Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, head of the Vatican’s powerful Dicastery for Bishops, has filed a countersuit against a woman who accused him of sexual assault more than a decade ago, and has promised to donate any damages won to “the fight against sexual abuse of indigenous peoples in Canada.”
Ouellet is seeking $100,000 in damages for “injury to his reputation, honor and dignity,” according to a copy of the lawsuit, which filed on Tuesday, Dec. 13, in Montréal Superior Court. The claim stems from the period from 2002 to 2010 when he served as the Archbishop of Quebec.
Ouellet was named in a class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese in August, in which 101 alleged victims accused 88 prelates of sexual abuse and assault dating back decades. The Canadian cardinal denied the allegations at the time of the lawsuit, and again on Dec. 13.
Ouellet was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He maintains both roles under Pope Francis.
The woman, only identified as “Ms. F., alleged that Ouellet inappropriately touched her and made her uncomfortable with his comments on four occasions in the late 2000s. Following an investigation in August, Pope Francis concluded that “there are insufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet against person F.”
The countersuit claims that the “false” allegations made by the woman continue to cause “...
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