Marc Armand Ouellet (born 8 June 1944) is a Canadian
prelate
A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...
of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. He has been the prefect of the
Congregation for Bishops
The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...
and president of the
Pontifical Commission for Latin America
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under th ...
since his appointment by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
on 30 June 2010. He continues in those positions though past the normal retirement age of 75 since
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
has yet to accept his resignation.
He was
Archbishop of Quebec
The archbishop of Quebec is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompassing ...
and
Primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
of Canada from 2003 to 2010. He was made a
cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
on 21 October 2003. Ouellet was considered a possible candidate for election to the papacy in both 2005 and 2013.
He spent his early career as a priest from 1972 to 2001 developing his credentials as a theologian and working as a seminary teacher and administrator in Canada,
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, and Rome. He also served briefly in the
Roman Curia as a non-cardinal from 2001 to 2003.
Early life
Ouellet was born on 8 June 1944 into a Catholic family of eight children in
La Motte, Quebec
La Motte is a municipality (Quebec), municipality in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec, located in the Abitibi Regional County Municipality and the administrative region of Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
As of 2013, t ...
. His father, Pierre, was a farmer who was self-taught, and later director-general of the area's school board. Ouellet attended Mass at Église Saint-Luc (now a community centre) regularly with his family. Ouellet later described his family as religious but not very devout. His childhood interests included reading,
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
, hunting partridge, and fishing. One of his summer jobs was fighting forest fires. While recovering from a hockey injury at age 17, he read
Thérèse of Lisieux
Thérèse of Lisieux (french: Thérèse de Lisieux ), born Marie Françoise-Thérèse Martin (2 January 1873 – 30 September 1897), also known as Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face (), was a French Catholic Discalced Carmelite ...
and started a more focused search for meaning. Although his father was reluctant to see his son become a priest, Ouellet while still a teenager informed him he had made a firm decision.
Career
He studied at the Major Seminary of Montreal from 1964 to 1969, earning a licentiate in theology. He was ordained a priest on 25 May 1968.
[ He became vicar at the Saint-Sauveur church in nearby ]Val-d'Or
Val-d'Or (, , ; "Golden Valley" or "Valley of Gold") is a city in Quebec, Canada with a population of 32,752 inhabitants according to the Canada 2021 Census. The city is located in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region near La Vérendrye Wildlife R ...
for 1968–70 and then began years of alternating seminary work with further studies. He taught philosophy in 1970–71 at the Major Seminary of Bogotá The Theological Seminary of Bogotá, commonly known as the Major Seminary of Bogotá (Spanish: ''Seminario Conciliar de Bogotá; Seminario Mayor de Bogotá'') is a Roman Catholic major seminary located in Bogotá, Colombia, and serving both the Arc ...
, Colombia, which was run by the Sulpicians.[ He joined the ]Sulpicians
The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...
in 1972.[ At the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas ''Angelicum'' in Rome, he earned a license in philosophy in 1974.][ He returned to teaching at the Major Seminary of Manizales, Colombia, joining in its management as well and then performed those same roles at the ]Grand Séminaire de Montréal
Grand may refer to:
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beginning in 1976.[ He studied ]dogmatic theology
Dogmatic theology, also called dogmatics, is the part of theology dealing with the theoretical truths of faith concerning God and God's works, especially the official theology recognized by an organized Church body, such as the Roman Catholic Ch ...
at the Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
beginning in 1978, earning a doctorate in 1983 with a thesis on Hans Urs von Balthasar
Hans Urs von Balthasar (12 August 1905 – 26 June 1988) was a Swiss theologian and Catholic priest who is considered an important Catholic theologian of the 20th century. He was announced as his choice to become a cardinal by Pope John Paul II, ...
.[
Returning to Colombia in 1983, he taught at the Major Seminary of Cali and then served as rector of the Major Seminary of Manzinales from 1984 to 1989. He became rector of the Grand Séminaire de Montréal in 1990, then rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Edmonton in 1994. From 1996 to 2002 he held the chair in dogmatic theology at the John Paul II Institute for the Study of Marriage and the Family, then part of the ]Pontifical Lateran University
The Pontifical Lateran University ( it, Pontificia Università Lateranense; la, Pontificia Universitas Lateranensis), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Ponti ...
.[
In 1990 Ouellet joined the editorial board of the North American edition of '']Communio
''Communio'' is a federation of theological journals, founded in 1972 by Joseph Ratzinger, Hans Urs von Balthasar, Henri de Lubac, Walter Kasper, Marc Ouellet, Louis Bouyer, and others. ''Communio'', now published in fifteen editions (including ...
'', a journal of Catholic theology established after the Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
by "conservatives disappointed with some of the excesses that followed the Second Vatican Council".[ In 1995 he was appointed a consultor of the ]Congregation for the Clergy
The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardin ...
and in 1999 for the .[ He became known during his teaching years as "a devotee of Swiss Catholic theologican Hans Urs von Balthasar, a darling of the Catholic right",][ whose work was the subject of Ouellet's 1983 doctoral thesis.][
Ouellet was named ]titular archbishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.
By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...
of Agropoli
Agropoli is a town and ''comune'' located in the Cilento area of the province of Salerno, Campania, Italy. It is situated at the start of the Cilentan Coast, on the Tyrrhenian Sea.
History Pre-medieval period
The promontory on which Agropoli s ...
and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965.
Po ...
on 3 March 2001. Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
consecrated him a bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
on 19 March 2001 in St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
. On 12 June 2001 he was named a consultor to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...
Archbishop of Quebec
On 15 November 2002, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
appointed him Archbishop of Quebec
The archbishop of Quebec is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompassing ...
. He was installed there on 26 January 2003. In that post he became a spokesman for the Catholic Church on all the public policy questions of the day. On 12 July 2005, Ouellet testified on behalf of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops before the Senate of Canada
The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada.
The Senate is modelled after the B ...
. He urged senators to vote against legalising same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
, referring to it as a "pseudo-marriage, a fiction".
On 21 November 2007, in a letter published in Quebec French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
newspapers, Ouellet apologized for what he described as past "errors" of the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec. Among the errors he wrote about were attitudes, prior to 1960, which promoted "anti-Semitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
, racism, indifference to First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
and discrimination against women
A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
and homosexuals."
In October 2008, Ouellet was sharply critical of a required course newly instituted in Quebec's schools ''Ethics and religious culture'', established as part of a program to eliminate sectarianism from public education. He doubted that teachers could provide instruction with "complete neutrality" to "produce a new little Quebecer, pluralist, expert in interreligious relations and critical of all beliefs". He advocated the protection of Quebec's religious heritage, which he described as "a force for social integration much more effective than the abstract knowledge of a few simple notions about six or several religions".
At a rally against abortion in 2010, Ouellet said that abortions should not be performed in cases of pregnancy from rape
Pregnancy is a potential result of rape. It has been studied in the context of war, particularly as a tool for genocide, as well as other unrelated contexts, such as rape by a stranger, statutory rape, incest, and underage pregnancy. The cur ...
, saying "But there is already a victim. Must there be another one?"
In May 2010 Ouellet stood by his comments that abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
is unjustifiable, even in the case of rape, and urged the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
to help pregnant women keep their child. He said that "Governments are funding clinics for abortion. I would like equity for organizations that are defending also life. If we have equity in funding those instances to help women I think we would make lots of progress in Canada".
Having earlier applauded prime minister Stephen Harper
Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...
's government for its stance against funding abortions in the developing world, he added: "If they do not want to fund abortion abroad and they do not bring at home more help to women to keep their child, I think they are incoherent".
Cardinal
On 21 October 2003, at the first consistory for creating cardinals following Ouellet's appointment to Quebec, Pope John Paul made him a cardinal
Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to:
Animals
* Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds
**''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae
**''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...
, assigning him as a cardinal priest to Santa Maria in Traspontina
The Church of Santa Maria del Carmelo in Traspontina (Saint Mary of Carmel Across the Bridge) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, run by the Carmelites. The bridge referred to is the Ponte Sant'Angelo. The church is on the Via della Conci ...
.
He was a cardinal elector
A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...
in the 2005 papal conclave
The 2005 papal conclave was convened to elect a new pope following the death of Pope John Paul II on 2 April 2005. After his death, the cardinals of the Catholic Church who were in Rome met and set a date for the beginning of the conclave to elec ...
. Anticipating that gathering, John L. Allen writing in the ''National Catholic Reporter
The ''National Catholic Reporter'' (''NCR'') is a progressive national newspaper in the United States that reports on issues related to the Catholic Church. Based in Kansas City, Missouri, ''NCR'' was founded by Robert Hoyt in 1964. Hoyt want ...
'' placed Ouellet among twenty candidates for the papacy. He noted Ouellet's attachment to traditional liturgical practices and a certain disaffection with developments since the Second Vatican Council, but said that "people who have worked with Ouellet describe him as friendly, humble and flexible, and a man not so captive to his own intellectual system as to make him incapable of listening to others." One account of the balloting said that Ouellet had supported Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
.
On 24 November 2003, Pope John Paul named him a member of the and a consultor for the Pontifical Commission for Latin America
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under th ...
. Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...
included him among the papal appointees to the 2005 Synod of Bishops on the Eucharist, one of eight members of the Council of Cardinals for the Study of Organizational and Economic Affairs of the Holy See on 3 February 2007, a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education
, type = Congregation
, seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg
, seal_size = 100px
, seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See
, logo =
, picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg
, picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...
on 24 May 2007, a member of the Pontifical Council for Culture
The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...
on 8 February 2008, and a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America on 8 October 2009.
Ouellet was appointed relator-general (recording secretary) of the Synod of Bishops that met in October 2008 to consider "The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church". In his opening-day address he advocated for Biblical exegesis motivated by faith, not driven by the "superficial characteristics" explored in linguistic and archeological scholarship. He also called for reading scripture in the light of Church teaching; he lamented the "often unhealthy tension between university theology and the ecclesiastical magisterium."
In June 2011 Ouellet addressed speculation about his odds in a potential conclave, saying that, for him, being pope "would be a nightmare". Ouellet said that seeing Pope Benedict's workload at close range makes the prospect of the papacy "not very enviable". He added: "It is a crushing responsibility. It's the kind of thing you don't campaign for."
Ouellet participated as an elector again in the 2013 conclave, which elected Benedict XVI's successor, Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
. Ouellet was among those receiving the most votes in the first two ballots. As the electors gathered for this conclave, he helped arrange for Cardinal Keith O'Brien
Keith Michael Patrick Cardinal O'Brien (17 March 1938 – 19 March 2018) was a senior-ranking Catholic prelate in Scotland. He was the Archbishop of Saint Andrews and Edinburgh from 1985 to 2013.
Cardinal O'Brien was the leader of the Catho ...
to withdraw from participation amid multiple accusations of sexual misconduct.
Roman Curia
On 30 June 2010, Pope Benedict named him prefect of the Congregation for Bishops
The Dicastery for Bishops, formerly named Congregation for Bishops (), is the department of the Roman Curia that oversees the selection of most new bishops. Its proposals require papal approval to take effect, but are usually followed. The Dic ...
and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America
The Pontifical Commission for Latin America is a department of the Roman Curia that since 1958 has been charged with providing assistance to and examining matters pertaining to the Catholic Church in Latin America. The Commission operates under th ...
. Asked at the time to assess the sexual abuse scandal, Ouellet cited as contributing factors a culture of secrecy and psychological ignorance within the Church and the relaxation of sexual restraint in society on the whole and within the Church as a consequence of misinterpretations of the Second Vatican Council and a substitution of relativism for moral objectivism and rigorous adherence to the Church's moral doctrine.
After a few months managing the selection and appointment of bishops, he described his mission: "Today, especially in the context of our secularized societies, we need bishops who are the first evangelizers, and not mere administrators of dioceses, who are capable of proclaiming the Gospel, who are not only theologically faithful to the magisterium and the pope but are also capable of expounding and, if need be, of defending the faith publicly." He also cautioned that if a priest or a bishop aspires and maneuvers to be promoted to a prominent diocese, "it is better for him to stay where he is."
Addressing a conference on "Sacred Scripture in the Church" in February 2011, Ouellet reiterated his ideas on Biblical interpretation, adding the context of an increasingly secular European culture that no longer recognizes Christianity and the Bible as the source of its culture, but one tradition among many. He said: "A new raison d'etat imposes its law and tries to relegate the Christian roots of Europe to a secondary plane. It would seem that, in the name of secularism, the Bible must be relativised, to be dissolved in a religious pluralism and disappear as a normative cultural reference."
He was made a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from Heresy in Christianity, heresy and is ...
on 16 October 2010. On 5 January 2011 he was appointed among the first members of the newly created Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (Latin: ''Pontificium Consilium de Nova Evangelizatione''), also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose cre ...
. On 29 January 2011, Ouellet was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as a member of Secretariat of State (second section). On 6 April 2011, Ouellet was named a member of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts
The Dicastery for Legislative Texts, formerly named Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, is a dicastery of the Roman Curia. It is distinct from the highest tribunal or court in the Church, which is the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Sign ...
and on 7 March 2012 a member of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...
.
Pope Francis named him a member of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life
The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...
on 29 March 2014 and of the Congregation for the Clergy
The Dicastery for the Clergy, formerly named Congregation for the Clergy (; formerly the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy and Sacred Congregation of the Council), is the dicastery of the Roman Curia responsible for overseeing matters regardin ...
on 9 June 2014.
Pope Francis raised him to the rank of Cardinal Bishop effective 28 June 2018. In September 2018, discussing the priestly sexual abuse crisis, Ouellet said "we will need more participation of women in the formation of priests, in teaching, in the discernment of candidates and their emotional balance". In October he told the Synod of Bishops on Young People that it was "possible and necessary to accelerate the processes of struggle against the 'machista' culture and clericalism, to develop respect for women and the recognition of their charisms as well as their equal integration in the life of society and the church".
Ouellet submitted his resignation from his curial positions as required upon reaching the age of 75 in June 2019, but the pope did not accept it.
Shortly before the October 2019 Synod of Bishops on the Amazon, which was expected to hear some bishops advocate for the ordination of married men to the priesthood, Ouellet published a book expressing his skepticism, ''Friends of the Bridegroom: For a Renewed Vision of Priestly Celibacy''. He noted that rural communities of the region struggled to provide training even for catechists. During the synod he said that "Celibacy has an incomparable evangelizing power". He called for a "vocational culture" that would engage both laity and religious.
Personal life
Ouellet is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Latin, and German.
Plagiarism
Some texts published under Cardinal Ouellet's name have been found to be plagiarized from multiple sources, possibly by his alleged ghostwriter, Father Thomas Rosica
Thomas Michael Rosica, C.S.B., (born March 3, 1959) in Rochester, New York, is a Roman Catholic priest and a Basilian Father. He is an author, speaker, and commentator. He was formerly Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Salt and Light Catholic ...
.
Alleged sexual assault
On August 8, 2022, a class-action lawsuit named Ouellet as the assailant of an unnamed woman (referred to as "F") who accused the cleric of kissing her, at a cocktail reception in 2008. "F" alleged that Ouellet massaged her shoulders and slid his hand down her back, touching her buttocks. No criminal charges have been laid. Ouellet has denied the sexual assault allegation, calling it "defamatory".
"F" had reportedly written to Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
about Ouellet in January 2021. Following this, the Vatican began an internal preliminary investigation against Ouellet in February 2021, led by Jesuit priest and theologian Jacques Servais. On August 18, 2022, the Vatican dropped its investigation into Ouellet, after Pope Francis determined that there was not sufficient evidence to begin a canonical investigation.
In December 2022, Ouellet filed a defamation lawsuit in Quebec courts, arguing that he was falsely accused of sexual assault.
Distinctions
* Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
: Order of the Holy Sepulchre
The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Equestris Sancti Sepulcri Hierosolymitani, links=yes, OESSH), also called Order of the Holy Sepulchre or Knights of the Holy Sepulchre, is a Catholic Church, Catholic order of ...
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ouellet, Marc
Living people
1944 births
French Quebecers
People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue
20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests
Pontifical Gregorian University alumni
Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas alumni
Sulpician bishops
Canadian cardinals
Roman Catholic archbishops of Quebec
21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Canada
Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II
Major Seminary of Bogotá faculty
Members of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation
Members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
Members of the Congregation for the Clergy
Members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Members of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches
Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education
Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture
Members of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre
Université Laval alumni