KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — As East Tennessee Catholic priests and laity adjust to the departure of 14-year Bishop Richard F. Stika, some are making their thoughts about him plain and pointed.
"I believe in my heart that Bishop Stika didn’t know how to relate to the truth. Those of us who worked with him could not trust him because his actions did not match his words," Father Peter Iorio, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Alcoa, part of the Knoxville Diocese, said during a noon Tuesday mass after word of Stika's resignation had been released.
"And I shared this with him in a loving way directly because scripture says that we need to go to the person if we disagree. Trust is a foundational quality needed in any leader to be a person of integrity. Do to others what you would want them to do to you."
Stika, who turns 66 next week, and the Vatican announced Tuesday he was retiring. He cited health problems as a key reason.
Critics within the diocese have been seeking his replacement for more than 18 months, upset about his leadership and handling of accusations that a seminarian raped a church musician in early 2019.
Iorio was part of an internal review board in spring 2021 that looked into allegations that the Polish seminarian assaulted the church musician.
Stika was protective of the seminarian, noting he'd come to Tennessee on the recommendation of the late Pope John Paul II's righthand man, records show.
The young man lived with the bishop and retired Cardinal Justin Rigali in Knoxville for a time, drove them around and even traveled with them to the Vatican. But internal records also portray him as promiscuous and in pursuit of young men.
The board's review of the alleged attack was brief. Stika removed the board's designated investigator and tapped someone else, a board member, to conduct interviews.
Records reviewed by WBIR show only the seminarian was interviewed; he portrayed his relationship with the musician as a friendship in which the musician became sexually aggressive toward him.
Stika declared the investigation over within a matter of weeks in spring 2021 and ensured the seminarian could move on to his alma mater, St. Louis University, to get an education at diocese expense, records show.
The former seminarian has not been charged criminally. The musician in February 2022 filed a lawsuit in Knox County Circuit Court against Stika and the diocese. It's pending.
Catholic media organizations became increasingly critical and attentive of the bishop's time in Knoxville. Stika has said he did nothing wrong. The diocese has said it can't comment because of litigation.
A Honduran woman also has filed a federal complaint, alleging the church tried to discredit her after she accused a Gatlinburg priest of fondling her. That lawsuit is on hold while the priest, Antony Punnackal, faces prosecution for sexual battery in Sevier County.
A number of priests grew increasingly frustrated and offended by Stika's leadership, records show. They sought intervention by a Vatican representative, records show, in the fall of 2021.
Iorio, a priest of 30 years, was among them, court records show.
During Tuesday's mass, Iorio invoked the Golden Rule at least four times, clearly trying to drive home a point.
"In my discernment it is a sweet day because Bishop Stika has resigned," he said.
"All of the stories in the media have been true. I personally have continued to dialogue with the former bishop of Knoxville during these last two years, saying numerous times to him, Love speaks the truth, and love seeks the truth.
"It is an aspect of the Golden Rule."
The pastor called it a "sweet day going forward" Tuesday because "we will no longer have to be in limbo each and every day wondering what our leader will do or say that often has caused suffering to others."
Iorio said he would have liked to celebrate a mass of thanksgiving for Stika. It would have given people in the diocese a chance to thank him, forgive him and bless him, he said.
Damage has been done, Iorio noted. Now it's time to heal and compensate the victims.
Lay member Kristy Higgins of the Chattanooga area told WBIR it was time for a change. Higgins, who had sought his replacement, said Stika covered up allegations against the seminarian, an accusation Stika told 10News was untrue.
"It's tough to hear criticism," the bishop said Tuesday in an interview. "Most of it's unwarranted. But it's real."
Priests in the diocese had reached the point where they felt they couldn't say what they thought, Higgins said.
"The feeling among our priests (was) that they were afraid of retribution, they were afraid to really come out and help us in any way publicly," Higgins said.
Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre of Louisville has been appointed apostolic administrator in Knoxville. He was set to meet Wednesday night with church members at the Cathedral of Most Sacred Heart of Jesus on Northshore Drive.
