Cardinal Robert Sarah – championed by conservatives as reflecting the doctrinaire and liturgically minded papacies of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI – is among those being considered to replace Pope Francis.
An African cardinal from Guinea, Sarah, 79, is viewed as a spiritual and theological standard-bearer for conservative Catholics, as critics of Francis have argued the late pope was too heavily influenced by modern secularism.
Sarah previously headed the Vatican’s charity office Cor Unum and clashed with Francis on many occasions.
Their ideological divide most seriously came to a head when Sarah and Benedict – who retired as acting pope in 2013 – co-authored a book titled “From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.” The 2020 book advocated the “necessity” of continued celibacy for Latin Rite priests and came out as Francis was weighing whether to allow married priests in the Amazon to address a priest shortage there.
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As a result, Francis dismissed Benedict’s secretary, Archbishop Georg Gaenswein, from his papal household job, and several months later retired Sarah after he turned 75. The prospect of a retired pope trying to influence a reigning one created the scenario that canon lawyers and theologians had warned of when Benedict decided to retain the white cassock of the papacy in retirement as “pope emeritus.” The scandal died down after Benedict removed himself as a co-author.
It’s actually Sarah’s 2019 book that’s causing more of a stir with conservative Christians in the wake of Francis’ passing.
Sarah has described “The Day Is Now Far Spent” as his most significant book. In it, the cardinal decries how Europe and Western civilization have turned away from Christianity and suffer from ideological challenges brought by mass migration.
By contrast, Francis had openly contradicted the Trump administration and Vice President JD Vance – a Catholic convert – over their crackdown on illegal immigration.
Vance, one of the last dignitaries to meet with Francis on Easter Sunday before his passing, has referenced Pope John Paul II – ideologically more similar to Sarah – in recent public addresses. At the Munich Security Conference, Vance praised John Paul II as “one of the most extraordinary champions of democracy” when emphasizing the importance of Western values. The vice president also celebrated John Paul II’s call for new evangelization at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C.
Sarah co-authored two other books – “God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith” in 2015 and The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise in 2017 – both with French journalist Nicolas Diat.
Here are some key quotes by Sarah being highlighted ahead of Francis’ funeral later this week. The papal conclave will convene in the coming weeks to choose a new leader of the Catholic Church.
Sarah argued that the West has cut itself off from its Christian heritage in “The Day is Now Far Spent.”
“The West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows and does not want to know who made it, who established it, as it was and as it is. The West refuses to acknowledge its Christian roots.”
“By losing its faith, Europe has also lost its reason to be. It is experiencing a lethal decline and is becoming a new civilization, one that is cut off from its Christian roots.”
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Sarah argued that gender ideology is an affront to God’s creation and cannot fundamentally change whether a person is male or female in “The Day is Now Far Spent.”
“Gender ideology is a Luciferian refusal to receive a sexual nature from God.”
In a March 2019 interview with the French publication “Valeurs Actuelles,” Sarah reportedly criticized the role of the Catholic Church in supporting mass migration policies in Europe, noting the harm caused to the migrants themselves.
“All migrants who arrive in Europe are penniless, without work, without dignity,” Sarah reportedly said. “This is what the Church wants? The Church cannot cooperate with this new form of slavery that has become mass migration.”
In “The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise,” Sarah argues that modern distractions separate humankind from God.
“Distraction is the devil’s tool for cutting man off from God.”
In “God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith,” Sarah asserts that one’s loyalty must be to Christ – rather than to popularity or politics – and repeatedly argues against moral relativism in family and societal norms.
“The Church is not a human organization. She is not subject to the fashions of the day or the winds of doctrine. She must be faithful to Christ.”
“God or nothing: there is no other choice. Those who choose God have everything. Those who choose nothing are lost.”
“If truth no longer exists, if everything is relative, then man becomes a slave to his passions.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.