Pope Francis on Monday accepted the resignation of influential Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, who for a decade was in charge of bishops around the world, after he was accused of sexually abusing the faithful.
The justification given by the Vatican was that the 78-year-old religious reached the age limit for retirement. Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, Ouellet will be replaced by the American Monsignor Robert Francis Prevost, current Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru – the inauguration is scheduled for April.
The Canadian had his reputation shaken last August, when he was accused of having “improperly touched” a 23-year-old woman who was interning as a pastoral agent, between 2008 and 2010. At the time, the religious was archbishop of Quebec, Canada.
The woman, identified only by the letter F, told an investigative program on Radio-Canada that the cardinal kissed her and slid his hand down her back until he touched her buttocks. During the meeting, the Canadian would have told her that it was the second time they saw each other in the week and that, therefore, he could kiss her again. “It made me very uncomfortable,” he said.
On another occasion, the Canadian would have held the woman against his body and massaged her shoulders and back “to the point where the buttocks begin”. The victim’s accounts were also transcribed by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission (CBC).
Ouellet vehemently denies the allegations and claims to be the subject of a defamatory lawsuit. He also made himself available to Justice and said he is willing to participate in a trial “so that his innocence is proven”.
At first, Pope Francis considered that the accusation did not have enough elements for a canonical investigation to be opened, and the cardinal remained in office. This Monday, however, the existence of a second complaint against the Canadian, filed in 2020 by another woman, came to light. Shortly afterwards, Ouellet’s resignation was publicized.
The Canadian cardinal was considered one of the biggest critics of Pope Francis. He was against the ordination of women to the priesthood and has always defended the most conservative positions of the Catholic Church on same-sex marriage, abortion and other sensitive issues.
Influential, Ouellet was named as one of the favorites in the last conclave, in 2013, in which the then Argentine cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected pope. He was also touted as one of Francis’ possible successors.
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