Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet set to retire after overseeing Vatican's bishops' office
Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet set to retire after overseeing Vatican's bishops' office
Marc Ouellet, the Quebec cardinal who oversaw the Vatican's powerful bishops' office and who has been recently been hit with accusations of sexual misconduct, announced Monday he would retire in April.
In a statement, Ouellet said it was time to turn the page. "It is time for me to take on new challenges, always in the service of the church and the Holy See."
At 78, Ouellet is three years past the normal retirement age. He was one of the few Vatican prefects Pope Francis retained from the papacy of Pope Benedict XVI.
The native of La Motte, Que., a farming community about 600 kilometres northwest of Montreal in the province's Abitibi-Témiscamingue region, thanked Pope Francis for accepting his resignation.
Ouellet did not, however, address the allegations that have been dogging him in recent months.
The first allegation surfaced last summer in a class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec, in which a woman accused Ouellet of several incidents of sexual misconduct between 2008 and 2010. The alleged victim, Pamela Groleau, made her identity public and accused the Catholic Church of trying to silence her. She is one of 140 plaintiffs who are part of the class action.
Neither the allegations of Groleau nor of the others in the class action have been tested in court, and Ouellet countersued the woman for defamation in Quebec Superior Court, seeking $100,000 in damages.
In his countersuit, Ouellet said he has no recollection of ever meeting Groleau. "He does not know her,'' the lawsuit said. In a statement on the Vatican News website in December, he said he was suing her "in order to prove the falsity of the allegations'' and to restore his reputation and honour.
Earlier this month, the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Quebec City confirmed it had received a second complaint of sexual misconduct against Ouellet in 2020.
In a written statement earlier in January, Ouellet said he was participating in the investigation and has "nothing to hide," adding he acted with "complete transparency'' during the entire process. Ouellet denied having committed any "reprehensible behaviour'' toward the woman and said no complaint had been filed against him in civil or criminal court.
A Vatican investigation was conducted in the wake of the second complaint against Ouellet, but Pope Francis decided "not to retain the accusation against the cardinal.''
Pope Francis named American-born Bishop Robert Francis Prevost, who has been ministering in Peru since the 1980s, to take over the Vatican's bishops' office from the retiring Canadian. Prevost will also head the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
That office helps vet bishop nominations and also investigates allegations of abuse or negligence against bishops.
Ouellet served as archbishop of Quebec between 2002 and 2010 before he was promoted to the high-profile Vatican post and a spot in Pope Benedict's inner circle. His name had also been floated as a possible choice for pope during previous papal conclaves.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The increase in excise duties on all alcoholic products is being temporarily capped at two per cent starting next month instead of a planned 6.3 per cent increase.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
A new study published by Canadian researchers suggests that kindergarten-age children would rather be taught by a competent robot than an incompetent human.
Stonehenge's purpose has long been a mystery, with some researchers proposing that it may have been an ancient solar calendar. But now, new analysis suggests the calendar theory is unsubstantiated.
In the wake of another deadly mass shooting in America, that saw children as young as nine years old shot and killed, the gun control debate is going nowhere, writes CTV News political analyst Eric Ham.
Another American community is reeling after a shooter killed three 9-year-olds and three adults at a private Christian elementary school in Nashville. These are the three children and three adults whose lives were taken by the shooter.
Nashville police have released security camera footage of a suspected shooter entering the private Christian elementary school. The shooting claimed the lives of three children, all aged nine, and three adults.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. Watch W5's 'Something in the Water' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
W5 investigates aging asbestos pipes across Canada and the potential health hazards if it ends up in your tap water. An interactive map and chart on W5.CTVNews.ca shows where in Canada these asbestos cement pipes are being used.
CTV W5 speaks with members of the comedy industry, including Russell Peters, for a wide-ranging look at how political correctness and 'cancel culture' has changed the world of stand-up comedy.
An Ontario couple has filed a request with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) to appoint a new police force to investigate the death of their 17-year-old son Benjamin, who died during a hockey team-bonding event in September 2019.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in CTV W5's 'What Happened to Ben,' on CTVNews.ca and W5's official YouTube channel.
The parents of young Ontario hockey player Ben Teague have been searching for answers since he died while at a team retreat in 2019. The mystery about what happened and the code of silence in hockey culture is explored in 'What Happened to Ben' on CTV W5.
The RCMP knew about a potential cocaine shipment from the Dominican Republic to Toronto aboard a Canadian charter flight but inexplicably allowed the crew that discovered and reported the drugs to be detained for months without intervening, a W5 investigation has revealed.
CTV W5 investigates what authorities knew about plans to smuggle cocaine out of the Dominican Republic on a Toronto-bound Pivot Airlines flight. The airline's crew is demanding justice following their eight-month detention.
The man who killed a 16-year-old boy remembered as an avid adventurer has been wanted on an arrest warrant issued in a Newfoundland courtroom for nearly two years.
The mother of a five-year-old girl said her daughter was allegedly bullied so badly she was left with a partially amputated finger from an incident in the washroom.
A Toronto man diagnosed with stage 4 cancer is desperate to get the rollerblades he uses to transit with to the hospital to receive radiation treatment back after they were taken from his car.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
One person is dead after an early morning fire in Kanata, while another person is being treated for smoke inhalation after being rescued from the burning home by a bystander who spotted the fire while driving to the gym.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
Provincial police say a group of teenagers caused a train to make an emergency stop because they were lying on the tracks as the train approached in New Tecumseth.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
A one-time grocery rebate for low income Canadians is coming at time where many residents in the region are struggling to keep up with their food bills.
London fire crews are currently tackling a ‘large grass fire and working barn fire’ in the southeast section of the city Tuesday afternoon and are asking the public to avoid the area.
OPP are investigating after discovering a child who was vital signs absent in West Elgin on Monday. According to police, no foul play is suspected in the child’s death.
A London toddler is fortunate to have avoided serious injury after a giant cinderblock came through her bedroom window in the middle of the night. Around 4 a.m. on March 26, Riiver was sleeping with her head right under the front window of her home on Emerson Avenue.
A Quebec provincial police officer was fatally stabbed Monday night while performing an arrest in Louiseville, west of Trois-Rivieres, Que. The Surete du Quebec (SQ) has confirmed the identity of the officer, Sgt. Maureen Breau, who had been on the force for over 20 years. She was assigned to the post of the MRC de Maskinonge. Another officer was injured during the incident, but their life is not in danger.
Montreal police say they have identified two more victims found in the rubble of a fire in Old Montreal 12 days ago. Charlie Lacroix and Walid Belkahla, both 18, are the sixth and seventh victims of the fire.
A 22-year-old McGill student who suffers from a terminal disease could soon lose access to the medication she needs because she's graduating from university.
Almost three years after a man disguised as a Mountie started murdering people in Portapique, N.S., on the night of April 18, 2020, the senior RCMP officers and staff involved in the tragic case have all either retired or moved into new jobs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
New Brunswickers suffering from a mystery neurological disorder are calling for an investigation into potential environmental causes of the health problems they've been living with for more than two years.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The Pizza Hut employee who was shot at his workplace earlier this month is on the long road to recovery, his sister has confirmed Tuesday to CTV News Edmonton.
Boyle Street Community Services is one step closer to operating a community health hub, including an overdose prevention site near Whyte Avenue in Edmonton.
Overlooking the Coquitlam River, the psychiatric institution still widely known as Riverview was established to treat British Columbians with the most severe mental illnesses in a relaxing setting. In the end, it would prove to be both a sanctuary and a place of torment for its patients.
A pair of sprawling resort properties in B.C. – complete with a hotel, ski runs and lifts, lakefront cabins, a campground, and a pub – are on sale for less than the price of some Vancouver tear-downs.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
The federal budget proposes an across-the-board three per cent spending cut for all departments and agencies, a belt-tightening move after years of massive growth in the federal public service.
The Liberal government has continued to fulfil its promises to the NDP within its second federal budget since the parties struck a confidence-and-supply agreement in March 2022.
Canada violated the rights of hundreds of patients awaiting access to psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy when it rejected applications from health-care professionals to consume the restricted drug for training purposes, a lawyer for the workers argued in Federal Court on Tuesday.
Shoppers Drug Mart Inc. is moving away from its medical cannabis distribution business and preparing to transfer patients to a platform run by biopharmaceutical company Avicanna Inc.
A new study published by Canadian researchers suggests that kindergarten-age children would rather be taught by a competent robot than an incompetent human.
Tucked into the 2023 federal budget unveiled on Tuesday in Ottawa, the Liberals have announced plans to explore implementing a standard charging port across Canada, in an effort to save Canadians some money and reduce waste.
It's a surreal moment in an already surreal war: the grave but calming baritone of actor Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker of 'Star Wars,' urging people to take cover whenever Russia unleashes another aerial bombardment on Ukraine.
Five-time Grammy Award winner Angelique Kidjo, Island Records founder Chris Blackwell and Estonian composer Arvo Part have won the 2023 Polar Music Prize, a Swedish music award.
Prince Harry returned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail.
Serious money is heading for Canadian industries looking to reduce emissions after the federal government unveiled its answer to the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
Flair Airlines said Monday it has reimbursed virtually all 1,900 passengers whose flights were cancelled after the seizure of four of the carrier's planes earlier this month, but some customers say they are owed more money.
It may seem improbable - even impossible to some - but each day for the last three years, a 71-year-old Toronto woman has laced up her shoes, put one foot in front of the other, and headed out for a run
Alex Jung found his way back to the water in 2018 and began instructing other trans swimmers. But, he says, it was a 'challenging pursuit' without a community. Now creating that sense of support is becoming more mainstream at local fitness centres.
The brother of the late New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez is facing criminal and motor vehicle charges in Connecticut, accused of throwing a brick onto the ESPN headquarters campus and eluding police during brief pursuits in other towns.
Shohei Ohtani is among several players going into their final seasons before they are eligible for free agency. There is still time for signatures and press conferences before opening day, but history shows a new contract becomes less likely once the real games begin.
U.S. highway safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into problems with Teslas, this time tied to complaints that the seat belts may not hold people in a crash.
California lawmakers on Monday approved the nation's first penalty for price gouging at the pump, voting to give regulators the power to punish oil companies for profiting from the type of gas price spikes that plagued the nation's most populous state last summer.
Craig Pollock's latest project, Formula Equal, would be the first team in the sport that's 50 per cent men and 50 per cent women, he says, with that equal split applying across the whole organization -- from the cockpit to the engineers to the boardroom.
