Cardinal Marc Ouellet has said it was a “clumsy mistake” to place a $50 banknote inside a woman’s sweater during a hug.
Cardinal Ouellet, 81, the former prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Bishops and once widely regarded as papabile in 2013, is currently involved in civil proceedings before the Superior Court of Quebec in Montréal in a lawsuit against Paméla Groleau. The cardinal has said since the beginning of the trial that allegations made by Groleau in 2022 have gravely harmed his honour and reputation. He is seeking damages of 100,000 Canadian dollars.
