Woman who accused Quebec cardinal of sexual misconduct testifies at defamation trial

Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet, centre, arrives with his lawyers at the courthouse in Montreal on Thursday, March 5, 2026. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

MONTREAL — The woman being sued for defamation by Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet took the stand at the Montreal courthouse on Thursday to repeat her misconduct allegations against him.

Paméla Groleau testified in Superior Court that she felt like Ouellet was seeking her out every time they attended an event together.

"It was as if I had a spotlight on me that brought him over to me right away to greet me, kiss me, touch my back," she said. "That was the general feeling."

She accused Ouellet of touching her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010, while she was training or working as a lay pastoral agent for the church.

Groleau said the first incident came in late 2008 at an event where Ouellet came up behind her while she was sitting at a lunch table and allegedly started "vigorously" massaging her shoulders for what felt like three to five minutes. Groleau said she froze, then turned around and saw it was Ouellet, who smiled at her, patted her back briefly and left.

At another event, Groleau said Ouellet took her hands and allegedly held them for "a long moment," and whispered into her ear to ask her name.

The final alleged incident came in 2010, an event celebrating a priest's ordination, when Ouellet allegedly slid his hand down her back to the top of her buttocks and left them there for "several seconds."

"I could fee the pressure of his hand," she said. "I froze."

She said she left the event soon after. "I remember staring at the horizon, a little in shock," she said. After that, she said she avoided having to be at the same events as Ouellet.

Under cross-examination, Groleau said this last event where Ouellet allegedly touched the top of her buttocks is the only one that she considers a sexual assault.

Ouellet was not charged with any crime in relation to her allegations.

The allegations first surfaced in 2022 as part of a wider class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec and dozens of its clergy or lay members. Those allegations have not been tested in court.

In response, Ouellet launched a $100,000 defamation countersuit against Groleau, alleging that she damaged his reputation, honour and dignity.

He has denied acting inappropriately toward her or anyone else, and has said her allegations unfairly group him with those accused of reprehensible acts such as pedophilia.

Ouellet, who wore a black suit and clerical collar, sat next to his lawyers and sometimes appeared to close his eyes as Groleau testified.

Under cross-examination by one of Ouellet's lawyers, Groleau confirmed that the alleged incidents all happened at organized events in the presence of other people, and that she had never been alone with the cardinal.

She also acknowledged that the 2008 events were among the first she'd attended, and that the culture of the organization was new to her.

Previous witnesses called by Ouellet's lawyer have testified this week that Ouellet greeted many people at such events, and that it was not unusual for people to hug, exchange air kisses or clasp hands at church functions.

Groleau also told Ouellet's lawyer that while the alleged shoulder massage by Ouellet had felt to her like it lasted three to five minutes, it could have been shorter.

Groleau told the court that she was prompted to come forward after taking two training courses on sexual abuse in 2019 as part of her role as a civilian employee in the Canadian Armed Forces.

She said she originally approached a church committee with her story, but did not name names and hadn't intended on making a formal complaint.

She said she eventually reached out to the class-action lawyers, and decided to make her name public in 2023 after feeling as if members of the church wanted to silence her.

"I felt like I lost everything,” she said.

At times in the proceeding, Justice Martin Castonguay interrupted Groleau's lawyer, Alain Arsenault, to remind him that the hearing does not concern wider allegations against the church.

"I am doing a defamation trial, and not the class action," he told Arsenault.

Groleau was also questioned extensively on the details of her testimony, including on how many times she met Ouellet and her assertion that she felt “tracked” by him.

Groleau said she didn't have an exact recollection of some dates and details. The judge also warned her to stick to the facts of the case when she started to bring up an event that wasn’t included in the lawsuit.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 5, 2026.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press