(Rome) Cardinal Robert Sarah has made a public statement on the time of Corona. Previously, he had signed the call Veritas liberabit vos, but then withdrew his signature. At the same time, there were voices that his removal as Prefect of the Roman Congregation for Worship was imminent. Is there a connection?
Cardinal Sarah, one of nine Cardinal Prefects at the Roman Curia, is considered an "exotic" in the government of Pope Francis. This is not due to his origin from the African Gold Coast, but in his understanding of the Church, since he is much closer to that of Benedict XVI.
His dismissal and removal from the Vatican has therefore been expected for some time, as Cardinal Gerhard Müller, another signatory of the call, did in 2017. Francis has publicly rebuked Cardinal Sarah in the past for taking steps that run counter to the papal agenda. So far, there have been two particularly glaring cases. Once in 2016/17 because of Sarah's invitation to all priests to return to the celebration ad orientem. There was a great deal of outrage in progressive circles, which were particularly close to the Pope. A debate on this was categorically rejected. Francis intervened personally by reassuring his entourage and declaring Sarah's advance null and void. The cardinal himself did not move away from his position, but was isolated from Santa Marta within his own dicastery and has no direct influence on the leadership of the universal Church.
