Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect emeritus of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, stressed that “the priesthood is unique” and warned that “no council, no synod” can “invent a female priesthood.”
Newsroom (06/07/2023 08:36, Gaudium Press) Speaking at a conference on the priesthood in Mexico City, Cardinal Sarah stated that the sacrament of Holy Orders is the same for the universal Church and cannot be altered or adapted to fit cultural or environmental contexts.
“No council, no synod, no ecclesiastical authority has the power to invent a female priesthood … without seriously damaging the perennial physiognomy of the priest, his sacramental identity, within the renewed ecclesiological vision of the Church, mystery, communion, and mission,” he emphasized.
According to Cardinal Sarah, the priesthood is a divine gift that should not be wasted. He described it as a great mystery and emphasized the priest’s role as a representative of Christ, called to conform to Him and mediate His presence through ordination.
“It’s a divine gift that must be received, understood, and lived, and the Church has always sought to understand and enter deeper into the real and proper being of the priest, as a baptized man, called to be an alter Christus, another Christ, even more so an ipse Christus, Christ himself, to represent Him, to conform to Him, to be configured and mediated in Christ with priestly ordination,” he explained.
The cardinal highlighted the importance of prayer for priests, stating that a priest who does not pray is at risk of spiritual decline. He urged the faithful to pray for an increase in priestly vocations, stressing that there are already a significant number of priests in the world, but not all of them are actively engaged in their priestly duties.
Cardinal Sarah encouraged priests to be joyful in their vocation, even in the midst of suffering, as their happiness can attract others to consider the priesthood. He emphasized the need for a vibrant and prayerful Church, stating that a Church that does not pray is spiritually lifeless.
The cardinal’s remarks reflect his staunch defense of the traditional understanding of priesthood within the Catholic Church, including the exclusion of women from the ordained priesthood. His views align with the official teachings of the Church, which reserves priestly ordination to men.
Regarding the lack of priestly vocations, he encouraged the faithful to pray because “it’s not that we are few.
“Christ ordained 12 for the whole world. How many of us are priests today? There are close to 400,000 of us priests in the world. There are too many of us,” he said, citing the same observation made by Pope Gregory the Great in the 7th century.
“Many have accepted the priesthood, but they’re not doing the work of the priest,” Sarah explained.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA