The Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec on Friday announced that their cardinal, Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, would be stepping down “temporarily…until the situation is clarified” after being named as an alleged perpetrator in the recently approved class action suit, Gaétan Bégin and Pierre Bolduc v. The Roman Catholic Archiepiscopal Corporation of Quebec and The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec.

The lawsuit has over 101 alleged victims listed. Two of these victims,  Gaétan Bégin and Pierre Bolduc, are the applicants representing the victims in the class action suit. Bégin, now 82 years old, alleges being assaulted by a priest as a boy between the ages of 14 and 17. Bolduc, now 65 years old, claims to have been assaulted by a priest at the age of 12. The class action categorizes the victims as:

All people, as well as their heirs and beneficiaries, who have been sexually assaulted by members of the clergy or lay pastoral staff, by employees or volunteers, lay or religious, under the responsibility of the archiepiscopal corporation Roman Catholic of Quebec and the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Quebec having exercised their authority over the Diocese of Quebec, during the period between January 1, 1940 and the judgment to be intervened.

Victims range from all over Quebec as the Diocese has maintained a presence in hundreds of parishes as well as several colleges and academic institutions across 15 cities in the French province. Lacroix is one of over 132 perpetrators listed. Lacroix “categorically denies the allegations against him.”  

The Quebec lawsuit follows one of many reported sexual and systemic abuses against the Catholic Church worldwide. In 2021, the French Independent Commission estimated that church leadership members abused over 200,000 children, including clergies, monks or nuns, for over 70 years. Last year in Bolivia, a priest’s diary was publicized where the abuse of over 85 minors was admitted. It also detailed the protections provided by the church to cover it up. In Germany this year, an independent study reported over 2,00o victims of abuse.

In an open letter in 2021, the UN urged the Catholic Church “to take all necessary measures to stop and prevent the recurrence of violence and sexual abuse against children in Catholic institutions, and to ensure those responsible are held to account and reparations are paid to victims.”

In a 2022 interview, Pope Francis declared “zero tolerance” for abuse and the priests that have partaken in it. During his 2022 Canada tour, in the Notre Dame Basilica in Quebec, the Pope acknowledged the church’s history of sexual abuse in Canada, noting that “firm action and irrevocable commitment” is required.

The Quebec class action suit is still pending without a set trial date.