Cardinal Sarah: Ideological push in Amazon synod an ‘insult to God’
Cardinal Robert Sarah Photo: Bohumil Petrik CNA
Vatican City, Oct 9, 2019 / 08:56 am (CNA) – The push by some Westerners to use the Vatican’s Amazon synod to advance their personal agendas is an insult to God and his plan for the Church, Cardinal Robert Sarah said in an interview published this week.
“This synod has a specific and local objective: the evangelization of the Amazon. I fear that some Westerners are seizing this assembly to advance their plans,” Sarah told Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera Oct. 7.
The cardinal mentioned in particular synod discussion of the ordination of married men, the creation of women’s ministries, and the jurisdiction of the laity.
“These points touch the structure of the universal Church. Taking advantage to introduce ideological plans would be an unworthy manipulation, a dishonest deception, an insult to God who guides his Church and entrusts to it his plan of salvation,” he stated.
Sarah, who is participating in the Amazon synod in his capacity as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, noted that he has heard that some people want this synod assembly to be a “laboratory” for the universal Church, and others think after the meeting everything will have changed.
“If this is true, this is dishonest and misleading,” the cardinal commented.
He added that he was “shocked and indignant that the spiritual distress of the poor in the Amazon was used as an excuse to support typical projects of bourgeois and worldly Christianity. It is abominable.”
The proposal of combatting priest shortages in the Amazon by ordaining married, respected men — so-called viri probati, Sarah called “theologically absurd” and implying “a functionalist concession of the priesthood…”
The proposal contradicts the Second Vatican Council’s teaching, he said, by seeming to separate within the priesthood participation in Christ’s identity as priest, prophet, and king.
He added that to ordain married men “would mean in practice to question the obligatory nature of celibacy as such.”
Sarah said no one fears the viri probati proposal, but the synod will study it and Pope Francis will draw his conclusions, though he noted Francis’ use of a quote from St. Pope Paul VI in a speech in January: “I prefer to give my life before changing the law of Celibacy.”
Sarah said “the question is another: to understand the meaning of the priestly vocation. Ask yourself why there are no more people willing to give all of themselves for God, for the priesthood and for virginity.”
He argued that people prefer to think of “ploys,” instead of addressing the larger, more right problems.
The idea, he said, that instituting the married priesthood would end pedophilia, or that because there are few vocations lay ministries should be expanded is the “presumption of men.”
“And frankly it does not seem to me that the churches where priestly celibacy does not exist today are much more prosperous than the Catholic Church, if that is the purpose,” he said.
This disappoints me. Some of the Catdinal’s remarks are based on gossip. Pope Francis has made it clear he is prepared to allow the widest possible discussion vis a vis the state of the Church & what might need to be done to ensure the pastoral care of its members. Cardinal Sarah ought to stick to his portfolio – Divine Worship – desist from megaphone debate outside the Synod. He comes across as not a team player. Indeed he seems to prefer throwing brickbats from the comfort of the grandstand.
So grateful for Cardinal Sara’s clear charitable thinking. He seems not to allow times and cultures to invade his thinking.These circumstances will pass and he is aware of it. We should be so blest to appreciate his razor sharp evaluations, bringing us right side up to the Catholic Church intended to be what it is and has been for the last 2019 years. He is a teacher of the Divine Wisdom
I believe Cardinal Sarah is right. I have come across feminist women who are pushing for the ordination of women. I believe this idea to be wrong and I admire Cardinal Sarah for coming forward.
Does this Cardinal not know there already thousands of married Roman Catholic priests? If it is so impossible does he believe their status to be invalid or illegitimate? Perhaps this is just one more example of one of these disloyal conservatives being so bound to rules and power that they are happy to publicly criticize Pope Francis and his cñear pastoral concerns to move our Church to be a more Spirit and Gospel inspired Church of the periphery.
Thank you,Sean. For a while there I thought I was the only reader who disagreed with Cardinal Sarah’s views & his tactics. I’ll keep an eye out for any further comments you write. Blessings
Those seeking change need to be inline with the teaching of Christ our Lord God
We as a Church and individuals must always seek to grow into perfection
The Roman Rite has followed Christ in the form of celibacy for almost 2000 years and this is a blessing that they give their entire life to God
There are other Rites of the Holy Catholic Church which has married Priests and if men are called to this they can follow in those particular forms of the Church
Christ only chose men as Priests and as he said some are eunuchs for the sake of the Kingdom and are free from being divided between the needs of the Kingdom and the needs of having a Wife & Children
Prayer & Fasting are need by all and total loyalty to the Laws of Gods Kingdom here on Earth by following Cannon Law and the Magisterial teaching of the Apostles and the Church handed down since Christ founded the Church
God Bless and Peach be with Us!!
Having recently come back to the Catholic Church after many years, the biggest thing that got to me was how it had changed and I do not feel for the better. People dress so badly for one thing. The women do not wear head coverings, which is scriturally based. The Communion rail has disappeared. The altar boys are gone to be replaced by women without head coverings I might add and men giving out Communion who are not priests. Wow. How changed it is from what I remember. Some where along the way, something got lost and I feel that it has something to do with a worldly way of thinking that has taken over. No malicious intent towards anyone with a duty to perform. It is an observation.
Some clergy felt obviously that God would be better served in a way that pleased the people and not God. Why would anyone want to copy the other churches? I have been in them and they do not hold a candle to the worship and history found in the Catholic Church. Some are a cheap copy of what it should be like and others have no basic structure to speak of. This Cardinal is right. I understand there was a lot of things going on at that Synod that were not in keeping with the Catholic Faith and the Bible too. Maybe more needs to be said about this because if things are not right in our church, then it is certainly not wrong to say so. After all, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. It maybe the right time now to stand up for Jesus and Mary too.