There will be no Vatican probe into
alleged sexual abuse by Canadian cardinal Marc Ouellet, accused
by a woman of molesting her, Pope Francis has decided on the
basis of the evidence, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said
Thursday.
"After the preliminary investigation entrusted by the pope to
Father Jacques Servais, whose conclusion was that there are no
elements to start a trial," Bruni said, "and after other
relevant consultations, Pope Francis states that there is not
sufficient evidence to open a canon investigation for sexual
assault by cardinal Ouellet towards the person F."
Marc Armand Ouellet PSS (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian prelate
of the Catholic Church. He has been the prefect of the
Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical
Commission for Latin America since his appointment by Pope
Benedict XVI on 30 June 2010. He continues in those positions
though past the normal retirement age of 75 since Pope Francis
has yet to accept his resignation.
He was Archbishop of Quebec and Primate of Canada from 2003 to
2010. He was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on 21 October
2003. Ouellet was considered a possible candidate for election
to the papacy in both 2005 and 2013.
A class-action lawsuit filed at the start of last week named
Ouellet as the alleged assailant of an unnamed woman, F., who
accused the cleric of kissing her at a cocktail reception in
2008 also having slid his hand down her back and touching her
backside.
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