Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet announced he is filing a defamation lawsuit in Quebec against a woman who accused him of sexual assault.
“Having preliminarily made sure to protect the plaintiff’s anonymity by obtaining an order to that effect, today I am taking legal action for defamation before the courts of Québec in order to prove the falsity of the allegations made against me and to restore my reputation and honor,” the cardinal said in a statement Dec. 13.
The woman accused the cardinal of inappropriately touching her at a meeting of the Québec archdiocesan staff in 2008, when he was archbishop, and kissing her, pressing against her and making inappropriate comments at other gatherings.
“I have never been guilty of these reprehensible behaviors, much less of those alleged against other members of the clergy cited in the class action” lawsuit filed against the Archdiocese of Québec and involving more than 100 victims of alleged abuse, the cardinal said.
Cardinal Ouellet said it was “inappropriate” to associate his name with a case involving sexual abuse of minors, but the move was “intentionally constructed and widely spread for improper purposes.”
“It is clear that the victims of sexual abuse are entitled to just compensation for the harm they have suffered,” the cardinal said in his statement. “I am sensitive to their suffering and reiterate my sincere closeness to them.”
“Their right to justice is not questioned by my taking this stand, which is nevertheless painfully necessary to defend the truth, my reputation and my honor,” he said, adding that “any financial compensation that I may receive as a part of these proceedings will be donated in its entirety in support of the fight against the sexual abuse of the Indigenous peoples of Canada.”
The cardinal also released a copy of his court filing, which referred to him as “Mr. Ouellet” and the plaintiff as “Ms. F.”
The filing objected to the inclusion of the alleged incidents in a class action lawsuit in which F. “is not a representative plaintiff” and the cardinal is not a defendant.
And while repeating his denial of the allegations and saying the cardinal “has no recollection of ever having met” the woman, the filing said, “even if we were to take the facts alleged by Ms. F. as true, facts which are categorically denied, they cannot be qualified as ‘sexual assault’ in this instance.”
The filing requested compensatory damages of $100,000 and included the cardinal’s intent to donate the money, if awarded to him, “to the fight against sexual abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada.”
Cardinal Ouellet served as archbishop of Québec from 2002 to 2010.
Archdiocesan authorities were informed in January 2021 of the allegations against the cardinal, and a leader of the Archdiocesan Committee for the Protection of Minors and Vulnerable Persons encouraged the woman making the allegation to write a letter to Pope Francis.
An email from the Vatican Feb. 23, 2021, acknowledged that the pope read the letter and that he had appointed Belgian Jesuit Father Jacques Servais to conduct a preliminary investigation, according to Présence info in Montreal.
In August, Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican press office, issued a statement that Father Servais had concluded his investigation and presented the findings to Pope Francis who, after further consultation, decided “there are insufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet against person F.”
According to court documents, the woman, then 23 years old, began working for the Archdiocese of Québec in August 2008 and met the cardinal at a meeting of all archdiocesan personnel, which is when she said his unwanted advances began.
In a statement released in August, Cardinal Ouellet had said: “Having learned of the false accusations made against me by the complainant (F.), I firmly deny making inappropriate gestures on her person and I consider the interpretation and sharing of these accusations of sexual assault as defamatory. Should a civil investigation be opened, I intend to actively participate in it so that the truth is established, and my innocence is recognized.”
The above comes from a Dec. 13 posting on CatholicNews.com.
This action by the cardinal seems appropriate. While abusive or/and corrupt clergy should be banned from ministry and jailed; false, and anonymous, allegations against clergy should not continue with impunity. I know some falsely accused clergy and how devastating and unjust that is. Criminals have more rights than clerics, they’re able to know who is accusing them. Clergy have to deal with anonymous allegations. (Like here or any other social media, it’s a lot easier to say things when we hide behind anonymity.) And, the Cardinal is showing sensitivity, compassion and respect for the woman who made the false allegation by not revealing her name (even though his name was in the headlines). Let me be clear: crimes and mortal sins by clergy should not be tolerated. Victims of such deserve appropriate recompense, justice and healing. Yet, that does not excuse those making false allegations. Hopefully, this will help reduce false accusations in the future. It’s not a matter of believe the woman or believe the priest. It’s a matter of the truth of what happened.
Pius XII: “The truth needs no one’s lies”.
ac: I agree with you. I think the Cardinal was so wounded by false allegations that he was left with no other recourse than to sue for defamation. I hope he wins. We know that the possibility is out there for unstable people to come forward with accusations. This is especially the case, now that every diocesan website in the US has a “Sexual Abuse Victim Assistance” Hot Line. It could be a siren call for those who wish to harm a priest or gain financially from a lawsuit. However, this does not in any way discount the suffering of real victims whose lives have been forever damaged by perversities committed upon them.
True, no discounting the suffering of real victims whose lives have been forever damaged by perversities committed upon them.
These allegations are a little suspect because she is claiming his inappropriate behavior took place at meetings and events.
It is possible because what can look like a friendly greeting to the room could actually be a violation of physical space.
Hopefully, Cardinal Ouellet is innocent, and will win his case. There is too much instability, in today’s Church. I just read that Pope Francis signed resignation papers when he first became Pope, in case medical reasons prevented him from serving any longer in the Papacy. What a jolt! Is this new, or is it the usual requirement? Anyway, it is hard to have to put up with constant instability in the Church, in today’s era.