Father Franco, who has served as pastor of Immaculate Conception since August 2010, is a New York City native who was ordained a priest in October 1995. more recently criticized for permitting a Knoxville seminarian to live in the bishops residence, work as his personal assistant with an office in the diocesan chancery, and remain formally a diocesan seminarian, even after the man was dismissed in February from a seminary outside the diocese, for multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, and was accused in 2019 of sexually assaulting a parish employee. Father Resen has served as pastor at Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City since 2014. He remains vicar general and a consultor for the diocese. Babu, Pastor, St. Pius X Parish in Owensboro. Fr. He was ordained a deacon in 2007 by Bishop Kurtz and then had to wait for nearly three years until Bishop Stika was installed as the new shepherd of the Diocese of Knoxville before he was ordained a priest in November 2010. And Father Jorge Mejia, also a priest of the Congregation of the Mission, Lazarists, Vincentians who joined the Diocese of Knoxville earlier this year, has been named associate pastor of All Saints Parish in Knoxville effective July 13. Father Collins also has been working with the Latin Mass community in Johnson City. Reverend Terry Weber, from Pastor of St. Michael, Sioux Falls, to Pastor of St. John, Plankinton, St. Peter, White Lake, and St. Mary, Stickney. Father Sam Sturm will be the new pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in LaFollette, Christ the King Parish, and St. Jude Parish in Helenwood effective Oct. 1. Peter and Paul, Chattanooga and Chaplain of University of Tennessee Chattanooga Neumann Center (Sept. 9, 2020) Father Adam Kane Associate Pastor, Holy Ghost Church, Knoxville (Oct. 1, 2020) and temporary Parochial Administrator, Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church, LaFollette; Christ the King Church, Tazewell; St. Jude Church, Helenwood( Until Oct. 1, 2020) Father Moiss Moreno Associate Pastor, Basilica of Sts. Father Mark Beckman is reappointed to an additional six-year term as Pastor of St. Henry Church in Nashville. Copyright 2023 Diocese of Knoxville. Father Bruce DeRammelaere, 58, remains as pastor at St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Davenport and will also serve as dean of the Davenport Deanery. Father Moiss Moreno, parochial vicar and chaplain of the Hispanic community at the Basilica of Sts. Bishop Thomas Zinkula has announced 22 clergy assignment changes effective July 1. A signed copy was sent to the Apostolic Nuncio office. Deacon Dan Freeman will serve as parish life coordinator and deacon at St. Mary Parish in Wilton. Reverend Kenneth Koster, from Pastor of Holy Rosary, Kranzburg, and St John, Castlewood, to Senior Priest. Reverend DeWayne Kayser, from Pastor of St Mary, Salem, to Chaplain Sanford USD Medical Center & Hospital, Sioux Falls. Father Cano is a native of Colombia who was ordained to the priesthood in his home country in 2009. Before immigrating, he was working as a vascular surgery resident in Ireland, England, and even Read more . In March 2020, a priest of the diocese circulated an email to other local priests, saying Stikas leadership was a problem in the diocese, and was getting worse., The email accused Stika of lying, bullying, bad example-setting, shaming, overspending, not following through with what he said he would do, and going through the guise of consulting but not taking any of our suggestions into consideration., My heart and my prayers go out to the bishop, the priest wrote, adding he is not capable of understanding how his behavior affects us.. He remains in his current roles as pastor at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport and director of seminarians for the Diocese of Davenport. Please keep the priests and parishes in your prayers as they settle into new assignments. Ordained in 2004, he has served at Prince of Peace Parish in Clinton, St. Mary Parish and Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City, and director of vocations and associate director of vocations for the diocese. Reverend Cesar Valencia, PES, to Pastor of the parishes of Holy Family and Holy Spirit in Mitchell. References to the seminarians case in the priests letter include the following allegations: Then there are other instances, the priests allege, when Stika behaved inappropriately. During the exhumation of the remains of a priest with an open cause for sainthood, the bishop made repeated remarks about the clearly evident pubic hairs of the departed priest, remarks which are now widely known among the faithful, and which, sadly, will now be popularly associated with the cause of this priest for years to come.. Check out this Jesuit/Dominican rap battle, Report: Wave of murders after elections in Nigeria forces Catholic diocese staff to evacuate, Portuguese bishops announce steps to end sexual abuse in the Church, Newly discovered ancient galaxies put spotlight on Big Bang Theory, Gods act of creation, Bravo Mayor Adams! NYC mayors speech on state and religion draws Catholic kudos, Albany Diocese places hold on all traditional Latin Masses in parishes except at martyrs shrine. In 2009, he was named pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Chattanooga, and prior to that he led St. Mary Parish in Athens and also served as associate pastor of OLPH in Chattanooga. Multiple sources in the Diocese of Knoxville toldThe Pillarthat Stika did eventually seek to ordain the deacon a priest of Knoxville, despite objections from senior diocesan officials and additional psychological experts. Father Blatchford, who was ordained to the priesthood in May 2014, also has served as sacramental minister to the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Catholic Center and previously served as associate pastor at All Saints Church in Knoxville. He continued studies at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga to prepare for ordination in East Tennessee. Sister Peter Miriams love for Christ and His Church inspired her to serve a year with NET Ministries, where she traveled around the country facilitating retreats for Catholic youth, challenging them to love Christ and embrace the life of the Church. He was ordained in 1969 and has served at St. Patrick Parish and The Alverno in Clinton, Holy Family Parish and School in Davenport, Sacred Heart Parish and Mater Dei High School in Clinton, All Saints Parish in Keokuk and St. Paul the Apostle and St. Mary Parish in Davenport. He was ordained in 1985 and has served at Our Lady of Victory Parish in Davenport, Sacred Heart Parish in Kinross, Holy Trinity Parish in Richmond, St. Joseph Parish in Wellman, St. Patrick Parish in Melrose, St. Patrick Parish in Georgetown and St. Peter Parish in Lovilia. Deacon Mark Comer, while remaining a deacon at St. Joseph Parish in DeWitt, also assigned as deacon of Ss. He will continue to coordinate the Latin Mass community at Holy Ghost. All Rights Reserved. But priests and laity in the Knoxville diocese say Stika has a history of relationships that appear to be inappropriate, and that appear to impact his judgment. Its super overwhelming, but maybe thats a good thing because its so serious and so important. Father ONeill, who serves the Diocese of Nashville as pastor of Holy Trinity Church in Hohenwald, Christ the Redeemer Church in Centerville, and St. Cecilia Church in Waynesboro, is a native of Dublin, Ireland, who came to the United States in 1993. Father David Steinle, 70, will retire. Father David Carter, pastor of the basilica, has been reappointed to that ministerial post for a six-year term effective Sept. 1. The investigation brought church officials to Knoxville to learn more about two lawsuits targeting the diocese over its handling of sex abuse allegations and complaints about Stikas leadership. The sacramental needs of Pope John Paul II High School will be provided for by Our Lady of the Lake Church in Hendersonville for the 2021-2022 School Year, with the anticipation of a stable chaplain being appointed in the Summer of 2022. Lay and clerical sources say the bishop appeared to favor the employee and was seen frequently socializing with him. She started as the full-time diocesan Young Adult Ministry coordinator on May 1. Father John Burns, who was granted senior status on March 1, is pictured with gifts he received May 2 from members of the three parishes he served since 2005 -- St. John the Apostle in Woodhull, St. John the Evangelist in Galva, and St. John Vianney in Cambridge. When the results came back and were evaluated by the personnel of the Diocese of Knoxville the vocations director and the leadership of the Diocese of Knoxville they 100% said he should not be admitted [as a candidate for] our diocese under any circumstances. Previously, he was an associate pastor at Sacred Heart Cathedral and associate vocations director for the Diocese of Knoxville. FEBRUARY 6, 2023. Young will share in the duties of vicar general with Fr. Buckman, Rev. Pierre is the representative of the American church to the Vatican in Rome. Reverend Ken Lulf, from Pastor of Holy Family and Holy Spirit, Mitchell, St. Martin, Emery, St. Mary of Mercy, Alexandria, and St. Stephen, Bridgewater, to Pastor of Sacred Heart, Eden, and St. Joseph, Grenville. Copyright 2009-2023 The Catholic Messenger All rights reserved. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Enter your email address to subscribe to The East Tennessee Catholic and receive notifications of new posts by email. Father Schuster was ordained by Bishop Stika and has served as an associate pastor of St. John Neumann Parish in Farragut since his ordination. Bishop Richard Stika reportedly intended to ordain the deacon a priest, despite objections from both Knoxvilles diocesan priests and psychological experts. Subscribe to the print and/or e-edition, or make aone-time donation, today! Father Resen, 75, serves at Holy Trinity Parish in Jefferson City and has been active in the pro-life ministry in East Tennessee. Father Jim Vick has been named pastor of St. Bridget beginning Oct. 1. Father Jhon Mario Garcia, a priest of the Congregation of the Mission, Lazarists, Vincentians who joined the Diocese of Knoxville earlier this year, has been named associate pastor at the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus effective July 1. John H. Burton, Pastor, Christ the Good Shepherd, Vineland. He previously served as Associate Pastor at Immaculate Conception Church in Clarksville. And so the diocese needs help., For his part, Stika told The Pillarlast week that the majority of Knoxville priests support his recent decisions regarding the seminarian, and that a minority criticizing him are doing so because they dont have all the facts.. Father Guillermo Trevino, 35, will become pastor of St. Joseph Parish in West Liberty and St. Joseph Parish in Columbus Junction while remaining chaplain at Regina Catholic Education Center in Iowa City. Unless noted, the appointments are effective July 1. There are a number of references to the former seminarian accused of raping a church employee. Father Hendershott, who was ordained to the priesthood in 2015, has been serving as part-time associate pastor of Holy Ghost and coordinator of the Latin Mass community there.