Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who holds one of the most important functions of the Vatican government, is accused of sexual assault in a class action made public Tuesday in Canada and targeting more than 80 members of the diocese of Quebec.
The clergyman, current prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, allegedly inappropriately touched an intern in 2008, according to a court document filed with the Superior Court of Quebec last May. The revelations come three weeks after a visit by Pope Francis to Canada, during which he apologized for abuses perpetrated by members of the Church in residential schools for indigenous people.
Contacted by AFP, the diocese of Quebec responded to take “note of the allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet” and to “do absolutely no comment on this subject”. These accusations are among the testimonies of 101 people “who were sexually assaulted” by clergy and lay employees between June 1940 and today, the court documents point out.
“Up to her buttocks”
In the case of Marc Ouellet, the complainant, designated by the letter “F.”, claims to have been assaulted several times by the cardinal. She says in particular that Cardinal Marc Ouellet would have “kissed” her and would have “slid his hand” along her back “up to her buttocks” in 2010.
In February, evoking the “drama of sexual abuse committed by clerics”, Cardinal Ouellet had castigated, during an important symposium at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Francis, “criminal behavior concealed for too long to protect the institution”.
“We are all torn and humbled by these crucial questions that challenge us every day as members of the Church,” he said. The Catholic Church is regularly the subject of revelations concerning sexual assault scandals within it.