St Louis Priest Richard F Stika Named Bishop of Knoxville, by Tim Townsend, St Louis Post-Dispatch, January 13, 2009

St. Louis Priest Richard F. Stika Named Bishop of Knoxville

By Tim Townsend
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
January 13, 2009

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/religion/story/96190623184d93c68625753d000f9f5a?OpenDocument

Monsignor Richard Stika is a native St. Louisan and served as the director of the Archdiocese of St. Louis' Office of Child and Youth Protection.

The Vatican announced Monday that Pope Benedict XVI has named a former chancellor and vicar general of the Archdiocese of St. Louis as the third bishop of Knoxville, Tenn.

Bishop-elect Richard Stika, 51, most recently was the pastor of the Church of the Annunziata in Ladue and the director of the archdiocese's Office of Child and Youth Protection. He also coordinated the visit of Pope John Paul II to St. Louis in 1999.

Bishop-elect Richard F. Stika introduces himself during press conference on Monday at the chancery for the Diocese of Knoxville. Stika's ordination and installation as the third bishop of Knoxville is scheduled for March 19, 2008 at the Knoxville Convention Center.
Photo by Chad Greene

Bishop Robert Hermann, who temporarily is leading the archdiocese while the pope chooses a successor to former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, said he was "very sorry to lose (Stika's) immediate collaboration" but that the archdiocese was "deeply honored" to have one of its priests named a bishop.

Rob Rose, a parishioner at Annunziata, said the news that Stika would be leaving for Knoxville was bittersweet.

"We are obviously very happy for him, but it's a loss for our parish," Rose said. "He's an energetic, accessible, easy-going pastor, so I know he'll be an excellent bishop."

Stika will be installed March 19 at the Knoxville Convention Center. He succeeds Bishop Joseph Kurtz, who was named archbishop of Louisville in June 2007.

The Knoxville Diocese, which makes up the eastern third of Tennessee, was founded in 1988 and includes about 60,000 Catholics (about 3 percent of the population in 36 counties.) The diocese has 45 parishes and 60 diocesan priests. The Archdiocese of St. Louis includes 476,000 Catholics and 362 diocesan priests in 188 parishes.

Stika was born July 4, 1957, in St. Louis. He graduated from Bishop DuBourg High School and St. Louis University. He earned a master of arts degree in philosophy from Cardinal Glennon College and a master of divinity degree in theology from Kenrick Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of St. Louis on Dec. 14, 1985.

Along with his five years at Annunziata, Stika has served at Mary Queen of Peace in Webster Groves, St. Paul in Fenton and the St. Louis Cathedral Basilica. He was chancellor of the archdiocese from 1994 to 2004, and its vicar general from 1997 to 2004 — both under former St. Louis Archbishop (now Philadelphia Cardinal) Justin Rigali.

Rigali also put Stika in charge of Pope John Paul II's visit to St. Louis in 1999. Marti Aboussie was on the St. Louis Board of Alderman at the time and worked closely with Stika on the planning process. "He'll be a good administrator," said Aboussie, "but more importantly, he'll make an excellent bishop without compromising the pastoral skills that made him a great priest."

In 2004, Burke named Stika to be the director of the archdiocese's Office of Child and Youth Protection and delegate to the archdiocese's review board and chairman of its Child Safety Committee.

"With the exception of proven, admitted or credibly accused pedophiles, there is perhaps no priest in the archdiocese less qualified, in our view, to be a bishop than Richard Stika," the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said in a statement Monday. "In his dealings with child sex abuse and cover up cases here, he has repeatedly shown a penchant for secrecy, reckless and half-truths."

Hermann said in his statement that Stika served "in an outstanding way" as the point-man of the archdiocese's child protection efforts.

At a news conference Monday morning in Knoxville, Stika acknowledged that moving to a new state will mean a challenge to his sports loyalties. He said he knew he "must contemplate a change of allegiance" from the St. Louis Rams to the Tennessee Titans.

"However, I hope you will forgive me if I am not able to pledge loyalty to any baseball team except the St. Louis Cardinals," Stika said, mentioning that Stan Musial is one of his parishioners and friends. "My Cardinals cap will travel with me as I now prepare to make my home in Knoxville."