Pope Francis states that ‘there are not sufficient elements to open a canonical investigation into Cardinal Ouellet’s sexual violence against person F’. The facts allegedly took place more than ten years ago, when the current prefect of the dicastery for bishops was bishop of Quebec, and were reported by a woman.

This was stated by Matteo Bruni, director of the Holy See Press Office, in a statement issued on 18 August 2022.

Statement

With regard to the allegations reported in recent days in the press and concerning His Eminence Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.H., the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, declares that: “having completed the preliminary investigation entrusted by the Pope to Fr. Jacques Servais, S.I., the conclusion of which was that there are no elements to initiate a trial against Cardinal Ouellet for sexual assault, having consulted Fr. Servais again and having received confirmation that ‘Il n’y a aucun motif fondé pour ouvrir une enquête pour agression sexuelle de la personne F. de la part du Card. M. Ouellet. Ni dans son rapport écrit et envoyé au Saint-Père, ni dans le témoignage via Zoom que j’ai recueilli par la suite en présence d’un membre du Comité diocésain ad hoc, cette personne n’a porté une accusation qui fournirait matière à une telle enquête. ‘, following further relevant consultations, Pope Francis declared that there were not sufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet against person F.”.