"After the preliminary investigation entrusted by the pope to Father Jacques Servais, whose conclusion was that there are no elements to start a trial, and after other relevant consultations, Pope Francis states that there is not sufficient evidence to open a canon investigation for sexual assault by cardinal Ouellet," Bruni said, as quoted by Italian news agency ANSA.
On Wednesday, Ouellet, considered by many to be a potential successor to Pope Francis, was named in a sexual assault lawsuit as a suspected molester of an unnamed woman. The alleged abuses, in the form of non-consensual kisses, touches, and caresses, were carried out repeatedly between 2008-2010 when Ouellet was Archbishop of Quebec.