Cardinal accused of sexual assault resigns from Vatican

Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, accused of sexually assaulting a woman, has resigned from his top position at the Holy See because of his age, the Vatican said Monday.

Ouellet, 78, who has strongly denied the allegations against him, is retiring as head of the dicastery, or department, for Vatican bishops, it said.

Pope Francis “has accepted the offer of resignation because (the cardinal) has reached the age limit,” the Vatican statement said.

The Canadian, once considered a strong candidate to become pope, is accused of molesting a female intern from 2008 to 2010 when he was Archbishop of Quebec.

He was named in court documents in August related to a class action lawsuit against more than 80 members of the clergy in the Archdiocese of Quebec.

In December, Ouellet said he had filed a defamation suit against the woman who accused him “to restore my reputation”.

He also faces a second complaint filed by a woman in 2020, first revealed earlier this month by French weekly Golias and confirmed by the Diocese of Quebec on Monday.

The complaint was forwarded to the Vatican, a diocese spokesman told AFP.

As prefect, Ouellet headed the Vatican office that proposes appointments of bishops to the pope.

He will be replaced by the American bishop Robert Francis Prevost.

AFP

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