Bishop Rick Stika, who resigned from leadership of the Diocese of Knoxville in 2023, has died.
Stika was 68 years old. He suffered from diabetes and heart problems, including a 2009 heart attack and a 2018 bypass surgery.
Stika had led the Diocese of Knoxville for almost 15 years before — amid allegations of cover-up — the Vatican requested his resignation, which was accepted by Pope Francis in June 2023.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1957, Stika was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of St. Louis in 1985.
He served in parish appointments for a number of years, as well as in the roles of chancellor, vicar general, and vicar for priests.
In 2009, he was named Bishop of Knoxville.
Stika’s tenure became tumultuous in 2021, when allegations surfaced that he had interfered with an investigation into claims of sexual assault by a seminarian.
Stika in 2021 admitted to The Pillar that he interfered with a diocesan review board investigation into the allegation that seminarian Wojciech Sobczuk raped a parish organist.
The bishop said that he removed the investigator appointed by the diocesan review board because he “was asking all these questions.” He insisted that he “knew in [his] heart” that Sobczuk was innocent.
Stika admitted a close relationship with Sobczuk, who periodically lived with him during his tenure as a diocesan seminarian.
Priests of the Knoxville diocese spent more than two years asking the Vatican to address Stika’s alleged failures of leadership before he ultimately resigned.
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When he resigned from office in June 2023, 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.”
On the same day, Stika told a local journalist that he had been a victim of sexual abuse by a priest as a teenager, and added that he had never covered up abuse in his diocese.
He told his priests that he expected to “remain in active ministry, but at a slower pace,” and that he would move to St. Louis, Missouri, his hometown, along with Cardinal Justin Rigali, with whom he had lived for several years.
Writing then that “God has blessed me with almost 66 years of life,” the bishop added that “I have been a Catholic priest for most of that time, and I have tried my best to be a good shepherd.”
Reflecting on the Acts of the Apostles, Stika noted that “the Church isn’t perfect — it’s human, but it continues to grow in goodness, thanks be to God.”
“I offer my genuine and heartfelt apology to anyone I have disappointed over the years,” he wrote.
“I have tremendous respect for everyone, even my detractors. I will continue to keep all of you, and this diocese, in my prayers.”
“I humbly ask that you please pray for me,” he added.