A Tennessee judge has rejected a bid by the Diocese of Knoxville to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a man who has charged Bishop Rick Stika with impending a rape investigation and defaming the alleged victim.

The judge also rejected a move by the diocese to bar the disclosure of records from a Vatican investigation into Bishop Stika. However the judge did accept the argument by diocesan attorneys that the plaintiff—the alleged rape victim—should be required to identify himself in bringing the suit.