KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Bishop Richard F. Stika, whose 14-year leadership of the East Tennessee diocese has increasingly come under scrutiny and critique, has resigned, the Vatican announced Tuesday.
Pope Francis accepted Stika's resignation on Tuesday following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations. Stika received the title of Bishop Emeritus of Knoxville after his resignation, or "retired bishop."
“I recently sent a letter to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, asking him to grant my petition to retire as the bishop of this great diocese,” Stika said. “I am grateful that he has accepted this request."
The Vatican said Tuesday it appointed Shelton Fabre, Archbishop of Louisville, to serve as the Apostolic Administrator of the Knoxville diocese until it can appoint a new bishop. He is expected to be in Knoxville on Wednesday and said he plans to name a priest of the Diocese of Knoxville to help him.
"Please pray for me, and for the People of God in East Tennessee, during this time of transition," Fabre said Tuesday.
Fabre sent a letter to priests with the Archdiocese of Louisville about his appointment.
"I offer gratitude to Bishop Stika for his 14 years of episcopal ministry and extend to him my fraternal best wishes and prayers as he moves into his role as Bishop Emeritus," he said. "As my appointment as Apostolic Administrator is effective today, I will now begin to distribute my time between Louisville and Knoxville. It is my plan in the coming days to appoint a local priest of Knoxville to assist me in caring for that diocese. Having a priest there to assist me in Knoxville will ensure the spiritual, administrative, and practical needs of Knoxville are met in an efficient and appropriate manner."
Fabre encouraged the archdiocese priests and thanked them for their patience and understanding, saying he wants to remain available to them as he splits his time between Lousiville and Knoxville.
"In addition, the values we discussed during the last session of our recent priests' convocation are also something that I plan to address with intentionality and focus in the coming months," he said.
Rumors of his imminent departure have circulated for months among some in the church community, including priests who have sought Vatican intervention.
Stika, who has battled ill health in recent years, turns 66 on July 4.
"People will speculate on why I am doing this. I have been dealing with life-threatening health issues most of my adult life. I have been living with Type-1 diabetes since 1980. I nearly died from a diabetic coma in 2009 and as a result I lost vision in one of my eyes. I was hospitalized for another grave diabetic scare in 2015. I have survived a heart attack, heart bypass surgery, and I have four heart stents. I am also suffering from neuropathy. Last month, I was transported to a hospital in East Tennessee for another health issue," Stika said.
Stika said in an email to diocesan leaders and others that he intends to remain in active ministry.
"My desire is to remain in active ministry, but at a slower pace. I would like to do so near my hometown, St. Louis, and to continue to live with Cardinal Justin Rigali, whom I have known for almost 30 years and who has been in residence with me in Knoxville for 12 years," he said. "I have tremendous love for East Tennessee. It has been my home for almost 15 years, and I plan to return often to visit friends, celebrate Masses when asked, and take in UT games."
A native of St. Louis, he took over in 2009 as bishop of the Knoxville-based diocese, which stretches from Chattanooga up to the Tri-Cities.
One of his lasting contributions to the diocese was the construction of the cathedral on Northshore Drive, the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It was dedicated in 2018.
Recent turmoil within the diocese has been reported by several Catholic-focused media including The National Catholic Reporter and the Pillar online investigative site.
The bishop has come under increasing scrutiny and pressure in the past two years, in part because of his steadfast defense of a Polish seminarian he welcomed into the diocese.
"I recognize that questions about my leadership have played out publicly in recent months. I would be less than honest if I didn’t admit that some of this has weighed on me physically and emotionally. For these reasons, I asked the Holy Father for relief from my responsibilities as a diocesan bishop," Stika said.
The seminarian is accused of rape in 2019 by a now former church musician in an ongoing Knox County Circuit Court lawsuit. The seminarian has not been charged with a crime.
Records obtained by 10News and interviews with several priests in the diocese show Stika took the seminarian into his home, relied on him as a driver at times and took trips with him, including one to the Vatican.
He shortened a 2021 internal investigation into the seminarian's conduct launched once it became widely known within the diocese. Stika always said plainly he thought the seminarian was innocent and the musician was the aggressor and instigator.
Later in 2021, Stika arranged for the seminarian to attend St. Louis University at diocese's expense.
By September 2021, some priests in the diocese had begun putting together a letter seeking action by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio in Washington, D.C. They expressed their reservations about Stika's leadership. The nuncio acts as a liaison and formal representative of the pope.
Multiple priests signed the letter sent to Pierre. They declined to be identified because they feared retaliation for speaking out.
A Vatican investigative team did end up traveling to Knoxville and interviewing various people, according to the priests and several Catholic media reports. What happened as a result of that investigation wasn't readily apparent.
The church musician sued the diocese and Stika in February 2022, three years after the alleged misconduct. He alleges the defendants tried to cover up what had happened to him and shuffled blame for it to him instead of the seminarian.
A Gatlinburg church member has filed a separate, unrelated lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Knoxville. It, too, accuses Stika of poor leadership.
The complaint filed in November 2022 on behalf of a Honduran woman alleges she was sexually battered by priest Antony Punnackal in 2020 inside a Gatlinburg church. Punnackal faces trial in Sevier County later this summer.
The federal lawsuit names the diocese, Punnackal and the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate as defendants.
The complaint alleges the diocese tried to discredit her and to silence her when she began making accusations against Punnackal. The complaint is on hold while the criminal case against the priest proceeds in Sevier County Circuit Court.
“I offer my genuine and heartfelt apology to anyone I have disappointed over the years. I have tremendous respect for everyone, even my detractors. I ask that you pray for Archbishop Fabre as he oversees this diocese in the short term and for your new bishop when he is selected. Finally, I humbly ask that you please pray for me," Stika said.
