Vatican City, Holy See

The Vatican said in a statement on Thursday (August 18) that Pope Francis has ruled out a formal church investigation into a sexual assault claim against Cardinal Marc Ouellet, a top Canadian clergyman who once emerged as a contender to become Pope.  

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The statement mentioned that there is not sufficient evidence to open a Church probe after an initial inquiry found no basis for one.

In a statement, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said, "Following further relevant consultations, Pope Francis declared that there were not sufficient elements to open a canonical investigation for sexual assault by Cardinal Ouellet." 

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Recently, accusations were made against Ouellet related to events that apparently took place more than ten years ago, when Ouellet was Archbishop of Quebec City. 

Ouellet was named in court documents relating to a class action suit targeting more than 80 members of the clergy in the archdiocese of Quebec. 

The 78-year-old is accused of abusing a female intern from 2008 to 2010. The intern is identified only as "F" in the documents. 

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In the documents filed in Quebec Superior Court, a complainant alleged that Ouellet inappropriately touched her, and made comments that made her feel uncomfortable. 

The anonymous complainant refers to the time between 2008 and 2010 when Ouellet was the archbishop of Quebec. The document stated that the intern was in her 20s.

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