COTONOU, SEPTEMBER 1 2015 (CISA) – Robert Cardinal Sarah Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments has said that the Church in Africa can bring about the renewal of the family across the globe.
“I have absolute confidence in the faith of the African people, and I am sure Africa will save the family. Africa saved the Holy Family (during the Flight to Egypt) and in these modern times Africa will also save the human family,” the cardinal said August 19 during a national Marian pilgrimage at Dassa-Zoumè.
“I have absolute confidence in African culture,” Cardinal Sarah told the Catholic weekly La Croix du Benin. Originally from Guinea, Cardinal Sarah chose to be in Benin during the launch of his new interview book in Rome.
Entitled “God or Nothing,” the book is a conversation between the cardinal and French journalist Nicolas Diat and it covers numerous topics, ranging from political questions to the sex abuse scandal in the Church to the post-modern world’s relationship to God.
One chapter of the book entitled “Cornerstones and false values,” is dedicated to the family and addresses various pastoral challenges such as the defense of life and marriage.
Ordained a priest in 1969, Cardinal Sarah became the youngest bishop in the world 10 years later. Pope John Paul II called him to Rome in 2002 to serve as the Secretary for the Evangelization of Peoples.
In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI selected him as president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and in 2014 Pope Francis appointed him head of the Vatican dicastery on the liturgy.
