Influential Cardinal Marc Ouellet is accused of sexual abuse in Canada

First modification: 08/17/2022 – 17:27

An alleged case of sexual abuse points against Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet.

This is the religious who heads the powerful Vatican Congregation of Bishops, which advises Pope Francis on which priests should be appointed bishops. He is even on many experts’ lists of possible candidates to succeed the pontiff once he dies or resigns.

His name is tarnished by alleged actions he may have committed while serving as archbishop and head of the Catholic diocese of Quebec.

Before the Superior Court of that city, a woman, whose name is protected in a lawsuit, accused him of touching her inappropriately and making comments that made her feel uncomfortable when she was 23 years old and worked as an intern at the church headquarters.

“He grabbed me and then his hands on my back reached quite low,” said the woman, according to whom the touching occurred in public events in which she felt “persecuted.” The woman stopped attending to avoid the presence of the priest.

The events would have taken place between 2008 and 2010, according to a court document released on Tuesday, August 16.

A priest who worked in the archdiocese at that time told the local media ‘Radio Canada’ that there were rumors about the behavior of the now cardinal. He was one of the people to whom the complainant told what happened and assures that she believed him.

However, Ouellet, currently 78, is not facing criminal charges. The woman’s complaint against Ouellet was filed directly with the Vatican in 2021 and assigned to the priest Jacques Servais, a theologian tasked with investigating the matter.

But the complainant pointed out that she has not been informed of any results of that investigation.

More than 100 people denounce alleged abuse in the diocese of Quebec

The accusation that splashes Ouellet is part of a class action lawsuit filed by more than 100 people who point to a total of 88 priests and employees of the diocese of Quebec of sexually assaulting them.

The abuses would have occurred since 1940 and among the complainants are people who were minors at the time the events occurred. This is stated in a court document and a press release issued by the firm Arsenault Dufresne Wee, which filed the joint complaint.

Since last May, the lawsuit received legal authorization to proceed and the Arsenault firm indicates that it expects the number of victims of that lawsuit to increase after the presentation in court.

So far the Vatican has not commented on the matter.

With Reuters and EFE