A federal jury is hearing a lawsuit that accuses the Diocese of Nashville of concealing prior knowledge of allegations against Father Walter Emala. Before trial, Judge Waverly Crenshaw rejected the diocese’s request to dismiss the case under Tennessee’s statute of limitations. The ruling leaves jurors to decide when Greg Valancius knew, or reasonably should have known, of the diocese’s alleged wrongdoing; it did not decide liability, according to WKRN.
The disputed move to Maryland
The accounts cited in coverage differ over how Emala left Tennessee in 1968. WKRN reports that Diocese of Nashville Apostolic Administrator Joseph Durick directed him to retire or leave the state, and that Emala chose Maryland. A Maryland attorney general investigation, as reported by WMAR, describes Emala as banished from the Diocese of Memphis that year after multiple reports of child abuse; the report also said he went on to abuse at least six more victims within the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The discrepancy has not been resolved in the available reporting.
The plaintiff’s account, as covered by the Nashville Banner, is that the diocese granted Emala a three-year leave of absence in May 1968 and he later worked at Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish in Middle River, Maryland. The Banner reported that Valancius testified Emala asked him, then nine, to stay overnight before a planned envelope collection. Valancius alleges Emala assaulted him that night and that other incidents occurred at the church. He did not speak about the alleged abuse for 55 years, the Banner reported.
What the parties told the jury
Plaintiff’s attorney Andrew Janet argued that church leaders had warning signs years before Emala went to Maryland. According to the Banner’s account of his opening statement, the diocese put Emala on sick leave in 1959 after doctors raised concerns, and Janet described a letter from Nashville Bishop William Adrien as warning against giving Emala another pastorate without major change. Janet said the diocese continued assigning Emala locally for eight years. He also cited a 1967 letter describing sexual conduct toward boys, recommending that Emala be removed from the priesthood and advising that future employers be warned.
Janet argued that the diocese should have reported Emala to police and warned others. He said the plaintiffs intend to call a forensic psychologist to testify about PTSD attributed to the alleged abuse, according to the Banner. WKRN separately reports that court documents show no evidence the Diocese of Nashville notified the Archdiocese of Baltimore about Emala’s conduct in Tennessee.
Diocese attorney Matthew Pietsch argued that the alleged abuse took place in Baltimore, not Tennessee, and that responsibility should lie with the Archdiocese of Baltimore. He noted that Valancius has active proceedings against that archdiocese, which declared bankruptcy on September 29, 2023. Pietsch also argued that Valancius had known about his experience throughout his life and urged jurors to focus on the law, including the limitations period, rather than sympathy. These defense arguments were reported by the Banner.
Earlier allegations and the 2023 report
WKRN reports that Valancius learned of the Diocese of Nashville’s alleged prior knowledge after the Maryland attorney general released a report in 2023. The outlet also reports that multiple families raised concerns about Emala with Nashville parish priests by June 1975, after which he was terminated later that month. Emala died in 2008, WKRN reports.
