A trial judge threw out the lawsuit by 37-year-old Christopher Amenn in 2006, ruling that the O'Fallon man waited too long to file it in 2003 over abuse he says the Reverend Kenneth Roberts inflicted on him in 1984.
Amenn says he didn't understand the harm he suffered until he sought counseling in the late 1990s.
But in a two-to-one decision, the Mount Vernon-based Fifth District Appellate Court says Amenn can have his day in court.
The Belleville's diocese's attorney says the ruling is inconsistent with previous decisions.
