The archdiocese of Quebec said that a Canadian cardinal who is a close advisor to Pope Francis yesterday “firmly” rejected allegations that he sexually assaulted a teenage girl in the 1980s, but he will take a break from his duties.

Cardinal Gerald Lacroix, the archbishop of Quebec who is 66 years old, is accused of sexual assault from 1987 and 1988, when the victim was 17, as part of a lawsuit against more than 100 priests in the archdiocese.

Lacroix became the archbishop of Quebec in 2011 and a cardinal in 2014. He has been on the pontiff’s Council of Cardinal Advisors, which meets often at the Vatican, since last year.

The archdiocese said in a statement that “Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix has told his main co-workers that he is taking a break from his activities until the situation is resolved.”

“He firmly rejects the accusations made against him yesterday, which he thinks are baseless,” it said.

The lawsuit is a revised version of a case that started in 2022.

The law firm representing his accuser said that it has testimony from 147 people who say they were sexually assaulted by more than 100 priests in the archdiocese, some of whom were senior clergy.

Pope Francis has made fighting sexual assault in the Church one of the main goals of his papacy, and called for a “zero tolerance” policy after many widespread scandals.

The pontiff has set up a commission on the sexual abuse of minors, to try to remove the secrecy that had covered up criminal behaviour by the clergy for years.

Clergy and staff have to report abuse in their dioceses, but anything confessed is still private, and victims’ rights activists have asked for better responsibility.

All cardinals who are younger than 80 take part in conclaves that are held to choose new popes.