Pope Rules Out Sexual Misconduct Probe of Canadian Cardinal

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Image copyright: CNS [via Catholic Philly]

The Facts

  • The Vatican has stated that it will not probe accusations of sexual misconduct against one of its Cardinals due to insufficient evidence.

  • Cardinal Marc Ouellet, an adviser to the Pope, has been accused of sexual misconduct between 2008-2010 in a class-action lawsuit filed earlier this week in the Quebec Superior Court.

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The Spin

Narrative A

While the allegations against Ouellet are serious, they are just that; allegations. The Pope rightly and quickly launched an investigation that found there to be insufficient evidence to support the claims. The church must now address the class-action lawsuit and do its utmost to ensure justice.

NCR

Narrative B

The preliminary investigation goes directly against Pope Francis' 2019 motu proprio, which states that investigations must be free from conflict of interest. Father Jacques Servais, a colleague of Ouellet, would have likely had a hard time remaining impartial, thus invalidating the "investigation." The decision to drop any subsequent probes is yet another failure by the Pope Francis to adequately address allegations of misconduct.

Catholic Philly