Canada continues to be shaken by sexual scandals in the Church. This morning, a complete and updated list of alleged aggressors was submitted to the Court of Justice, which also includes the name of Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, the highest ecclesiastical representative of the country and a prominent figure in the Vatican, being part of the C9, a kind of Crown Council that assists the Pope in reforms. The facts he is accused of would have occurred between 1987 and 1988 in Quebec. The alleged victim was 17 years old at the time of these improper acts however no other details have been disclosed and the identity of the alleged victim remains highly protected. The news immediately bounced on the Canadian press is making the rounds of the world.
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Lacroix, 66 years old, was made cardinal by Pope Francis in 2014 and it is he who welcomed him three years ago on the Canadian trip. In addition to his episcopal office and role as primate of the Catholic Church in Canada, he holds numerous responsibilities within four dicasteries in the Vatican in addition to being a member of the C9.
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The lawyers representing the victims in this class action, a kind of class action against the clergy, also questioned the Seminary of Quebec, the Oeuvre du Grand Séminaire, the Collège François-de-Laval and the Assurance mutuelle des Fabriques du Quebec, the major Catholic institutions that now appear in the list of defendants.
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The Quebec Seminary is a community of priests founded in 1663 by Monsignor François de Laval. It deals with the formation of the clergy, teaching and education, and supports the works of the diocese. At least seven people claim to have been assaulted by priests of the Seminary in places of its property or under its control at the time of the facts.
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Over the years, the alleged victims have reported almost 90 religious. The case that caused the most uproar broke out in August 2022 and centered on Cardinal Marc Ouellet, indicated as a papabile in the 2013 conclave. The charges against him concerned a violence by an intern who worked for the diocese in 2008. Ouellet has always denied the facts. 'Having become aware of the false accusations made against me by the complainant, I firmly deny having committed inappropriate acts on her person' Ouellet had specified in a statement published on the Vatican site.
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