Judge: Abuse investigation against Lacroix “significantly compromised” by accuser’s refusal to participate

André Denis, a retired Quebec Superior Court judge appointed by Pope Francis to investigate sexual abuse allegations against Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix, archbishop of Quebec, said he found no evidence to support the allegations. But Denis noted that the outcome of the investigation was significantly influenced by the accuser’s refusal to participate — which could change in the future — leaving the cardinal feeling like he was “fighting a ghost” in the meantime.

“The elements gathered in the course of my investigation make it implausible that the facts of which the cardinal is accused actually occurred,” Denis wrote in his 66-page report, which he presented to Francis on May 6. “I do not find sufficient elements to justify the conduct of a canonical trial against Cardinal Lacroix, and this is the conclusion that I expressed to Pope Francis.”

On May 21, Denis released a ten-page summary of that report and held a press conference the same day to answer questions.

On January 25, the cardinal, who is also primate of the Catholic Church in Canada, was named in a document from anonymous victims filed as part of a class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec. The archdiocese is being sued on behalf of individuals who claim they were sexually abused by members of the clergy, their staff and their volunteers from January 1, 1940, to the present.

“The diocese recognizes that this lawsuit has merit for a certain number of plaintiffs and wishes to reach an out-of-court settlement as soon as possible. This is a desire shared by all,” the judge wrote.

The attack the archbishop is accused of is said to have taken place in Quebec between 1987 and 1988.

The accusation is based on the statement that she was a minor at the time. In 1987, Cardinal Lacroix was not yet a priest. It was the then Bishop Maurice Couture (later Archbishop of Quebec) who ordained him a priest on October 8, 1988.

Due to this allegation, the cardinal stated that he would “temporarily withdraw from his activities until the situation is clarified,” but he denied the allegations.

On February 8, Francis asked Denis to investigate “the facts, circumstances and imputability of the alleged crime” against Cardinal Lacroix.

Denis said his investigation was hampered by his inability to interview the person who made the allegations.

“Her statement is anonymous and she refuses to cooperate with my investigation,” Denis wrote in his report.

“She has every right to do so and she must be treated with respect, empathy and welcome, as any human being should be,” he added.

Denis made it clear, however, that this refusal had “significantly compromised” the investigation against the cardinal.

“If I cannot confirm that his complaint is unfounded, I certainly cannot support it based on the facts revealed by my investigation,” Denis wrote in the conclusion of his report.

“I am not in a position to say whether the alleged act took place or not. I am not even in a position to indicate a place, an event, a specific date or a circumstance. The applicant’s refusal to cooperate in any way with my investigations leaves me helpless,” he told the Pope.

Judge Denis regretted that Lacroix would “never know who is accusing him” or “what facts he is accused of” and feared that the charges brought against the cardinal would remain “forever” hidden in the darkness of anonymity.

“I tried several times to convince the plaintiff to help me fulfill my mandate. To no avail,” Denis said in his summary. “I asked her at least to provide me with a date, a place and a detail relevant to her complaint. She refused. I asked for access to the redacted statement that every plaintiff must submit to the court to explain the circumstances of the attack of which he or she claims to be a victim. She refused.”

Only after these repeated refusals did the judge decide to make public the request for an investigation he had received from Francis.

In response to questions from Présence, a French-language news agency based in Quebec, Denis said he remained willing to meet with the cardinal’s accuser.

“For me, it is never too late. If the complainant were to say to me tomorrow: ‘I would like to meet with you to explain what happened,’ I would ask the Pope for an additional mandate to complete my investigation.”

Denis said his investigation looked at the cardinal’s entire career in Quebec, but paid particular attention to the years 1987, when he was a parish intern, and 1988.

“The places he visited, the internship he completed and his pastoral mission in 1987 and 1988 are inconsistent with the presence of a 17-year-old young woman accompanying her parents to Bible meetings,” he said.

“The evidence I have gathered during my lengthy investigation shows that neither during 1987 and 1988 nor at any other stage of his life as a member of the Church of Quebec since he was present there did Msgr. Gérald Lacroix ever display any intimacy, inappropriate gestures or innuendo of a sexual nature,” he continued.

“All those who were in contact with Gérald Lacroix in 1987 and 1988 and whom I met during my investigation do not believe that he committed the acts he is accused of, either in 1987 and 1988 or before or after,” said Denis. “The numerous witnesses we have met throughout Cardinal Lacroix’s pastoral career since his time in Quebec have reached the same conclusion.”

Denis also told Présence that he had met with the cardinal to hear his version of events.

“I questioned him in detail to find out what he knew about this topic. He told me with full conviction that he had never committed the acts the plaintiff accused him of. Neither to her nor to any other person.

“It’s not easy for him. He told me: ‘I’m fighting a ghost.'”

At the Quebec Superior Court, Denis is the first judge in Canada to preside over a trial under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act. In 2009, he sentenced Rwandan refugee Désiré Munyaneza to life imprisonment for his active participation in the 1994 genocide.

An earlier report by Presence suggested that the plaintiff’s refusal to participate in the investigation may have been due to significant mistrust. According to Presence, lawyer Alain Arsenault, who is leading the class action lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Quebec, said an investigation ordered by the church was “not credible.”

Today, he said, “we no longer ask police officers to investigate the police. This is a given. And the same goes for the Church. As long as it is an internal process, led by friends, as we saw in the case of Cardinal Marc Ouellet (subject of a recent investigation by the Vatican), it will not be credible.”

The Vatican press office stated on May 21 that the Pope supported Denis’ conclusion and that therefore “no other canonical procedure is planned.”

“In view of the facts examined by the judge, the report does not indicate that Cardinal Gérald C. Lacroix committed acts amounting to misconduct or abuse,” the official statement said.