In late 2022, during the height of the scrutiny faced by Diocese of Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika, high-ranking Catholic leaders paid a visit to see what the trouble was about.
Publicly, the diocese never confirmed the apostolic visitation happened. When Knox News reported the event in early 2023 based on three anonymous sources with knowledge of the visit, a spokesperson said confirmation would have to come from the Vatican in Rome.
That confirmation never came…