Rome – Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Robert Sarah’s resignation as head of the Vatican worship congregation on February 20, in an unexpected announcement ending the term of one of the Vatican officials often seen as an opponent of the pontiff’s vision for the global Church.
The Vatican statement communicating the news did not give a reason for Sarah’s departure or the name of who would replace him. At the a tweet, the cardinal alluded to the fact that he turned 75, the traditional retirement age of bishops, last June.
Sarah, originally from Guinea, has held various leadership positions in the Vatican since 2001, when Pope John Paul II appointed him the second official of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.
After being appointed cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, Francis appointed Sarah prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments of the Vatican in November 2014.
Known as a vocal advocate for more traditional styles of Catholic liturgy, Sarah was examined at the beginning of Francis’ papacy, when it became clear that the cardinal waited years to implement a papal instruction to change church law to allow women to be among women. that your feet washed at Holy Thursday services.
Although Francis sent a letter to Sarah in December 2014 asking her to implement the change, it was not announced until January 2016. There was never an explanation for the delay time.
Francisco also took an unusual step in 2017 by issuing a public correction to an article written by Sarah on how Catholic liturgies should be translated from original Latin into local languages.
Like the press release announcing Sarah’s departure, the February 20 article on the subject in the official Vatican News vehicle was extraordinarily short, with only two paragraphs briefly summarizing the cardinal’s career.
Until Francis names Sarah’s replacement, the worship congregation will be led by Archbishop Arthur Roche, an English prelate who has served as the office’s second official since 2012.
Francis also accepted the resignation, on February 20, of Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and vicar general of the Vatican City State. But the pope also announced the replacement of Comastri: Cardinal Mauro Gambetti.
Gambetti, a conventual Franciscan, served until last year as head of the community of the Sacred Convent of San Francisco in Assisi, Italy. He was one of 13 cardinals created by Francis in the pope’s most recent consistory, held in November.