The Vatican reported this Saturday, April 13, that it has sent a “note verbale” to the French embassy to the Holy See, following an “alleged decision” by a civil court against Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Bishops, in a case related to the expulsion of a nun from her religious institute.
Matteo Bruni, director of the Vatican Press Office, explained that the note verbale – a diplomatic communication that allows for some type of observation although it lacks the ordinary formal requirements – specifies that “the Holy See has learned only through the media on the alleged decision of the Court of Lorient, in France, in a civil proceeding regarding the resignation of a religious institute of Mrs. Sabine de la Valette (formerly Sister Marie Ferréol).”
The Vatican further explained that “Cardinal Marc Ouellet has indeed conducted an apostolic visit to the Institute of the Dominican Sisters of the Holy Spirit (Dominicans of the Holy Spirit)” to which Sabine de la Valette belonged.