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Tuesday, September 1, 2026 · UTC
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Cardinal Ouellet Wins Defamation Case Against Accuser

Quebec court rules Cardinal Marc Ouellet was falsely accused of sexual assault and awards him damages.

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The Superior Court of Quebec ruled on 31 August that Cardinal Marc Ouellet was falsely accused of sexual assault and awarded him $100,000 in damages for defamation. [1] Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay ruled on August 31 that sexual misconduct allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet were false and ordered his accuser to pay him 100,000 Canadian dollars. [2] Cardinal Marc Ouellet stated he would donate the $100,000 damages award to organizations combating the sexual abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada. [3] Justice Martin Castonguay concluded that the allegations made by Paméla Groleau were unfounded and formulated with extreme recklessness equivalent to malice. [4] Paméla Groleau, a former lay pastoral assistant, accused Cardinal Ouellet of non-consensual physical contact allegedly committed between 2008 and 2010. [5] Justice Castonguay concluded that Paméla Groleau's testimony against Cardinal Marc Ouellet was neither credible nor reliable because she had changed her story several times. [6] Justice Castonguay stated that the damage to Cardinal Marc Ouellet's reputation was amplified because the class-action lawsuit equated him with religious pedophiles in the eyes of ordinary citizens. [7] Paméla Groleau accused Cardinal Marc Ouellet of touching her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010 while she was training or working as a lay pastoral agent. [8]
What this stands on
  1. The Superior Court of Quebec ruled on 31 August that Cardinal Marc Ouellet was falsely accused of sexual assault and awarded him $100,000 in damages for defamation. · Vatican News
  2. Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay ruled on August 31 that sexual misconduct allegations against Cardinal Marc Ouellet were false and ordered his accuser to pay him 100,000 Canadian dollars. · EWTN News
  3. Cardinal Marc Ouellet stated he would donate the $100,000 damages award to organizations combating the sexual abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada. · Vatican News
  4. Justice Martin Castonguay concluded that the allegations made by Paméla Groleau were unfounded and formulated with extreme recklessness equivalent to malice. · Vatican News
  5. Paméla Groleau, a former lay pastoral assistant, accused Cardinal Ouellet of non-consensual physical contact allegedly committed between 2008 and 2010. · Vatican News
  6. Justice Castonguay concluded that Paméla Groleau's testimony against Cardinal Marc Ouellet was neither credible nor reliable because she had changed her story several times. · EWTN News
  7. Justice Castonguay stated that the damage to Cardinal Marc Ouellet's reputation was amplified because the class-action lawsuit equated him with religious pedophiles in the eyes of ordinary citizens. · EWTN News
  8. Paméla Groleau accused Cardinal Marc Ouellet of touching her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010 while she was training or working as a lay pastoral agent. · EWTN News
We could not place any of them by their address. None is an official body: that part stands on reporting, not on the underlying document or transcript.
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