The State : She Confesses, Sues Priest

A woman who said she confessed to an Episcopal priest that she had embezzled $28,000 from their church has sued the cleric for $5 million, arguing that he invaded her privacy and caused her emotional distress by telling police. Sheridan Anne Edwards of Belvedere said her anxiety about the theft drove her to confess to Rector William Rankin, who, instead of offering her absolution, angrily advised her to get an attorney. “I was having a tremendous anxiety about guilt and I went to see my priest,” said Edwards, 38. “Now I feel terribly betrayed. He had a responsibility to me as a priest. I knew he had taken certain oaths and had a responsibility to not say anything to anyone.” Instead, the St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church priest reported her theft from the church women’s guild to congregation members and police in Belvedere, an affluent community about 15 miles north of San Francisco. In the criminal action, Edwards was sentenced to perform at least 200 hours of volunteer work and spend seven months in jail.