Richard Stika

Richard Stika was born on July 4, 1957, in St. Louis, Missouri, to Frank and Helen (née Musielak) Stika; his father was of Czech heritage and his mother Polish.[3] The third of four children, he has three brothers, Lawrence, Robert, and Joseph. He was baptized at St. Francis de Sales Church on July 21, 1957, and attended Epiphany of Our Lord School in South St. Louis.[3]

Stika attended St. Augustine Minor Seminary High School[lower-alpha 1] in Holland, Michigan, for one year, where he alleges that he was sexually abused by an Augustinian priest.[5] He then transferred to Bishop DuBourg High School in St. Louis, graduating in 1975.[3] He then studied at St. Louis University, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in business in 1979. Stika then entered Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, Missouri, where he earned a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1981 and a Master of Divinity degree in 1985.[3] Cardinal John Carberry ordained Stika as a deacon on May 1, 1985.

Stika was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop John L. May on December 14, 1985, for the Archdiocese of St. Louis. After his ordination, Stika served as an associate pastor of Mary Queen of Peace Parish in Webster Groves, Missouri, until 1991.[6] In 1991, He was appointed spiritual director of the Catholic Youth Organization and associate director of the Office of Vocations. Stika was also transferred to be an associate pastor at St. Paul Parish in Fenton, Missouri (1991–1992) and later at the Cathedral of St. Louis Parish (1992–1994).[6]

From 1994 to 2004, Stika served as chancellor of the archdiocese. During this period, he also served as private secretary and master of ceremonies to Archbishop Justin Rigali (1994–1997), vicar general and vicar for religious (1997–2004), and member of the College of Consultors (1997–2009). Stika coordinated Pope John Paul II's visit to St. Louis in 1999.[3]

Named vicar for priests in 2002, Stika served as both pastor of the Church of the Annunziata Parish in Ladue, Missouri, and episcopal vicar for Child and Youth Protection from 2004 to 2009.[6]

On January 12, 2009, Stika was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Knoxville by Pope Benedict XVI.[7] He was ordained to the episcopate on March 19, 2009. from Cardinal Rigali, with Archbishop Joseph Kurtz and Bishop Robert Shaheen serving as co-consecrators, at the Knoxville Convention Center.[8] Stika selected as his episcopal motto: Iesu Confido In Te ("Jesus, I Trust in You").[9]

Possessing bi-ritual faculties, Stika can also celebrate the West Syriac Rite Holy Qurbono according to the recension of the Maronite Church, an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the pope.[3] He is also a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. He is a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.[3] He is a close friend of Cardinal Rigali and considered the latter's protégé.[10][11]

In September 2014, Stika initiated fundraising to construct a new Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus in Knoxville,[12] He dedicated it on March 3, 2018.[13]

Questions concerning the funding of the cathedral arose in 2021, as diocesan priests and employees alleged that Stika had taken funds from diocesan education and employee benefit funds, including loan money from the Paycheck Protection Program, to pay for the 36 million dollar cathedral. One anonymous priest of the diocese said "we are nearly bankrupt... there's just not going to be cash there."[14]

In April 2021, an official of the Congregation for Bishops stated that the Holy See had received about ten accusations against Stika under the auspices of the Motu proprio Vos estis lux mundi, which were being reviewed. He said it was likely that Archbishop Kurtz would be granted power to investigate.[15]

In 2021, 11 priests of the Diocese of Knoxville, roughly 20 percent of the presbyterate, feeling that they had exhausted all alternative courses of action, wrote to the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, requesting of the Holy See "merciful relief" from Stika's leadership. They wrote that:[16]

Our experience of our appointed bishop varies among us, but the undersigned do share a common awareness that the past twelve years of service under Bishop Stika have been, on the whole, detrimental to priestly fraternity and even to our personal well-being.

While we acknowledge the reality of suffering that comes with bearing our daily crosses, our appointed bishop seems determined to increase that suffering for his own purposes, purposes which seem unrelated to the demands of the Gospel.

What we have not attempted to relay to you here by way of example is the lack of sympathy the bishop demonstrates for his priests facing personal trials, or the lack of charity he displays for such priests when he speaks about us to others, even publicly.... It seems to us that ours is a depressed presbyterate, and has been developing as such for twelve years, due to the leadership of Bishop Stika.

It is precisely in a spirit of total dependence upon the pastoral leadership of the Apostolic See that we make this appeal for merciful relief—in whatever form is judged possible and appropriate—from the sufferings we’ve endured these past twelve years. We have no recourse other than the Holy See.

On May 13, 2023, it was reported that Vatican officials would request Stika's resignation as bishop of Knoxville following accusations of administrative mismanagement and cover-up of sexual misconduct allegations against a former seminarian.[17]

Pope Francis accepted his resignation on June 27, 2023.[18] Despite criticism of his leadership and recent sexual lawsuits he was facing, Stika stated that his resignation was purely health related.[19] It was also noted that he suffered from diabetes for decades and had experienced a heart attack, heart bypass surgery and a diabetic coma that resulted in vision loss in one eye.[19]

A lawsuit filed against Stika and the Diocese of Knoxville in February 2021 alleged that in February 2019 Wojciech Sobczuk, a Polish seminarian whom Stika had invited to study in the diocese on the recommendation of Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz in 2018,[26] had raped and sexually harassed an organist employed by Sacred Heart Cathedral. The lawsuit also claimed that prior to becoming a seminarian for the Diocese of Knoxville Sobczuk had been dismissed from the Jesuits after being accused of sexual misconduct at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan.[27] The lawsuit alleged that Stika had intimidated the 2019 rape victim in an attempt to silence him, accusing the victim of raping Sobczuk.[2] Stika also recommended the two keep in contact via Snapchat, a social media app in which messages disappear after being sent.[28]

Shortly after the alleged rape, Sobczuk was sent to St. Meinrad Seminary in Indiana. The seminary dismissed him in March 2021 following new accusations of sexual misconduct that included groping, tickling, and sending explicit Snapchat messages, and watching a seminarian change clothes through a window.[29] Stika said that Sobczuk remained classified as a seminarian of the diocese even after his dismissal to protect his immigration status, which led to public speculation of immigration fraud.[30] Sobczuk continued to live in the episcopal residence and in September 2021 accompanied Stika on a 10-day vacation.[31]

In response to the rape allegation against Sobczuk, the diocesan review board appointed a retired law enforcement officer to conduct an investigation. Stika dismissed him for "asking all these questions".[32] Stika appointed a replacement investigator who interviewed only Sobczuk before closing his investigation.[30] The seminarians at St. Meinrad who had accused Sobczuk of harassing and assaulting them were never interviewed.

While a seminarian, Sobczuk received special treatment from Stika and lived in the bishop's home when not at St. Meinrad. In December 2019, Stika arranged for Sobczuk to miss over a week of classes to accompany Stika on his ad limina visit to the Vatican. Between mid-2018 and 2020 $4,000 of diocesan funds were earmarked as cash gifts for Sobczuk, and the diocese also paid his phone bill and reimbursed nearly $30,000 in expenses for travel, car repairs, and other personal expenditures. Sobczuk also received monthly stipends that ranged from $600–$1000, three to five times higher than the typical seminarian's stipend.[29]