Sunday, August 16, 2009

prayer chain

Posts on social networking sites are requesting prayers for Knoxville Bishop Richard F. Stika. My wife saw Facebook status updates from a deacon's wife and from an employee of the diocese that said the bishop had a heart attack. While that may turn out to be true, we don't know for sure. Bishop Stika did have bypass surgery in 2004 when he was still a monsignor in St. Louis.

I did a few quick online searches and found a Twitter posting from Notre Dame High School in Chattanooga that said, "Please pray for Bishop Richard Stika. He had a medical emergency while traveling and is currently in intensive care, in stable condition." The Diocese of Knoxville sent a similar Twitter update.

Posts to a Bishop Stika fan page on Facebook offer unconfirmed details on his condition. Some make it sound more dire than the official word from the diocese. The man posting the bad news says Bishop Stika fell in while in Florida. However the schedule on the diocesan website has him in San Antonio most of this month for Spanish language training.

Fr. Christian Mathis, who occasionally posts comments on my blog, posted an email from the Chancellor on his own blog. I just sent a text message to another priest asking if he had any more information. If I learn anything, I will post it in the comments section of this post.

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7 Comments:

Blogger TheMrsFoolMonty said...

Will keep him in my prayers.

8/16/2009  
Blogger Frank Murphy said...

The News Sentinel has a brief story about the bishop's hospitalization.

First Baptist pastor William Shiell is expressing his concern and asking for prayers for Bishop Stika via Twitter.

8/16/2009  
Blogger Frank Murphy said...

from http://www.dioceseofknoxville.org/

Statement about Bishop Richard Stika’s hospitalization

Aug. 17, 2009

KNOXVILLE—The Diocese of Knoxville is asking all of the faithful to join together in prayer for their new shepherd, Bishop Richard F. Stika, who has been hospitalized following a sudden illness brought on by a chronic medical condition.

The diocese announced today that Bishop Stika fell ill while traveling to visit a sick friend. He is in stable condition and is responsive and doing well after his admission to the hospital. Updates will be communicated when available.

8/17/2009  
Blogger Frank Murphy said...

The story on WBIR.com quotes Fr. Ragan Schriver.

8/17/2009  
Anonymous KC said...

I got the email from Sacred Heart about this last night, but hadn't seen anything about it being a heart attack. Is that still what they're thinking it was?

8/17/2009  
Blogger Frank Murphy said...

At this point "heart attack" is still a rumor. Reading between the lines of the official statement from the Diocese and Fr. Ragan's quote to WBIR, makes me think that the emergency involved his diabetes in some way. The official statement is also worded in such a way as to discourage the outrageous rumors on Facebook.

8/17/2009  
Blogger Frank Murphy said...

New update from the Diocese:

Aug. 17, 2009

Deacon Sean Smith, chancellor of the Diocese of Knoxville, offers the following update regarding Bishop Richard F. Stika:

As we now understand it, Bishop Stika traveled to Florida to visit a sick friend and became ill with severe flu-like symptoms, which precipitated a diabetic crisis. Although the Bishop suffered a mild heart attack related to the diabetic crisis, his heart was thoroughly examined and found to be in great shape.

He had a very good night and is stable and responding well to his treatment. He is looking forward to returning home to Knoxville.

I am in contact with Bishop Stika’s doctors hourly and will continue to update you all as I get new information. Let us give thanks for this encouraging information and pray for his continued recovery.

8/17/2009  

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