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Cardinal Sarah warns EU lawmakers of ‘crisis of the logos’ in Europe-Africa relations

July 16, 2026 · 1 min read

Cardinal Robert Sarah urged Europe and Africa to build their future relationship on truth, justice, and human dignity rather than ideological approaches, warning that today’s geopolitical conflicts stem from what he described as a “crisis of the logos” in which reason and language become instruments of power rather than truth.

Speaking at the European Parliament in Brussels on July 15 during a discussion titled “Europe and Africa: In Conversation with Cardinal Robert Sarah,” the former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said international cooperation is increasingly undermined by a growing disconnect between language and reality.

A view of the hearing room during the discussion “Europe and Africa” at the European Parliament in Brussels on July 15, 2026. | Credit: ECR Group

“In the relationship between the European Union and Africa, words are today used not to reveal reality but to hide it, and even to distort it,” Sarah said.

Pointing to expressions such as “sexual and reproductive health,” “gender equality,” and “human rights,” Sarah argued that such language is sometimes used to advance concepts that many African…

Source: Catholic News Agency · Read the full story →

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Elizabeth Hall

The bit about “sexual and reproductive health” and “gender equality” being used to hide what’s really going on rings true. I’ve heard the same thing from the African priests who visit our parish; they say these phrases arrive in aid packages with strings attached that don’t match what their people actually need or believe. Cardinal Sarah is right to call it a crisis of the logos.

Дмитрий Новиков

Sarah is right, these words like “sexual and reproductive health” in Africa often come with conditions that our priests scold. My brother works with a mission in Tanzania, he says that for such “help” sometimes they simply impose something that people can’t wrap their head around. It’s a pity that instead of the truth, it’s again a game of words.