Cardinal Robert Sarah critiques paganism in Church, Pope Francis legacy, Vatican II, and SSPX consecrations in La Nef interview tied to new book with Nicolas Diat.
Newsroom (06/05/2026 Gaudium Press ) Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship, has issued stark warnings about paganism infiltrating the Catholic Church in a new book of conversations with Nicolas Diat. In an extensive interview with French magazine La Nef, he addresses liturgical tensions, the SSPX’s planned episcopal consecrations on July 1, 2026, and early priorities of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate.
Paganism’s Modern Face Inside the Church
Sarah describes paganism not as ancient idol worship but as a subtle loss of God-centered living amid sacred things. He identifies signs like the erosion of sin’s reality, discomfort with doctrinal truth, liturgical trivialization, and prioritizing worldly approval over divine worship. This “fluid ideology” corrupts when human desires eclipse God’s primacy, even within ecclesial structures.
The cardinal links this to the Church’s “permeability to the spirit of the times,” marked by fear of worldly disapproval, favoring ambiguity over clarity and horizontal relations over adoration. He calls this the “great heresy of our time,” urging an internal reform akin to the Gregorian Reform around 1000 AD to break free from cultural dogmas.
Liturgical Future and SSPX Warnings
On liturgy, Sarah rejects a “war of sensibilities,” advocating restoration of sacred dignity, God-orientation, and continuity for all rites, as per Vatican II. He mourns the SSPX’s announced bishop consecrations without papal mandate, set for July 1, 2026, despite Holy See warnings. Such acts incur automatic excommunication and wound Church unity, he says, pleading for prayer to avert “the irreparable” while upholding tradition in hierarchical communion.
Vatican II Clarifications Needed
Sarah favors “clarifications” over corrections for Vatican II texts prone to rupture interpretations, especially on religious freedom, ecumenism, Church-world relations, collegiality, and pastoral phrasing. He stresses reading the council in faith’s continuity, a task advanced by John Paul II and Benedict XVI, to foster unified understanding without political judgment.
Judging Past Pontificates and Western Decline
Critiquing Pope Francis’s record, Sarah deems discernment necessary but reverent, noting pastoral gains amid confusion predating his reign. He shared concerns privately, urging prayer over polemics for clearer theology. On the “decadent West,” he sees hope in rising adult baptisms (e.g., France’s 2025-2026 Easter Vigils), youth seeking silence, Eucharistic adoration, and fervent communities stirred by the Holy Spirit.
Pope Leo XIV’s Emerging Priorities
Sarah discerns in Leo XIV’s initial addresses—starting with his May 8, 2025 Urbi et Orbi on Christ’s “disarmed and disarming” peace—focus on Gospel-rooted unity, doctrinal clarity, Christological centering, and a God-turned Church. Consistent calls for peace, mission, and witness suggest a pontificate restoring liturgical depth and inner peace.
Weapons Against Relativism
Democracy risks relativism when majority rule defines morality, Sarah warns, becoming a “dictatorship of relativism” detached from natural law. Disciples counter with prayer, sacraments, scriptural meditation, truthful courage, and charity, proving truth as light, not violence.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from La Nef
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