(Vatican City) Cardinal Marc Ouellet, targeted by allegations of sexual assault by a complainant, designated only by the letter “F.”, “firmly denied” these accusations on Friday, deeming them “defamatory”.
Posted at 11:34 a.m.
Updated at 11:48 a.m.
“Having learned of the false accusations made against me by the complainant [F.]I firmly deny having made inappropriate gestures on his person, ”said Mgr Ouellet in a statement posted on the Vatican news site.
“I consider the interpretation and dissemination of these allegations as sexual assault to be defamatory. If a civil investigation should be opened, I will actively participate in it so that the truth is established and my innocence is recognized,” the cardinal concluded in this statement published in French and Italian.
Marc Ouellet, 78 years old and current prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, one of the most important functions of the Vatican government, allegedly inappropriately touched this intern between 2008 and 2010 when he was archbishop of Quebec. , according to allegations contained in a document made public on August 16 and resulting from the class action authorized by the Superior Court in May.
Pope Francis had for his part from Thursday excluded for lack of “sufficient elements”, the opening of a new investigation against the cardinal.
In 2021, the Pope would respond to a letter from F. by appointing “Father Jacques Servais to investigate Cardinal Marc Ouellet”. And it is precisely on the basis of the elements gathered by Father Servais that the pope decided to exclude an investigation against Mgr Ouellet, said Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni on Thursday.
The spokesman specifies that Father Servais, whose preliminary investigation concluded on the absence of sufficient elements, was again contacted by the pope, who received the assurance that there was no reason to continue the procedure.
Unusually, Mr. Bruni’s press release, written in Italian, quotes statements in French from Father Servais, a Jesuit like the pope: “There is no reason to open an investigation for the sexual assault of person F. from Cardinal Marc Ouellet,” he said.
“Neither in the written report [de F.] and sent to the Holy Father, nor in the testimony via Zoom that I subsequently collected in the presence of a member of the Diocesan Ad Hoc Committee, did this person bring an accusation that would provide material for such an investigation”, says Father Servais again.