Cardinal Sarah rips ‘inhuman contempt for Benedict XVI’
June 07, 2017
Cardinal Robert Sarah said that critics of Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI have shown their “vulgarity” by complaining that the retired Pontiff has written a preface to the cardinal’s new book, The Power of Silence.
Critics of Benedict XVI have complained that the former Pontiff interfered with current Church affairs by contributing the preface, in which he praises Cardinal Sarah and thanks Pope Francis for appointing the African prelate to his current post as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship. Cardinal Sarah angrily responded:
The arrogance, the violence of language, the disrespect and the inhuman contempt for Benedict XVI are diabolical and cover the Church with a mantle of sadness and shame.
In an address to the Sacra Liturgia conference in Milan, Cardinal Sarah reiterated his call for the celebration of Mass ad orientem—a call that he had made at the same conference last year. He also said that the faithful should receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling. To underline the need for such displays of reverence for the Eucharist, he reminded his audience that St. John Paul II would always kneel before the Blessed Sacrament, even when his declining physical strength made this difficult. “He forced his broken body to kneel,” the cardinal recalled:
He needed the help of others to bend his knees, and again to stand. What more profound testimony could be given to the reverence due the Blessed Sacrament than this—right up until his very last days.
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Posted by: jalsardl5053 -
Jun. 08, 2017 7:08 PM ET USA
Spot on critical review of the triteness and littleness and smallness that some "minds" seem to have. But then, leftist politics runs amok wherever it is found and when it can't find anything remotely meaningful, it puts its manufacturing machinery to work. If the charge of "interference" is to be maintained, let us cheer. If not, shame on them!
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Posted by: feedback -
Jun. 08, 2017 7:06 PM ET USA
The tensions inside the Vatican must be very very serious. Let's offer a "Hail Mary" for the Church.
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Posted by: brenda22890 -
Jun. 08, 2017 6:16 AM ET USA
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
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Posted by: -
Jun. 07, 2017 11:24 PM ET USA
I stand with Pope Benedict Emeritus XVI and Cardinal Sarah and our Holy Father. Pope Emeritus Benedict has every right to write a forward in Cardinal Sarah's book.
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Posted by: Watt Dwineault -
Jun. 07, 2017 6:42 PM ET USA
Gotta love pope emeritus Benedict for his great courage and integrity, Francis for his open heart and Cardinal Sarah for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. We have excellent shepherds.
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Posted by: ALC -
Jun. 07, 2017 5:20 PM ET USA
Bravo for Card. Sarah once again. But, I fear he is preaching in the wind and the opposing forces in the Church that have been trying for years to bring her down are in the drivers seat right now. We should pray for courageous cardinals like Sarah and Burke. They need help that only God can give them now.
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Posted by: koinonia -
Jun. 07, 2017 3:20 PM ET USA
Unfortunately, this is not new. There has been a battle raging. The throwing off of so much in so little time, the revolutionary changes, the new doctrine in few decades have been realized because they were won. At the same time, the opposition was ineffectual or too insignificant and gave way. Now that the fork is reached- proceed onward to certain demise or reverse engines and reach back to reinforced moorings- the arbiters of cordiality and invitation seem something other. No going back!
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Posted by: rghatt6599 -
Jun. 07, 2017 3:17 PM ET USA
Pope Francis does not always kneel before the blessed sacrament at papal liturgies including the Corpus Christi procession, which has now been moved for convenience sake to Sunday. The pope's friends may interpret these latest comments by cardinal Sarah as casting pope Francis in a negative light compared to St. John Paul II reverence even with a broken body. Perhaps the cardinal should be more careful if he wants to keep his job.
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Posted by: MWCooney -
Jun. 07, 2017 12:11 PM ET USA
Bravo again for Cardinal Sarah. The only question is: How much longer will he be allowed to serve the Church, considering the current prevailing atmosphere?
