Pope Francis has named André Denis, a retired judge of the Quebec Superior Court, to investigate sexual assault claims against Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix.
Francis asked Judge Denis in a February 8 letter to investigate the 66-year-old cardinal who faces accusations of sexually assaulting a teenager in the 1980s.The pope's request tasks the retired magistrate with a preliminary canonical investigation of Lacroix, who has been archbishop of Quebec since 2011.
Cardinal "categorically" denies the allegations
Canadian media reported on January 25 that the cardinal was named in court documents alleging sexual assaults within his current archdiocese.
The documents were a part of a class action lawsuit authorized by the Quebec Superior Court in 2022.
It covers anyone who was sexually assaulted by individuals under the responsibility of the archdiocese dating back to 1940.
The lawsuit accuses Cardinal Lacroix of sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl between 1987 and 1988. Lacroix, who was made a cardinal in 2014, has "categorically" denied the allegations and announced on January 26 that he would "temporarily withdraw from his activities until the situation is clarified".
The judge's prior work with the Church in Quebec
By commission in a preliminary canonical investigation in the charges against Cardinal Lacroix, the pope instructed Judge Denis to examine "the facts, circumstances, and accountability of the alleged offense", according to the February 8 letter that La Croix has seen.
The purpose of a preliminary canonical investigation is to verify the "likelihood" of the accusations. At the end of this initial phase, a canonical investigation may then be opened.
Judge Denis had notably chaired the commission tasked with investigating retired priest Johannes Rivoire.
The 93-year-old cleric was accused of sexually assaulting young Inuits in Canada in the 1960s.
In December 2020, the judge was also tasked with reviewing archived files from nine dioceses to document allegations of sexual abuse.
"André Denis is the only person in charge of the investigation, and it was possible for him to make his mandate public if he deemed it appropriate. This morning, we learned that this is what he had decided to do. We respect his choice," said the Quebec archdiocese on March 4 in an unsigned statement.
The communique specifies that the archdiocese will offer its help to the judge if he wishes, but "will not intervene in the conduct of the investigation or its conclusions".
It adds that the investigation is proceeding without the intervention of the archdiocese.
"I intend to do my job while respecting individuals and ensuring the confidentiality of the reports that may be revealed to me," Denis told La Croix.
Pope Francis specified in his letter to Denis that the investigation must proceed in accordance with the provisions of the "motu proprio" Vos estis lux mundi.
This apostolic letter, which Francis promulgated in May 2019, aims to combat sexual abuse in the Church by specifying the conduct and procedures of such investigations.
Distrust of the Church's preliminary investigation
But not everyone has confidence in this investigatory process the pope has opened.
According to a report by the religious news and information agency "Présence", which Judge Denis confirmed to La Croix, one of the lawyers leading the class action against the Quebec archdiocese, Alain Arsenault, asserts that the alleged victim of Cardinal Lacroix will not meet with the appointed investigator.
Arsenault sent the judge a letter expressing his doubts about the credibility and independence of such an investigation.
"Some of our clients have already been through this system, and they have emerged as bruised victims of reprisals. This process has brought them nothing positive," he wrote.
Arsenault added that "the search for truth, justice, and reparation for victims is not present in the actions of the Church in Quebec, except for a few exceptions".
He further specified that his clients "strongly question the real motivations of the Church in its handling of sexual assault cases".