Cardinal Lacroix cleared after investigation ordered by the Pope

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix has been cleared by the Vatican of allegations of sexual touching made against him by an anonymous source as part of a class action lawsuit.

The Vatican announced on Tuesday that the investigation it had commissioned into the allegations had not confirmed any acts of misconduct or abuse by the Archbishop of Quebec.

No other canonical proceedings are planned in this case.

The Vatican says retired Québec Superior Court judge André Denis was appointed in February by the Pope to investigate the allegations against Cardinal Lacroix.

It says a report on Denis’s preliminary canonical investigation was completed on May 6 before it was transferred to Pope Francis.

The Vatican says Denis’s report does not “permit to identify any actions that amount to misconduct or abuse”  and “no further canonical procedure” is expected.

Lacroix’s name appeared in court documents filed on Jan. 26 as part of a class action lawsuit brought against the Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec by alleged sexual assault victims.

The allegations against him dated back to 1987 and 1988. The alleged victim was 17 at the time of the first alleged assault.

Lacroix firmly denied the allegations. In a video, he maintained that, to his knowledge, he had never made any inappropriate gesture towards anyone.

However, he announced that he was temporarily withdrawing from his duties until the situation had been clarified.

Lacroix is one of Canada’s most influential Catholic figures.

In 2023, he became a member of the Council of Cardinals, which is a group of nine members whose job is to assist the Pope in governing the church.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews