Quebec cardinal Marc Ouellet is targeted for the first time by allegations of sexual assault in legal proceedings filed on Tuesday. The influential religious is said to have kissed and touched the buttocks of an intern from the Diocese of Quebec in 2008. Pope Francis even launched an investigation into the cardinal last year.
Posted at 11:34 a.m.
Updated at 12:02 p.m.
These explosive allegations are found among many testimonies of alleged victims of pedophile priests filed as part of a class action against the Diocese of Quebec. The filing of this class action was authorized by the Superior Court last May. The trial must be held later.
No less than 101 victims claim to have been assaulted between 1940 and today by approximately 88 priests or staff members of the Diocese, according to lawyers from the firm Arsenault, Dufresne and Wee. Most of the alleged crimes date back to the 1950s and 1960s, with the exception of the one targeting Cardinal Ouellet.
The 78-year-old Quebec cardinal has been one of the most influential cardinals in the Vatican since his appointment as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. Marc Ouellet had been tipped among the candidates to succeed John Paul II at the time.
The plaintiff, named “F.” in the motion, claims to have been sexually assaulted by Cardinal Ouellet while she was a pastoral worker in the Diocese of Quebec, in 2008. She had met the cardinal during a charity meal in Beauport. After the meal, the complainant maintains that Cardinal Ouellet suddenly began massaging her shoulders and stroking her back.
“F. remains frozen in the face of this intrusion and does not know how to react. F. is troubled and a feeling of unease follows her for the rest of the day. She talks about this event to colleagues afterwards, ”we support in the request.
A few weeks later, the young woman meets the cardinal again during a cocktail party. She feels chased by him during the evening and feels a “deep discomfort”, indicates the court document.
In 2010, F. ran into the cardinal again on two occasions. As he was seeing each other for the second time this week, the cardinal told her that he could kiss her again, because “it’s okay to spoil yourself a little”, goes the request. A “completely inappropriate” comment, according to F.
It is then that the sexual assault occurs in the eyes of F.
“Cardinal Marc Ouellet then kisses her and slides his hand along F.’s back to her buttocks. This gesture surprises F. who does not know how to react. That day more than during previous meetings, F. understands that she must flee Cardinal Marc Ouellet as much as possible, the discomfort she feels is more present than ever,” the request indicates.
According to F., she was told that she was not the only woman to have this “kind of problem”. However, the request does not specify which person would have confided in him. In June 2010, Cardinal Ouellet left his position as Archbishop of Quebec.
In the request, it is indicated that Pope Francis has appointed Father Jacques Servais to investigate Cardinal Ouellet following a letter sent by the young woman to the Pope. However, “Father Jacques Servais seems to have little information and training on sexual assault, in addition to being possibly a collaborator of Cardinal Marc Ouellet.
“On March 23, 2021, the last communication between Father Jacques Servais and F took place. As of the date hereof, no conclusion concerning the complaints against Cardinal Marc Ouellet has been transmitted to F.”, concludes the lawsuit.