5 Unfiltered Quotes from Cardinal Robert Sarah, the Conservatives’ Favorite for Next Pope

Cardinal Robert Sarah is grabbing the headlines again as speculation swirls over who could step up to lead the Catholic Church after Pope Francis. Known for his conservative and uncompromising approach, Sarah, a 79-year-old cardinal from Guinea, has become something of a rallying point for Catholics who long for a return to the days of Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. If you’re looking for a man unafraid to clash with the Vatican’s top brass, Sarah’s your guy. He’s gone toe-to-toe with Francis multiple times, making his name as a theological heavyweight and—let’s be real—a bit of a dissenter.

Sarah’s differences with Francis really came to a boil back in 2020, when he and the retired Pope Benedict co-authored a book staunchly defending priestly celibacy. This was right as Francis was considering married priests for the Amazon—a major plot twist for Vatican watchers. Ultimately, Benedict distanced himself from the book, but the whole saga was a reminder that in the Catholic world, drama isn’t just for the history books.

But Sarah’s most buzzed-about work lately is his 2019 book, The Day Is Now Far Spent, where he laments the West’s drift from its Christian roots and takes on everything from mass migration to what he calls ‘ideological challenges.’ If you want someone with opinions—and no fear of controversy—this cardinal delivers.

For those keeping score, Sarah’s bibliography includes God or Nothing: A Conversation on Faith and The Power of Silence: Against the Dictatorship of Noise, both with French journalist Nicolas Diat. Whether he’s writing or speaking, Sarah doesn’t mince words—and with the papal conclave on the horizon, his views are getting more attention than ever.

Here are five of Sarah’s most striking quotes, making the rounds as the Church prepares to choose its next leader:

• On the West’s identity crisis: “The West no longer knows who it is, because it no longer knows and does not want to know who made it, who established it, as it was and as it is. The West refuses to acknowledge its Christian roots.”
• On Europe’s future: “By losing its faith, Europe has also lost its reason to be. It is experiencing a lethal decline and is becoming a new civilization, one that is cut off from its Christian roots.”
• On gender ideology: “Gender ideology is a Luciferian refusal to receive a sexual nature from God.”
• On mass migration: “All migrants who arrive in Europe are penniless, without work, without dignity. This is what the Church wants? The Church cannot cooperate with this new form of slavery that has become mass migration.”
• On modern distractions: “Distraction is the devil’s tool for cutting man off from God.”

And just in case you thought Sarah was only focused on the culture wars, he’s also big on loyalty to Christ over popularity or politics. In his words: “The Church is not a human organization. She is not subject to the fashions of the day or the winds of doctrine. She must be faithful to Christ.”

The conclave to pick the new pope is approaching fast, and with quotes like these, Cardinal Sarah is sure to keep things interesting. Whether you agree with him or not, you can’t accuse him of playing it safe.