Influential Canadian Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix is accused of sexual assault in his country as part of a collective action targeting more than a hundred members of the diocese of Quebec, according to court documents.
Aged 66, the man who has been archbishop of Quebec since 2011 and cardinal since 2014 is accused by a woman, a minor at the time of the facts.
He is a close advisor to the Pope.
The actions denounced concern touching which was allegedly committed between 1987 and 1988, Alain Arsenault, the victims' lawyer, told AFP.
Collective action
The collective action, opened in 2022, now brings together the testimonies of 147 people saying they were
“sexually assaulted by more than a hundred priests or members of the staff of the diocese, some of whom caused several victims or were part of the high- clergy of Quebec
,” according to a press release from the lawyers.
Contacted by AFP, the diocese of Quebec did not immediately respond.
Filed in August 2022, this collective action was notable when it was made public because it notably targeted Cardinal Marc Ouellet, also accused of sexual assault.
The latter, who always “firmly”
denied these
“defamatory”
accusations
, then resigned in January 2023 due to age.