The woman, identified only as F., was one of several people who brought a class-action lawsuit against the archdiocese of Quebec in August that accused several priests, including Ouellet, of sexual abuse or assault. F. accused Ouellet of inappropriate, sexual touches on four occasions in the late 2000s.
Ouellet’s countersuit, filed Tuesday in the Superior Court in Quebec, repeats the cardinal’s firm denial and says he has no recollection of meeting F.
His lawsuit said that even if the allegations were true, the woman’s specific claims about his alleged behavior could not be construed as “sexual assault” or sexual abuse of minors, which are other crimes included in the class-action lawsuit.
“To associate Mr. Ouellet with such acts creates, in the mind of the ordinary citizen, the perception that Mr. Ouellet is an individual of the same ilk, which he is clearly not,” the cardinal’s lawsuit says.
It said he had experienced “significant psychological anguish” since the woman’s allegations went public and that his international reputation was “seriously tarnished.”
Pope Francis shelved a church investigation into Ouellet after a priest investigator interviewed F. and determined there weren’t grounds for further investigation because the woman didn’t bring forward accusations that warranted it.
Ouellet’s lawyers said any damages awarded would be donated to the “fight against sexual abuse of Indigenous peoples in Canada.”
