Vatican clears Canadian cardinal suspected of sexual assault

The Vatican announced on Tuesday, May 21, its decision to clear Canadian Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, suspected of sexual assault in his country, on the basis of a report commissioned by Pope Francis from a former Quebec judge. “This report does not make it possible to identify any act of misconduct or abuse on the part of the cardinal,” affirms in a press release the Vatican, which clarified that a “further canonical procedure is not envisaged” against this close advisor to the sovereign pontiff.

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, is suspected of “touching” a minor, as part of a collective action targeting more than a hundred members of the diocese of Quebec. This action, opened in 2022, brings together the testimonies of 147 people who say they have been “sexually assaulted by more than a hundred priests or members of staff of the diocese, some of whom had several victims or were part of the senior clergy of Quebec.”

Faced with this affair, Pope Francis asked former judge André Denis in February “to conduct an investigation into the facts, circumstances and attributability of the alleged offense”. According to the Vatican, Judge Denis concluded his preliminary investigation on May 6 and his conclusions were communicated “the next days” to the pope, who therefore endorsed the decision to whitewash Cardinal Lacroix.

This cardinal is one of the nine members of the C9, the council of cardinals set up by Pope Francis to assist him in the government of the Church, which meets regularly at the Vatican. He announced in January “a temporary withdrawal” For “to better assess the next steps to take”, but remained a member of the C9.