What you need to know about the collective action targeting Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix

The collective action targeting the diocese of Quebec for numerous allegations of sexual assault took on new proportions on Thursday. After Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Cardinal and Archbishop of Quebec Gérald Cyprien Lacroix is ​​also targeted by one of the alleged victims, whose list continues to grow. Here are the highlights of the appeal.

• Read also: Mgr Lacroix on the list of alleged attackers: “It’s boring to say, but it is no longer an exception”

Alleged touching of a teenager

For the first time, the cardinal and archbishop of Quebec Gérald Cyprien Lacroix is ​​the target of allegations of sexual assault by an alleged victim newly registered in the collective action which has targeted the diocese of Quebec since 2022.

A woman who was 17 years old at the time of the alleged acts accuses Mgr Lacroix of having touched her during two separate events in 1987 and 1988.

At that time, the teenager accompanied her parents for Bible activities and met Mr.^gr Lacroix who was then an attendant, affirms M^e Alain Arseneault, one of the lawyers leading the collective action.

“He took her aside, claiming things to do. In another small place, these events occurred. These are essentially touching of the genitals,” said M.^e Arseneault, in interview with The newspaper and TVA News.

• Listen to the interview with Roger Lessard, spokesperson for alleged victims of sexual assault by priests, on Mario Dumont’s microphone via QUB:

Denounce the day after his mother’s funeral

Immediately after the attacks, M^gr Lacroix would have tried to impose silence on the teenager, according to M^e Arseneault.

“He […] would have said “tell no one about it, especially not your parents. It could kill your mother.” The latter was a fervent Catholic.

The alleged victim thus waited for the death of both of her parents before telling her story.

“She called us the day after her mother’s funeral. […] She loved her mother and did not want to impose this sentence on her. She internalized what Mr. Lacroix told her,” continues M.^e Arseneault.

Nearly 150 alleged victims

When the class action request was filed in 2022, the number of alleged victims was 101. Since then, 46 new people have registered, including the alleged victim of M^gr Lacroix, increasing this number to 147.

They claim to have experienced sexual assault in multiple forms ranging from touching to penetration, during the period covered by the collective action, i.e. between 1940 and today. The latest allegations took place between 2017 and 2018 against a person who was then 33 years old.

15 new alleged attackers

The alleged acts target 15 new alleged attackers, including M^gr The cross. “At least 100” members of the diocesan clergy of Quebec (bishops, priests, deacons), religious, members of lay pastoral staff, lay or religious employees or volunteers are now involved in the collective action, according to the motion filed Thursday.

The latter therefore requests to be extended to four new defendants who were responsible for the new alleged attackers. These are the Séminaire de Québec, the Work of the Grand Séminaire de Québec, the Collège François-de-Laval and the Assurance Mutuel des Fabriques du Québec. Note that since 1987, Collège François-de-Laval has been a secondary school which no longer has links with the diocese of Quebec.

The two Quebec cardinals splashed

Quebec today has two cardinals still alive, Gérald Cyprien Lacroix and Marc Ouellet. These two senior figures in the Catholic Church are now the target of allegations of sexual assault.

M^gr Lacroix was even expected until very recently to be the next pope.

In the case of Marc Ouellet, an alleged victim says she suffered an attack from him when she was around twenty years old, between 2008 and 2010, as part of the same collective action. This woman is Pamela Groleau who publicly revealed her identity a year ago. Marc Ouellet denies the facts and sues M^me Groleau for defamation.

Since 1900, only 11 Quebecers have been created cardinals.

Tens of millions requested

The plaintiffs are seeking compensation of $450,000 per alleged victim. This amount includes $300,000 to compensate, among other things, “all the suffering, anguish and loss of self-esteem” and $150,000 to compensate for the “loss of earning capacity”.

If they win their case, this would represent a sum of more than $66 million, according to calculations by the Newspaper.

Debate on available funds

Will the diocese of Quebec have the necessary funds to compensate those who say they have been attacked?

A Radio-Canada investigation published yesterday revealed that organizations under the Catholic Church of Quebec targeted by collective action requests hold nearly $2 billion in assets. However, Cardinal Lacroix affirms in this same survey that his diocese is in a difficult financial situation.

It’s “hypocrisy”, retorts M^e Alain Arseneault. “When they tell us that they have no money, it’s because there was an operation in the 1990s to hide their money. They knew it was coming [les actions collectives].”

His office estimates that the diocese of Quebec actually has more than $300 million in its coffers.

How to register?

Any alleged victim who believes they are affected by the class action can contact the Arsenault Dufresne Wee law firm by telephone at 514 527-8903 or by email at

The firm expects many people to come forward in the coming days due to the media attention on the case.