Overview
- Superior Court Justice Martin Castonguay issued a 52‑page ruling on Monday, Aug. 31, 2026, finding Paméla Groleau’s accusations unfounded and ordering her to pay Cardinal Marc Ouellet $100,000 in damages.
- The judge said Groleau changed key details of her account several times and questioned her credibility, noting she ultimately described only one incident as sexual assault.
- A Vatican preliminary review led by Jesuit Father Jacques Servais in 2022 similarly concluded there were no sufficient elements to open a canonical investigation and Pope Francis did not authorize one.
- Cardinal Ouellet said he will donate the awarded $100,000 to organizations that support Indigenous survivors of sexual abuse and framed the ruling as a restoration of his honour.
- The allegation was made public inside a 2022 class action against the Archdiocese of Quebec that centers on seven children abused by paedophile clergy, and the judge said Ouellet suffered additional reputational harm from being linked to that wider case.