Pope Francis isn't urging Cardinal Sarah to lie. Quite the opposite. He's basically saying to Sarah, "Now's your chance to make it clear if this didn't really come from you. Otherwise, you've got to own it. A year from now I don't want you saying you were misinterpreted."

Yes, this was a public spanking and, yes, it's embarrassing for the cardinal. But Sarah is no babe in the woods. He knew he was pushing the envelope with his public statement in contradiction of the motu proprio. He went all in and he was called on it.

Francis isn't the kind of boss that takes people to the woodshed privately. One can argue the virtue of that leadership style (personally, I wish he'd show a bit more discretion), but by now nobody should be surprised by it, least of all Cardinal Sarah.