Achi news desk-
Two days after a Vatican-mandated investigation found no evidence that Gerald Lacroix committed sexual abuse, the Quebec cardinal released a video message saying he did nothing wrong.
“I maintain my innocence,” Lacroix said in a video posted on YouTube Thursday.
On Tuesday, retired Quebec Superior Court Judge Andre Denis released the results of his investigation, which found he found nothing to substantiate the allegations. However, Dennis admitted that his investigation was incomplete because the complainant refused to take part in the investigation, and that her lack of participation “left me at a loss.”
Pope Francis, who named the Quebec cardinal archbishop of Quebec in March 2023, asked the former judge to look into the allegations, which first emerged from a class-action lawsuit. Lacroix’s name was among 15 added to a list of alleged perpetrators in a court document, upheld by the Supreme Court in 2022, that made several allegations of sexual abuse by clergy and staff dating back to 1940.
In his video on Thursday, he said he wanted “the full light to be shed” on the charges against him.
“I invite the prosecutor to contact Judge Dennis as he suggested or to file a criminal complaint against me in order for a proper trial to take place. The community has the right to know whether the acts I am accused of took place or not,” said the cardinal.
He also welcomed the investigation’s report – an indication that the church is taking sexual abuse allegations seriously, he said. The report concluded that there was no need for Lacroix to face judicial proceedings at the Vatican.
Arsenault Dufresne Wee, the Montreal law firm representing the complainant, contested Denise’s investigation, saying it had no real impact and that her client did not want to take part in an internal process that lacked credibility.
“She wants to take part in the trial at the Quebec Supreme Court because it is an independent court,” lawyer Alain Arsenault said in an interview with The Canadian Press on Tuesday.
In his video statement, Hoda called on his supporters for their prayers and said he had decided not to return to his duties as archbishop since he left in January.
“I voluntarily chose to remain discreet,” he said. “I will re-evaluate my decision from time to time.”
With files from the Canadian Press
