ROME – Pope Francis accepted Cardinal Robert Sarah’s resignation as head of the Vatican Liturgy Office, removing an outspoken conservative and possible future Pope from the ranks of the Vatican leadership.
The Holy See news agency announced on Saturday that Cardinal Sarah had resigned. No successor has been named.
The cardinal resigned, as required by Church law, when he turned 75 on June 15 last year. But the Pope often has cardinals serve for two or three years after that age, but no older than 80.
By accepting Cardinal Sarah’s resignation, the Pope has removed a subordinate who is out of step with his approach to liturgy, homosexuality, and relations with the Muslim world. The Cardinal is a hero to many conservative Catholics, some of whom see him as a future Pope. He can still vote in a conclave to elect a pope until he turns 80.
Last year, the Cardinal raised controversy with a book widely interpreted as an attempt to influence Pope Francis’s decision on whether or not to allow the ordination of married men as priests. The episode sparked embarrassment for the Cardinal when the retired Pope asked Benedict XVI to remove his name as a co-author of the book.