Cardinal Robert Sarah said in an interview on Sunday that the West threatens the religious freedom of Christians in what he called an "implicit bias against Christianity."
Cardinal Sarah on Christians in the West
Cardinal Sarah, the former Vatican prefect for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, advised Christians in western countries not to neglect their religious freedom.
"Religious liberty is not to be taken for granted, or compromised, or neglected," Catholic World Report quoted Sarah saying in his interview with EWTN News.
The cardinal likewise quoted from the Book of Exodus, particularly mentioning the 10 plagues, Egypt's destruction, and the Hebrew exodus. Sarah said those biblical events occurred ''for God's people to gain the liberty to worship him properly.''
The Guinean cardinal likewise touched on the topic of religious persecution against Christians.
"Threats against religious liberty take many forms. Countless martyrs continue to die for the faith around the world. But religious liberty is under threat in the West, too. It is not often an overt threat, or hatred of the faith, but an implicit bias against Christianity," Sarah explained.
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About Cardinal Sarah's Latest Book
The high-ranking Catholic prelate's interview followed the publication in October this year of his latest book, "Cathechism of the Spiritual Life." His seventh book touches on the Roman Catholic Church's seven sacraments, in which he reflected on it and the ways for Christians to advance spiritually.
The book also delved into the Eucharist and the Holy Mass.
"We cannot forget this: The Eucharist is the source and the summit of a Christian life. Adaptation is necessary at times. We'll face more pandemics and other emergencies, and there will be debate concerning how best to address this in relation to the celebration of the Eucharist. This is good. Liberal democracy requires debate, but never can the importance of our worship of God be forgotten or neglected in the course of debate. Liberal democracy must not forget God," Sarah told EWTN News.
Seaking about the Holy Mass, Sarah blasted government measures during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. He lamented how governments enforced 'draconian measures' severely limiting the number of people attending Holy Mass in Catholic churches worldwide.
About Cardinal Sarah
Cardinal Robert Sarah once led the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments as its prefect from November 2014 to February 2021, when he resigned.
Sarah had to tender his resignation according to the Church's canon law, which require all cardinals like him to leave the office at age 75 voluntarily. Pope Francis reportedly accepted his resignation last year even though he turned 75 in June 2020.
The news outlet said Sarah was Vatican's highest-ranking African prelate while he headed the liturgy department.
He described his tenure at the divine worship office as an experience that made him appreciate deeper liturgy's role in making people "encounter God face to face and to be transformed by him as a child of God and as a true worshiper of God."
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