Cardinal Gérald Lacroix, I.S.P.X.
Photo: Edward Pentin
Metropolitan Archbishop of Quebec, Canada
Dioceses/Religious Orders: Secular Institute of Pius X, Archdiocese of Québec
On January 29, 2024, the Archdiocese of Québec announced that Cardinal Gérald Lacroix would temporarily step down as archbishop after he was named in a class-action lawsuit alleging he sexually abused a 17-year-old girl in the late 1980s. The allegations, involving “inappropriate touching, fellatio and penetration,” reportedly occurred in Quebec City in 1987 and 1988, after Lacroix’s tenure as secretary general and director of the General Council of the Institut Séculier Pie X and shortly before his ordination as a priest of the secular institute.
The claims were formally added to an existing class-action suit against the archdiocese on January 25, 2024. In a video statement released January 30, Lacroix “categorically denied” the accusations, and though he announced he would temporarily withdraw from diocesan activities, he traveled to Rome the following week for a scheduled meeting of the Pope’s Council of Cardinals.
On February 8, Pope Francis appointed retired Canadian judge André Denis to conduct an investigation, per the Vatican’s procedures under Vos estis lux mundi. The woman who filed the complaint refused to speak with Denis, with her lawyer saying he “doesn’t place any value” in the church-sponsored investigation.
Denis submitted his findings on May 6, noting that the Lacroix’s accuser declined to speak with him and that he could not verify the details of the accusation, stating “you could say” the investigation is incomplete. Nevertheless, Denis concluded that Lacroix’s conduct was “beyond reproach” and that a canonical trial was not warranted after he did not find evidence of him “meeting with a woman” in his archive and after unnamed people Denis interviewed assured him that they didn’t believe Lacroix would commit acts of sexual misconduct. Denis wrote that “the cardinal could never have lived with such a secret.”
On May 21, the Vatican announced that no further canonical action would be taken. In a video statement, Lacroix reiterated his innocence but said he would continue to refrain from public ministry temporarily. On July 22, Lacroix declared he would resume his role as archbishop, though he delegated responsibility for handling the class-action lawsuit and other abuse cases to his Auxiliary Bishop Marc Pelchat.