(Rome) The Holy See has officially protested against a judgment of a French court which ruled against Cardinal Marc Ouellet for the dismissal “without cause” of a nun from his congregation.
According to French media, a court in Lorient, Brittany, ruled in favor of a nun, Sabine de la Valette, then known as Mother Marie Ferréol, who had been forced to resign from the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Spirit, after an investigation by the Vatican authorities.
In a press release published Saturday, the Vatican said it learned of the court’s decision only through “the press.” He stressed that it could “give rise to a serious violation of the fundamental rights to religious freedom and freedom of association of the Catholic faithful.”
The Vatican confirmed that Pope Francis had commissioned Cardinal Marc Ouellet, then prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, to lead an investigation. Following the visit of the Quebec cardinal, canonical measures were taken against Mr.me of Valletta, notably her expulsion from the religious order which had recruited her 34 years ago.
The statement states that the verdict also raises important questions about the immunity that Mgr Ouellet would benefit from as the representative of a sovereign state.
French media reported that the Lorient court ruled that the nun’s dismissal was without cause. He ordered Mgr Ouellet, the religious order and two other defenders, to pay more than 200,000 euros (more than $293,000 CAN) for material damage, for his moral damage.
The French daily Le Figaro reports “differences regarding the governance of this religious congregation, then expressed by Sister Marie Ferréol, which were heightened by personality factors” could have led to its exclusion.
The convicts appealed the case.
The Vatican often investigates religious communities and dioceses following complaints of sexual misconduct, financial wrongdoing or other types of abuse. He considers that the measures he adopts are part of the internal management of the Catholic Church.