The bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, resigns following allegations he mishandled sex abuse allegations, complaints from several of his priests about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation.
and several of his priests complained about his leadership and behavior, sparking a Vatican investigation.’s resignation, according to a one-line statement from the Vatican. At 65, Stika is still 10 years below the normal retirement age for bishops.
In media interviews, Stika has strongly defended his actions and his leadership and said he worked to bring unity in the diocese. In addition to the priests’ complaints, Stika is the subject of at least two lawsuits that accuse him of mishandling sexual abuse allegations and seeking to silence the accusers. In one, a former employee at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville — who uses the pseudonym John Doe — accused a seminarian there of harassing and raping him in 2019.
The suit accuses the diocese of spreading rumors about the woman that led to her being shunned and harassed in the community. Around the same time, a group of priests from the Diocese of Knoxville sent a letter to Archbishop Christophe Pierre, the apostolic nuncio who serves as a representative for Pope Francis in the United States.
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