Cardinal Robert Sarah of Guinea called out religious leaders who use the Bible to justify mass immigration.
In an interview last week with the French magazine “Valeurs Actuelles,” the cardinal said that priests and bishops who use the Gospels to promote mass immigration are “bewitched.”
He also added that most immigrants who migrate into Europe often end up living in poor conditions and “without work or dignity.” (RELATED: Pope Publicly Criticizes Cardinal, Says Bishops Can Interpret Liturgy)
“God never wanted these heartbreaks,” the Cardinal said.
Pope Francis (R) talks to Colombian priest Mauricio Rueda Beltz (C) … (RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP/Getty Images)
“It is better to help people flourish in their culture than to encourage them to come to a Europe in full decadence,” he continued. “It is a false exegesis to use the word of God to promote migration.”
The cardinal also lamented what he believes is the demise of Christian Europe: “If Europe disappears, and with it the priceless values of the Old Continent, Islam will invade the world, and we will completely change culture, anthropology and moral vision.” (RELATED: Christians In Western European Countries Attacked By Jihadis And Flooded With Migrants Are Reportedly Less Positive About Islam)
The cardinal also decried church leaders, whom he claims are more interested in engaging in political activism than spreading the message of Jesus Christ.
“If he does not teach the faith, if he enjoys activism instead of reminding people that they are made for prayer, he betrays his mission,” he said. ” Jesus says, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.’ This is what is happening today. People no longer know who to turn to.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates ” nearly 5.2 million refugees and migrants reached European shores” in 2016 from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and other war-torn countries.
Also in 2016, the Pew Research Center reported nearly 5% of Europe’s entire population, or 25.8 million people, identified as Muslim, including 8.8% of the population in France, 6.3 percent of the population in the U.K. and 6.1% of the population in Germany.