VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis accepted the resignations of 75-year-old Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and 77-year-old Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica and vicar for Vatican City State.

When Pope Celestine V resigned as pope in 1294, he removed his papal garb and intended to return to life as a hermit. However, his successor, Pope Boniface VIII, placed him under house arrest where he remained until his death 10 months later. 

ROME -- Cardinal Robert Sarah has blasted what he called “lazy” and “superficial” reactions bordering on “intellectual hysteria” to Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s recent notes on the clerical abuse scandal.

VATICAN – Just because some young people disagree with Catholic moral teaching, including in the area of sexuality, does not mean the church's teachings are unclear or should change, Cardinal Robert Sarah told the Synod of Bishops.

Many of us were fortunate enough to hear Cardinal Robert Sarah speak at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica last month. He is truly a holy man and strong voice in a world of banalities. How many people do you know whose cause is silence?

One of the Church’s most outspoken leaders urged a rapt audience in St. Michael’s Cathedral to embrace silence and be alert to the danger of filling their days with constant news and distraction.