The Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops is accused of improperly touching an intern between 2008 and 2010, when he was Archbishop of Quebec, according to a court document that is part of the class action accepted in May by the Superior Court of Quebec. this France-speaking region of Canada.

These revelations come three weeks after Pope Francis visited Canada to apologize for abuses perpetrated by members of the Catholic Church in residential schools for indigenous people.

The Diocese of Quebec indicated, in response to Agence France-Presse (AFP), that it “took note of the allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet”, explaining that it will make “absolutely no comment on this subject”. .

The charges are among testimonies of 101 people who “were sexually assaulted” by clergy and lay officials between June 1940 and present, according to court documents.

In the case of Marc Ouellet, the complainant, designated by the letter “F”, explains that she was attacked several times by the cardinal.

He mentions in particular that the cardinal had “kissed” him and “slid his hand” behind his back “up to the buttocks” in 2010.

In February, evoking the “drama of sexual abuse committed by clerics”, Cardinal Ouellet had denounced, during an important symposium at the Vatican in the presence of Pope Francis, “criminal behavior long hidden to protect the institution”.

“We are all divided and affected by these critical issues that challenge us every day as members of the Church,” he said at the time.

The Catholic Church is regularly the target of revelations about sexual assault scandals that have taken place within the institution.

DMC //

By Impala News / Lusa

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