Canadian cardinal close to Pope Francis accused of sexual assault

The Canadian Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroixconsidered close to Pope Franciswas accused of sexual assault in a collective action directed against more than a hundred members of the diocese of Quebecaccording to court documents.

Lacroix, 66 years old, archbishop of Quebec since 2011 and cardinal since 2014, he was accused by a woman, a minor at the time of the events.

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Since last year, Lacroix has also been one of nine members of Council of Cardinals created by him Pope Francis to help him in the government of the Church, which meets periodically in the Vatican.

Pope Francis speaking with Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix during a meeting with members of the Episcopal Conference of Canada and Quebec on May 11, 2017 at the Vatican. (Photo by HO / OSSERVATORE ROMANO / AFP) (HO/)

He is held responsible for acts committed between 1987 and 1988, he explained to AFP Alain Arsenaultvictims’ lawyer.

“The word is free“, he stated, and denounced that the attackers who”They have been protected for a long time”.

“We are still in shock trying to understand the new events“, he reacted Valerie Roberge-Dionarchbishop’s spokesman.

The collective action, which began in 2022, brings together testimonies from 147 people who claim to have been “sexually assaulted by more than a hundred priests or employees of the diocese, some of whom attacked several people or were part of Quebec’s senior clergy“, according to a statement from the lawyers.

Contacted by AFP, the diocese of Quebec He didn’t respond immediately.

This class action, filed in August 2022, targeted in particular Cardinal Marc Ouelletalso accused of sexual assault.

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Until 2023, Ouellet held one of the most important positions within the Curiathe central administration of the Holy Seeand always deniedfirmly” the accusations, calling them “defamatory.” In January 2023 he resigned for reasons of age.

“Reprehensible behavior”

Since Pope Francis’ election in 2013, other cardinals have been implicated in sexual assault allegations.

At the end of 2022, the French cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricardformer archbishop of Bordeauxadmitted to having behaved “reprehensible”with a teenager 35 years ago.

The investigation by the French justice system on charges of “aggravated sexual assault” was rejected because the facts were prescribed, but the Vatican investigation continues.

In 2019, the Pope suspended the former archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrickafter the Vatican found him guilty of sexually assaulting a girl aged at least 16 in 1974 and of engaging in inappropriate sexual behavior with seminarians.

The fight against sexual violence in the Church is one of the projects of Francis’ pontificate, which defends a policy of “zero tolerance”for this type of scandals that have multiplied.

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The Argentine Pope created an advisory commission for the protection of minors, lifted the papal secrecy on sexual violence by clergy and forced religious and lay people to report any case to their superiors.

However, the secrecy of the confession remains absolute and victims’ associations demand more measures.

Appointed by the Pope, cardinals possess the highest dignity of the Catholic church and its mission is to help in the government of the Church.

Source: Elcomercio