Robert Sarah's anti-immigration, anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage messages

There are many candidates for the position of God's representative on Earth for the Catholic Church, but this is something that will not be known until the 138 cardinals who will vote in the conclave meet. Until that happens, there are many names on the table to take over from Francis I, one of them is the controversial, because of some of his statements, Robert Sarah

This Guinean cardinal, who was born in 1945, is one of the candidates to be the new Pope. He is one of the most influential figures in the more conservative branch of the African Catholic Church and since he was made a cardinal by Benedict XVI, he has held the positions of president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum and later prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, a position he held until his retirement in 2021.

Traditionalist and anti-progressive ideas

This cardinal has a profile of Catholic orthodoxy, and for many he represents a return to traditional values after a reformist and progressive period that were the 12 years of Francis. Among his ideas is that of traditional celibacy, the traditional mass (in Latin and with his back to the faithful), absolute opposition to abortion, euthanasia, same-sex marriage and gender ideology, which has made him a reference for those who desire a counter-reformation of the Catholic Church.

In fact, one of his main controversies came when he described gender ideology as "satanic" or "demonic" and he has been very critical of the document Fiducia Supplicans, sponsored by Pope Francis, in which homosexual couples were blessed. He has also been very outspoken on immigration issues, as in 2019 in an interview he said that "the Church cannot collaborate in this new form of slavery into which mass immigration has turned", a statement he underlined some time later when he expressed concern about the advance of Islam in Europe. "Europe will be invaded by Islam if it does not return to God," he said.