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The Guinean prelate believes that the Church in the West is going through “a time of great difficulty, even of confusion,” especially in the doctrinal, moral, and disciplinary spheres.
In an interview given to the director of Il Foglio, Matteo Matzuzzi, the prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments reflected on the situation of the Church, the transmission of the faith, the liturgy, and the first months of the pontificate of Leo XIV.
“No one has the authority to abolish a rite”
Sarah lamented that the liturgy has become a source of division within the Church. “It is a drama, a true and authentic sin, that on an essential matter such as the liturgy there should be a kind of war,” he stated. In his view, the liturgy is a source of ecclesial communion and it is “unthinkable” that it should provoke such intense confrontations.
In that context, he defended that the rites belong to the living tradition of the Church and do not depend on arbitrary decisions.
“No one has authority over the rites, which are born from the secular history of the Church. Rites cannot be abolished arbitrarily and no one can say that a rite ceases to exist from one day to the next,” he maintained.
For this reason, he called for the recovery of the “balanced, pastoral, and theologically grounded position” of Benedict XVI, which allowed the coexistence of the two forms of the Roman rite so that they might “enrich each other mutually” and be known by the people of God.
Likewise, he considered that, with the passage of time, the faithful will be able to choose the liturgical form that best responds to their spiritual needs.
A Church marked by confusion
The prelate affirmed that the Church in the West is going through “a time of great difficulty, even of confusion,” a situation that, according to him, affects doctrine, morality, and ecclesiastical discipline.
In his view, the transmission of the faith can no longer rely on the dominant culture, but on communities capable of offering authentic Christian experiences, centered on prayer, silence, a liturgy celebrated with dignity, and fidelity to the Gospel.
Sarah linked this vision to Benedict XVI’s proposal to strengthen communities solidly rooted in the spiritual life.
Despite this diagnosis, he expressed his confidence in the future of the Church. “Throughout the centuries it has gone through many storms, but we must never forget that it is divine and, therefore, will never disappear,” he stated.
Criticism of liturgical abuses and preaching focused on pleasing
During the interview, Sarah acknowledged that excesses may exist among some faithful linked to the traditional liturgy, but maintained that, in part, they respond to the “dramatic and widespread abuses” that, in his opinion, continue to occur in numerous celebrations of the ordinary form of the Roman rite.
He also warned of the risk of preaching concerned with pleasing listeners rather than proclaiming the Gospel.
In his opinion, when preaching adapts to cultural fashions or limits itself to social issues, it ends up being “banal” and incapable of responding to the deepest needs of man.
“It is never legitimate to reduce the Gospel to social and horizontal themes, however important they may be,” he stated.
Formation, key to facing the crisis
Asked about the path to addressing the current challenges of the Church, the cardinal responded that the priority must be formation.
“The key is liturgical formation, formation, and once again formation: of bishops, of priests, and of the laity,” he concluded.
Cardinal Sarah’s statements come after the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Cardinal Arthur Roche, stated that Leo XIV will not reverse Traditionis Custodes, the motu proprio promulgated by Pope Francis in 2021 that restricted the celebration of the traditional liturgy.