.

Cooke's husband, Nicholas Cooke, recently resigned his position as rector of 1,700-member St. John's Episcopal Church in McLean, Virginia, an upscale suburb outside Washington, D.C. He announced his resignation just hours before the leadership at St. John's went into a closed-door session to discuss the Cookes' situation. "In this time, this season, my primary calling is to support my family," Nicholas Cooke told a May 6 meeting of some 100 parishioners. Congregation officials voted unanimously to accept the rector's resignation. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing in the fund diversion.

The scandal has provoked an outcry among Episcopalians. Some have contended that the denomination was not clear enough in expressing its willingness to prosecute Mrs. Cooke. "He [Browning] is getting an unusually heavy volume of mail," said James Solheim, the denomination's spokesman. "About 95 percent of it is in favor of prosecution."

Solheim said the church has been cooperating with the Internal Revenue Service, which--if Cooke did not pay taxes on the diverted funds--could investigate her for tax evasion. Though indicating that he was unaware of other law enforcement agencies involved in the case, Solheim said at least one other possible violation of the law could involve mail fraud. Plato Cacheris, Cooke's Washington attorney, was not available for comment.

The church is also considering the possibility of civil suits against Cooke. Browning said such suits could be brought either by the church or by the insurance company with which the denomination has a $1 million fidelity bond protecting it against such actions as those alleged against Cooke. The church's decision on whether to file civil proceedings will depend on whether the church gets back the maximum restitution we believe possible," Browning noted.

A further issue that could play a part in any civil lawsuit is apparent discrepancies in claims made on Cooke's resume and in other statements. "We can't even agree on what her age is," Solheim said. He cited as one example Cooke's claim to have graduated from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. A Georgetown spokeswoman said the school has no record of her having attending classes or earning any degree.

Meanwhile, the Episcopal Women's

Caucus has sharply criticized Cooke for suggesting that sexism in the church was in part responsible for her actions. "Sexism, like racism, is well established in the Episcopal Church and it is wrong," the women's group said. But the existence of sexism, it argued, "does not make it an acceptable excuse for actions that were both illegal and immoral. Discrimination does not give one license to misuse church funds."

In a public statement acknowledging her wrongdoing Cooke placed some of the blame for her actions on "the pain, abuse and powerlessness I have felt during the years I worked as a laywoman on a senior level at the church headquarters."

The women's caucus, which had earlier applauded Cooke's appointment, refused to accept her explanation. "Citing discrimination for unethical behavior, Cooke denigrates the commitment and capabilities of all laity and all women, both of which constitute majorities in this denomination," the group said. It noted that it had pressured Cooke's office to prepare the first "Sexual Harassment and Sexual Abuse Policy?' for the denomination's employees. "For her to discover only now that she has endured abuse because of her sex is tragic, for she is an intelligent woman whose competency and integrity were never questioned."

The embezzlement has stirred anger throughout the church. Margaret Larom was one of 51 people who lost their jobs at the Episcopal Church Center in New York in a 1991 wave of cutbacks. "I'm [still] just shocked and angered from the first time [in january, when church officials said Cooke may have misused funds] and shocked and angered again [now that I] know the amount [embezzled], she said.