A second priest has testified as part of a lawsuit that accuses the Diocese of Knoxville of covering up an alleged same-sex rape involving a seminarian.
On Wednesday, September 24, Father Brent Shelton, former pastor of St. Mary Parish in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, gave deposition testimony via Zoom in the case of John Doe (pseudonym) v. Catholic Diocese of Knoxville and Bishop Richard F. Stika. Fr. Shelton appeared as a witness for the plaintiff in response to a subpoena requiring both oral testimony and production of relevant, non-privileged documents.
The plaintiff, John Doe, alleges that in 2019 he was raped by diocesan seminarian Wojciech Sobczuk while employed by the Diocese of Knoxville. He further alleges that the defendants failed to conduct an adequate investigation and defamed him.
Fr. Shelton was ordered to produce documents not previously submitted under an earlier 2022 subpoena, including:
- Records of any diocesan investigations of Sobczuk,
- Records relating to Sobczuk’s discipline, suspension, or expulsion by any seminary, diocese, parish, institution, or religious order, and
- Records regarding investigations of the diocese itself, including those conducted under Vos Estis Lux Mundi.
The plaintiff’s attorneys have cited Vos Estis Lux Mundi—Pope Francis’s 2019 decree establishing universal norms for addressing suspected sexual abuse—because in 2022 the Vatican authorized an investigation into the Diocese of Knoxville after priests and laity lodged complaints with the U.S. Apostolic Nuncio, Cardinal Christophe Pierre.
Bishop Stika resigned the See of Knoxville in the summer of 2023, citing health concerns. However, The Pillar reported that Pope Francis asked for Bp. Stika’s resignation.
Continue reading at LifeSite News