4 contenders to become the next pope
3. Robert Sarah
Cardinal Robert Sarah served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014-2021. He was elevated to the title of cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010 and has held additional positions at the Vatican. At age 79, Sarah is considerably older than the other contenders. A native of Guinea, he would be the first pope from sub-Saharan Africa if elected.
Schmalz explained that Sarah has a strong "following among conservative Catholics, interestingly enough in the Western world, particularly in the United States and Western Europe." Schmalz identified Sarah as a favorite of those who would like to "roll back the reforms of Pope Francis" and described him as a "Trump-like pope."
During a speech last year at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., Sarah lamented the "loss of devout Christian living, our obvious Christian culture and, in the form of public dissent, sometimes even from high-ranking officials or prominent institutions." He referred to then-President Joe Biden, a practicing Catholic and outspoken supporter of legal abortion, as a "cafeteria Catholic."
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The Catholic Church leader also called on Catholics in the U.S. to "raise their voice and become clear [teachers] of the faith, witnessing by both word and holiness of life." According to Sarah, "There is too much confusion circling the Church. And it is up to us, bishops, to provide clarity so the lay faithful can themselves be witness to the truth." He highlighted what he viewed as the bishops' obligation to "be a sign of contradiction to the contemporary world."
Speaking at the Vatican in 2015, Sarah referred to Islamic terrorism and Western liberal culture as "two unexpected threats" that are "almost like the beasts of the Apocalypse," coming from "two opposite directions: on one side the idolatry of Western freedom, on the other religious fanaticism." He maintained that "What Nazism-fascism and communism were to the 20th century, Western ideologies on homosexuality and abortion and Islamic fanaticism are to today."
Sarah identified liberal ideology as a threat to the family because of its promotion of "quickie divorces, abortion, homosexual unions" as well as "gender theory" and "the LGBT ideology." He denounced "the pseudo-family of an ideological Islam which legitimizes polygamy, sexual slavery" and "child marriage."
Sarah contended that the two ideologies have the "same demonic origin," adding, "They both advocate a universal and totalitarian law, they're both violently intolerant, destroyers of families and the Church, and openly anti-Christian."
Sarah has criticized Pope Francis' authorization of the blessings of same-sex couples as "heresy" while calling the idea of making priestly celibacy optional a "break with the Apostolic Tradition" that would have "serious consequences." He also opposed Francis' restrictions on the Latin Mass, insisting that the "unfettered celebration" of the Traditional Latin Mass "has manifestly brought forth good fruits."
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]
