Victim advocates: Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika is gone but there is still work to do

Knoxville's recently departed Catholic bishop, Richard Stika, came into the job with a flash. Thousands of worshippers filed into a ticket-only Mass at the Knoxville Convention Center in the spring of 2009 for his installation service. Priests and laypeople. Nuns and dignitaries. It was a show.

Now, two days after his June 27 resignation, Stika’s exit has struck a decidedly different tone. At a news conference June 29, the priests, nuns and dignitaries were replaced by a gathering of clergy sex abuse victim advocates and attorneys representing clients who have sued the diocese, alleging mistreatment and abuse.

Stika cited health reasons for his resignation, and while he has battled illnesses over the years – including diabetes and clogged arteries – his position as head of the 70,000-member diocese had become tenuous because of his behavior.

His mismanagement over diocesan matters (including money), two explosive lawsuits and questions about his mentorship of a seminarian who was accused of raping a church employee, hastened his exit. The seminarian, who lived for a time with Stika, was asked to leave an Indiana seminary after complaints from other seminarians about inappropriate conduct. Later, Stika signed off on using diocesan money to pay nearly $50,000 in tuition, room and board for the former seminarian to attend St. Louis University, the bishop's alma mater.

“The resignation of Bishop Stika is an important development that has global significance,” said Patrick Thronson, who is representing John Doe in a lawsuit against the diocese and Stika. “It's not every day that a bishop resigns as a result, in significant part, of allegations of administrative misconduct and defamation associated with sexual abuse. It's also a first step in justice and accountability.”

Stika, through a diocesan spokesman, declined at least 10 opportunities to answer questions on Knox News reporting about his conduct and the controversies buffeting the diocese.

What they said

John Doe, who left his church job after the alleged rape, sued the diocese and Stika, saying the bishop interfered with an investigation into the allegation and worked to discredit him. Doe's attorney, Thronson, said the pressure against Stika in recent years wouldn’t have mounted like it has without the determination of victims to make their voices heard.

“We would not be here without the incredible courage and determination of our client. … Coming forward is a difficult process for any survivor, and the way that the diocese and Bishop Stika have conducted themselves has made this process not just difficult, but terrifying,” Thronson said.

Doe is a pseudonym to protect the man's identity because he says he was the victim of sexual assault. The diocese prevailed in a court motion to force him to attach his real name to his lawsuit, a tactic that brought considerable criticism.

Dave Wells, the former director of religious education at Sacred Heart Cathedral, said Stika failed to do the most basic of tasks for someone in charge of the faith.

“Richard Stika did not care for the flock entrusted to him. He did not protect the sheep from the wolves,” Wells said. “Richard Stika did not provide a good example to his fellow elders, his priests. Richard Stika pressured and bullied them. Some priests have left the priesthood because of him. Many were barely hanging on, praying for a change.”

The John Doe lawsuit also details how the church, led by Stika, interfered with the investigation and worked to discredit him. Knox News independently verified the interference, which led to the firing of an independent investigator.

Jane Doe is a placeholder name in a lawsuit to protect the identity of a woman, a Honduran asylum seeker living in Gatlinburg, who alleges the Rev. Antony Devassey Punnackal, of St. Mary's Catholic Church, groped her while he counseled her after the death of the father of her infant.

The woman alleges the diocese worked to discredit and intimidate her. Punnackal was later indicted by a Sevier County grand jury on two counts of sexual battery. His criminal trial begins in May.

Tyler Whetstone is a Knox News investigative reporter focused on accountability journalism. Email tyler.whetstone@knoxnews.com. Twitter @tyler_whetstone.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Advocates: Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika is gone but there is still work to do