Lawyer for Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet says accuser’s testimony lacks credibility

MONTREAL — Quebec Cardinal Marc Ouellet was back on the witness stand Monday denying he ever acted inappropriately with women, with his lawyer suggesting the accuser at the centre of his defamation lawsuit lacked credibility.

Ouellet is suing Paméla Groleau for $100,000 after she named him in a 2022 class-action lawsuit alleging sexual misconduct by members of the Quebec City diocese. Groleau alleges Ouellet touched her without consent on three occasions between 2008 and 2010 while she was training or working as a lay pastoral agent for the Catholic Church.

Ouellet has not been charged with any crime in relation to her allegations.

Last week, another woman — Marie-Louise Moreau — testified that in 1992 Ouellet came up behind her while she was preparing items for a mass in Montreal, put his hands on either side of her, and allegedly rubbed his pelvis against her behind.

During his testimony on Monday, Ouellet said he felt compassion for “Mrs. Moreau’s suffering,” but added, “I am not the person she is talking about; I have never done the things she describes, either to Mrs. Moreau or to anyone else.”

Ouellet first testified at the start of this defamation lawsuit on March 2, but was called back to the stand on Monday following the testimony of Groleau and other women who accused him of inappropriate behaviour. However, his lawyer Dominique Ménard did not ask him to comment on Groleau’s testimony.

Later in the day, Ménard closed her case, saying Groleau’s testimony contained numerous inconsistencies and lacked credibility. Groleau had said during cross-examination that of the three times she said he touched her without her consent, only one of those incidents she considers a sexual assault — when he allegedly ran his hand down her back to the top of her buttocks in 2010.

Ménard said Groleau was required to describe Ouellet’s actions as sexual assault to be part of the 2022 class action. “Even if the actions are true, which they are not,” Ménard said, they could not be described as sexual assault but rather “inappropriate behaviour.”

The lawyer pointed out what she said were inconsistencies in Groleau’s testimony. Groleau had described a shoulder massage by Ouellet as lasting three to five minutes, but later testified it could have been less time than that. Ménard also noted that Groleau initially said Ouellet held her hands for a few minutes, later adjusting the time frame to just a few seconds.

Groleau’s account of the cardinal’s actions, Ménard said, changed “according to the questions she was being asked.” Ménard added that Groleau’s testimony was “without precise memory” of the events and described it as “hesitant” and that it “lacked credibility.”

“By describing actions attributed to Cardinal Ouellet as sexual assault, both in the class-action lawsuit and in the media, Ms. Groleau deviated significantly from the conduct of a reasonable person,” said Ménard, adding that the cardinal “had no other choice but to appear before the courts.”

Meanwhile, Ménard asked the judge to disregard Moreau’s testimony, calling it “irrelevant” and saying “the evidence of Ms. Moreau’s account is of little, if any, value.” The 84-year-old Moreau had said she didn’t tell anyone about the 1992 encounter until 2023, after Groleau came forward publicly with accusations of misconduct against the cardinal.

Ménard also referenced the testimony of Mélissa Trépanier, a third woman who testified about Ouellet’s alleged inappropriate behaviour. Trépanier said that in 2014, Ouellet allegedly put a $50 bill down the front of her sweater and that she felt his hand inside her shirt. Trépanier described the encounter as a breach of trust and an abuse of power, saying she was left “devastated” and worried about other young people around him.

Ménard said Trépanier’s testimony was “somewhat irrelevant,” adding it was “a deeply subjective account.”

Trépanier and Moreau, like Groleau, have agreed to have their names published, waiving the publication ban that usually applies in cases involving sexual assault allegations.

In 2013, Ouellet was touted as a front-runner to replace former pope Benedict XVI, a role that went to former pope Francis. The cardinal headed the powerful Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican office that oversees the selection of new bishops, from 2010 until his retirement in 2023.

The Superior Court trial before Justice Martin Castonguay will resume on Tuesday with the final arguments of Groleau’s lawyer.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 9, 2026.

Charlotte Glorieux, The Canadian Press