- Feb 5, 2002
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Pope Francis accepted Tuesday the resignation from office of Bishop Rick Stika, the embattled Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, who was accused in 2021 of several failures of leadership, including the cover-up of sexual assault allegations made against a diocesan seminarian.
The Vatican appointed Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville to serve as apostolic administrator of the Knoxville diocese; Fabre said Tuesday morning that he would appoint a Knoxville priest to assist him in that role.
The resignation comes six weeks after The Pillar reported that the Vatican would request the bishop’s resignation — and after priests of the Knoxville diocese spent more than two years asking the Vatican to address Stika’s alleged failures of leadership.
In an email to priests June 27, Stika cited his health problems, adding that “questions about my leadership … weighed on me emotionally and physically. For these reasons, I asked the Holy Father for relief from responsibilities as a diocesan bishop.”
Continued below.
www.pillarcatholic.com
The Vatican appointed Archbishop Shelton Fabre of Louisville to serve as apostolic administrator of the Knoxville diocese; Fabre said Tuesday morning that he would appoint a Knoxville priest to assist him in that role.
The resignation comes six weeks after The Pillar reported that the Vatican would request the bishop’s resignation — and after priests of the Knoxville diocese spent more than two years asking the Vatican to address Stika’s alleged failures of leadership.
In an email to priests June 27, Stika cited his health problems, adding that “questions about my leadership … weighed on me emotionally and physically. For these reasons, I asked the Holy Father for relief from responsibilities as a diocesan bishop.”
Continued below.
Stika resigns
The Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee tendered his resignation more than two years after priests asked the Vatican to help their struggling diocese.
www.pillarcatholic.com
