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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 'pre ...
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 Dicas ...
and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America 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 sovereig ...
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 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 human ...
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 Cari ...
, 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. 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,
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, 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 Carmelit ...
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 Wildl ...
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, 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: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and co ...
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'', 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 ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...
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
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...
. 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
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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 Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or offic ...
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 e ...
. 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 and is the body responsible f ...


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. 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 sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituti ...
, referring to it as a "pseudo-marriage, a fiction". On 21 November 2007, in a letter published in Quebec French-language 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 "
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, 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 adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardle ...
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, 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 preg ...
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-govern ...
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 in the 2005 papal conclave. 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 sovereig ...
. On 24 November 2003, Pope John Paul named him a member of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments it, Dicastero per il Culto Divino e la Disciplina dei Sacramenti , type = Dicastery , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , p ...
and a consultor for the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
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 sovereig ...
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 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 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 Dicas ...
and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. 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 and is the body responsible f ...
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 cr ...
. 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 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 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.


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 R ...
:
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 order of knighthood under ...


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * {{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