Top Vatican Official Is Accused of Sexual Misconduct in Quebec
OTTAWA – A Quebec woman has accused a prominent Canadian cardinal – who is also a top Vatican official and insider of Pope Francis – of sexual misconduct with her when she He is also a trainee of the diocese.
The charges against the cardinal, Marc Ouellet, are part of a sweeping class-action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec in which 101 people say they were victims of sexual abuse by several dozen clergy and educators people of the archdiocese. The allegations date back to 1940, and the lawsuit states that some of the plaintiffs were minors at the time of the events.
The case is the latest in a string of class-action lawsuits in Quebec alleging sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, many of which have since been settled, including allegations under $18 million deal achieved in 2013.
The woman, who was identified only as F. in court filings, accused Cardinal Ouellet, the former archbishop of Quebec, of inappropriately massaging and touching her lower back at a series public events in 2010. In another, in 2008, she allegedly gave her an all-too-familiar kiss on the cheek and hugged her while stroking her back. She was 23 years old when the events of 2008 were said to have happened.
Justin Wee, one of the attorneys who brought the case, said the woman still works as a pastoral assistant for the diocese.
Cardinal Ouellet, 78, is one of the most powerful cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. Since 2010, he has been the head of the Congregation for Bishops, the office that advises the Pope in the selection of bishops globally. In this role, he has dealt with similar allegations that have been brought against bishops.
He also came along Francis during his trip to Canada last monthin which the pope apologized for the abuses of indigenous children at Catholic-run residential schools.
The Congregation for Bishops and the Vatican did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Diocese of Quebec said it could not comment on the case because it was before the court, René Tessier, a spokeswoman, said in an email.
While the cardinal has not been criminally charged, the woman making the accusation describes the alleged conduct as sexual assault, saying she disagrees. The plaintiff said she felt “chased” by the cardinal because of the attention she said he gave her and the actions she said he took to be close to her. that.
The charges are contained in a court filing published on Tuesday.
Wee said the woman joined the class action lawsuit after contacting the Vatican. He said the Vatican had advised her that a priest had been appointed to investigate her allegations against the cardinal.
Cardinal Ouellet has extensive experience in the Vatican hierarchy as a former secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, and a member of several Vatican departments, including the culture and education, legislative texts and doctrine of the faith, Vatican Doctrinal Oversight.
A former theologian and seminary professor, Cardinal Ouellet is considered a doctrinal conservative like Pope Benedict XVI, who made him a cardinal in 2003, and later brought him from Canada to Rome. . In his home country of Canada in 2010, he was harshly criticized for describing abortion as a moral crime, even in the case of rape.
However, in 2007 he apologized in an open letter to Quebecers for “certain Catholic attitudes” including “anti-Semitism, racism, indifference to nations first and discriminate against women and homosexuals”.
Pope Francis, has kept Cardinal Ouellet in place, even though the cardinal submitted his formal resignation three years ago, as is customary, when he turned 75.
Until the 1960s, the Catholic Church dominated much of French-speaking Quebec, operating most of the schools and hospitals and wielding strong political influence over the province.
Vjosa Isai Contribution reports from Toronto and Gaia Pianigiani from Rome.