The Vatican has cleared Canadian Cardinal Gerald Lacroix of allegations of sexual assault against a teenage girl in the 1980s, following an inquiry ordered by Pope Francis.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Holy See announced that the investigation found no evidence of misconduct or abuse on the part of the 66-year-old archbishop of Quebec and member of the pope’s C9 advisory council.
“In the light of the facts examined by the judge, the report does not permit to identify any actions that amount to misconduct or abuse on the part of Cardinal Gerald C. Lacroix,” the Vatican said. “Consequently, no further canonical procedure is foreseen.”
The claims against Lacroix stemmed from alleged incidents in 1987 and 1988 when the accuser was 17 years old. The allegations were part of a class-action lawsuit involving more than 100 priests in the archdiocese of Quebec.
Cardinal Lacroix, who has served as the archbishop of Quebec since 2011 and was elevated to the College of Cardinals in 2014, has consistently denied the allegations against him.
In January, he had voluntarily stepped aside from his duties pending the outcome of the investigation. However, he attended a Council of Cardinals meeting at the Vatican last month.
Pope Francis had appointed retired judge Andre Denis in February to assess the facts of the case and determine if there was sufficient evidence to warrant a canonical trial within the Church. Denis, who has previously studied thousands of sexual misconduct allegations against the Church dating back to the 1940s, concluded his report on May 6, which was promptly delivered to the pontiff.
The Vatican stated that Pope Francis thanked Denis for conducting his probe impartially within the requested timeframe and authorized him to release a public statement summarizing his findings, which has not yet been issued.
The class-action lawsuit in Canada includes testimony from 147 individuals alleging sexual assault by more than 100 priests in the archdiocese of Quebec, according to court documents. Among the accused is also Cardinal Marc Ouellet, once considered a potential papal candidate, who maintains his innocence.
Pope Francis has consistently advocated for a “zero tolerance” policy on sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, following numerous scandals involving minors. In 2019, he defrocked former cardinal Theodore McCarrick after a Vatican investigation found he had engaged in regular sexual contact with adult seminarians and at least one minor.
