What we all know in regards to the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville … – Knoxville Information Sentinel
Within the final 12 months, the Catholic Diocese of Knoxville has been hit with two lawsuits alleging improper investigations into sexual assault complaints. These lawsuits cracked open the internal workings of the diocese.
In the midst of reporting on the lawsuits, Knox Information has printed numerous articles detailing totally different facets of how the diocese has, and has not, held itself accountable.
Here’s a take a look at the findings of Knox Information’ investigation.
John Doe is a placeholder title within the lawsuit to guard the determine of a former church worker who alleged a diocesan seminarian raped him. It additionally particulars how the church, led by Bishop Richard Stika, interfered with the investigation and labored to discredit him.
Jane Doe is a placeholder title in a lawsuit to guard the identification of the girl, a Honduran asylum seeker dwelling in Gatlinburg who alleges the Rev. Antony Devassey Punnackal, of St. Mary’s Catholic Church, groped her whereas he recommended her after the demise of the daddy of her toddler.
The lady alleges the diocese labored to discredit and intimidate her. Punnackal was later indicted by a Sevier County grand jury on two counts of sexual battery.
As the 2 lawsuits swirled across the diocese, officials received an apostolic visit late last year. These visits are sometimes ordered by church authorities to dig into the religious well-being of a diocese.
Apostolic visitations typically are a signal that church leaders are concerned about a matter and provides them an opportunity to talk immediately with individuals concerned.
Two individuals who performed key roles in a evaluate by the diocese into whether or not a seminarian raped a diocesan worker in 2019 advised Knox Information that Stika interfered by firing the investigator, independently confirming allegations which might be detailed in a lawsuit by the person who says he was sexually assaulted.
The person who changed the investigator reportedly solely interviewed the previous worker and never the alleged sufferer.
Three months after the diocese and Stika had been named in the explosive sexual abuse lawsuit, leaders made the church’s sexual abuse review board meetings much more secretive, together with requiring members to signal nondisclosure agreements and disallowing word taking.
For roughly 10 months after the demise of the diocese’s longtime sufferer help coordinator, the diocese leaders replaced the person with a top church official, not a licensed therapist. In December, the diocese and native nonprofit, the McNabb Heart, entered right into a contract to supply third-party reporting companies.
A spokesperson for the church mentioned no complaints had been made within the interim.
Going in opposition to the norms of the Catholic Church, Stika was listed as a member of the evaluate board that investigates allegations of sexual misconduct, a transfer the diocese referred to as an oversight.
What’s extra, the diocese’s lawyer also is a member of the review board, that means the identical individual is concurrently defending the diocese and conducting what’s alleged to be an impartial investigation into the allegation.
A spokesperson for the diocese has mentioned he’s “assured that no conflicts exist underneath the info of the case.”
Tyler Whetstone is an investigative reporter centered on accountability journalism. Join with Tyler by emailing him at [email protected]. Observe him on Twitter @tyler_whetstone. Make our group, our society and our republic stronger by supporting strong native journalism. Subscribe on-line at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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