ROME (AP) — A retired Canadian judge said Tuesday he couldn’t find any reliable evidence of sexual misconduct by the archbishop of Quebec, after the purported victim refused to cooperate with his investigation and the cardinal strongly denied the claim.
Pope Francis had tasked André Denis, a retired judge of the Superior Court of Québec, to conduct a preliminary investigation for the Catholic Church into claims against Archbishop Gérald Lacroix that surfaced in January.
The allegations were contained in an amended class-action lawsuit filed in Canadian court against 100 current and former church personnel of the archdiocese.
Denis’ investigation has no bearing on that lawsuit and concerns only the church’s handling of the allegations, since the Vatican has its own procedures to deal with misconduct claims against clergy. The Vatican said Tuesday that based on Denis’ report, it planned no canonical trial against Lacroix, 66.
Daniel Cuvet hits a pair of three
The ABCs of new quality productive forces
Long March rocket prepares for take
China's demand to hit the peak for petroleum products before 2025
Juneteenth proclaimed state holiday again in Alabama, after bill to make it permanent falters
China leads in development of photovoltaic sector
More US steps on chips seen as harmful
AI governance should be on security agenda
Bella Thorne puts on a leggy display in a dark red off
Car sales expected to grow 3% in 2023
EU seals a deal on using profits from frozen Russian assets to help arm Ukraine
Xi Story: Small Projects for Greater Prosperity