VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of an important position in the Vatican from Cardinal Robert Sarah, a hero to many conservatives who have frequently clashed with the pontiff on theological issues.
The African cardinal, who is from Guinea, has held various positions in the Vatican over the past 20 years, the latter as head of the department that oversees matters of worship and sacraments.
Sarah presented her resignation in June of last year, when he turned 75, as Church law requires of all bishops, but the pope often allows Vatican officials to remain in office longer. The Vatican announced on Saturday that he was stepping down.
In her last position, which she held since 2014, Sarah dragged herself on to implement the changes Francisco wanted, such as allowing women to participate in Holy Thursday services.
Church conservatives often put Sarah on their wish list to one day succeed Francis as pontiff. But most observers saw this possibility as extremely remote, because Sarah was seen as highly divisive and would not have broad support among the other cardinals.
In addition to openly disagreeing with Francis on a number of theological issues, Sarah was involved in an embarrassing episode last year about a book in defense of priestly celibacy that he said was written in conjunction with former Pope Benedict XVI.
A few days before its publication, Benedict said he wanted his name removed from the cover because he had made only a small contribution.
Sarah publicly contested Benedict’s version, but agreed that in future editions, Benedict would be named as a contributor and not a co-author.
Reporting by Philip Pullella; Frances Kerry edition