KNOXVILLE (TN)
Chattanooga Times Free Press [Chattanooga TN]
January 29, 2025
By Andrew Schwartz
State and local investigations of two East Tennessee Catholic priests have concluded, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville announced, clearing the way for it to conduct its own review.
In what a diocese spokesperson said were unrelated cases, the Revs. Joseph Reed and Miguel Velez had been accused of “boundary violations” and placed on administrative leave in December, as government agencies looked into the complaints.
At the time, the principal of the Knoxville-area St. John Neumann Catholic School, where Reed was the top pastor, told the school community in a letter that the matter was harmless: She described the diocese’s response as an “overcorrection” while it worked to rebuild trust following past challenges with former leadership.
The diocese announced the end of the state and local investigations Monday.
Whatever its nature, the complaint against Reed was investigated by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services and local law enforcement.
“Detectives have closed the investigation, and the allegations are unsubstantiated,” Knox County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Glenn said by email Monday. “Per the court, the records are confidential because at least one juvenile was involved.”
The government agencies all came to the same conclusion, diocese spokesperson John Mecklenborg said by phone Monday, adding that the Knox County district attorney looked into the matter and opted not to press charges.
The diocese investigation “should go pretty quick,” Mecklenborg said. “We’re definitely hoping to get this resolved as soon as humanly possible.”
(READ MORE: The rise and fall of Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika)
One activist, Susan Vance of the advocacy group SNAP Tennessee, said the diocese has been inconsistent in how it investigates alleged misconduct. She recalled the resignation of former Bishop Richard Stika in 2023, after some priests and parishioners — who Stika maintained were a vocal minority — organized to make complaints that he was an egotistical and manipulative leader, and that he botched investigations into alleged misconduct within the diocese.
Vance said she sees something sinister in the way diocese leaders handled a complaint against Reed.
“Many people with whom I have spoken believe that the immediate and public accusation against Father Reed and immediate wide-spread media coverage is a retaliation by Beckman and the diocese against Reed, who stood firm against the now-disgraced former Bishop Richard Stika,” Vance said in an email Monday, referring to the new Bishop Mark Beckman.
Mecklenborg, the diocese spokesperson, said the matter is sensitive, and he encourages Vance and the others of the Catholic faithful to wait for the facts to come out before making those kind of accusations or drawing conclusions.
On Monday, Mecklenborg sent out similar letters to the St. John Neumann community and parishioners at St. Patrick Catholic Church, the home of Velez, the other priest who’d in recent weeks been placed on leave.
Hamblen County officials and the county office of child safety had concluded their investigation of Velez, and the diocese was cleared to proceed with its own, the letter said.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Knoxville encompasses parishes across East Tennessee, including those in and around Chattanooga.