Robert Sarah

Robert Sarah (; born 15 June 1945) is a Guinean Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments from 23 November 2014 to 20 February 2021. He previously served as secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples under Pope John Paul II and president of the Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' under Pope Benedict XVI. He was made a cardinal in 2010.

Sarah has been a vocal advocate for the defence of traditional Catholic teaching on questions of sexual morality and the right to life, and in denouncing Islamic fundamentalism. He has called "gender ideology" and the Islamic State (ISIS) the "two radicalizations" that threaten the family, the former through divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion, and the latter with child marriage, polygamy, and the subjugation of women. Sarah also opposes euthanasia.

Sarah has been described as largely sympathetic to liturgical practices before the Second Vatican Council but also proposed that partisans of different liturgies learn from each other and seek a middle ground. In 2016, Sarah called for priests to face the same direction as the congregation while celebrating Mass (''ad orientem''), although facing the congregation had become the prevailing practice since the Second Vatican Council. His advice was seen by some as a direct challenge to Pope Francis, a claim that Sarah rejected.

Following the death of Pope Francis in 2025, Sarah has been mentioned as ''papabile'', a possible candidate for the papacy, by international media outlets such as ''Le Monde'' and ''The Guardian'', and by Catholic publications including ''Crux'' and the ''Catholic Herald''. Provided by Wikipedia