STIKA WITH A LAWSUIT
NEWS: VIDEO REPORTS
Diocese accused of cover-up
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TRANSCRIPT
The diocese of Knoxville and its bishop are the target of a lawsuit involving homosexual predation. It was filed Tuesday in the circuit court for Knox County, Tennessee. An anonymous plaintiff, John Doe, alleges he was sexually harassed and raped by a diocesan seminarian.
Church Militant's William Mahoney has more on the lawsuit and the seminarian accused.
Wojciech Sobczuk is accused of raping a former parish organist at the musician's home on Feb. 5, 2019. The lawsuit also alleges Sobczuk sexually harassed Doe on numerous occasions at Most Sacred Heart of Jesus Cathedral in Knoxville, where the two worked.
The suit further claims Bp. Richard Stika knew Sobczuk posed a danger of sexual misconduct prior to the alleged rape, tried to intimidate and silence Doe, scuttled an investigation into the incident and even claimed it was Doe who raped Sobczuk.
Sobczuk began in Chicago, entering the Jesuit order at age 18. He transferred to SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, roughly 30 miles north of Detroit. From there, Sobczuk shopped for a bishop to sponsor him, ultimately being invited to Knoxville, where he lived with Bp. Stika, who allegedly knew about Sobczuk's misconduct and protected him.
Meanwhile, Sobczuk seems to have vanished. A site search on the diocesan website yields no results. A site search on the cathedral website only yields two results — one from 2018 about Sobczuk's installation as an acolyte and another from 2019 about a Polish Mass at which he assisted.
Reminiscent of the '90s game-show title Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, many are wondering, "Where in the world is Wojciech Sobczuk?"
Cardinal Justin Rigali resides with Bp. Stika at his residence. The two worked together in the Saint Louis archdiocese. Rigali ended his career under the cloud of clergy sex abuse.
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