Cardinal Sarah Cautions against Disunity among Christians, Says It’s Counter Witnessing

“Seek unity first in Christian faith, and then with our fellow countrymen and fellow Africans,” he said in his keynote address titled, “Make Disciples of all Nations: The Missionary Mandate of Christ”.

To emphasize the need for unity among followers of Jesus Christ, the 78-year-old Guinean-born Cardinal, who started his Episcopal Ministry in December 1978 as Archbishop of Conakry in his native country warned that divisions leave Christians “vulnerable to exploitation”.

“If we do not strive for unity in Christ then we are even worse off. The division among us religious, ethnic and political are vulnerable to exploitation; they may be exploited by corrupt politicians or even foreign powers,” he said at TUC in Nairobi on February 22. 

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Cardinal Sarah has previously expressed his opposition to Fiducia Supplicans (FS), the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (DDF) Declaration that has elicited mixed reactions and deep divisions among the people of God in general and Catholic Bishops around the world in particular since its release on December 18.

In a January 6 reflection that he shared with Settimo Cielo, an Italian blog, the Cardinal who served as Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 2014 to 2021 maintained his previous stance of not opposing the Holy Father.

“We do not oppose Pope Francis, but we firmly and radically oppose a heresy that seriously undermines the Church, the Body of Christ,” Cardinal Sarah said, clarifying his opposition to the recommendations of FS, permitting members of the Clergy to bless “same-sex couples” and couples in other “irregular situations”.

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Persons practicing homosexuality are “in the prison” of sin, and in need of the truth of “the Word of God” to liberate them, he said, and added, “The truth is the first of the mercies that Jesus offers to the sinner.”

“The freedom we must offer to people living in homosexual unions lies in the truth of the word of God,” he said, and posed, “How could we dare to make them believe that it would be good and desired by God for them to remain in the prison of their sin?” 

The DDF Declaration’s lack of clarity “has only amplified the confusion that reigns in hearts and some even seized it to support their attempt at manipulation,” Sarah wrote in his January 6 reflection, referring to divisions occasioned by FS recommendations.

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In his February 22 address at the 2024 Theological Symposium that TUC organized under the theme, “Make Disciples of all Nations: The Missionary Mandate of Christ… in the Religious, Cultural, and Social Context of Africa Today”, Cardinal Sarah linked unity of the disciples of Jesus Christ with progress.

“Only together can we prosper,” the Guinean Catholic Church leader, who was elevated to Cardinal in November 2010 said.

According to Cardinal Sarah, challenges hindering the mission of witnessing the Gospel message and the evangelization ministry can be addressed “by turning to God in prayer and fasting.”

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“By turning to the Lord in prayer and fasting, by this means, God lifts us up. He frees us from selfishness and narrowness and reveals himself to us in one way or another. He disciplines us, so we do not allow mild differences to prevent us from working together in every permissible way,” he said. 

The Cardinal went on to emphasize the need to combine prayer and fasting, two of the three pillars of the Lenten Season, alongside charity through almsgiving. 

“Evangelization must involve prayer and fasting together, even with those of other religious traditions in response to evils that we recognize together. By praying and fasting, the obstacles to evangelization will be overcome,” Cardinal Sarah said.