An African cardinal could be dropped from the conclave because he doesn’t know his age.
It is unclear how old Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo is – and whether he was born on January 4, 1945, or December 31 that year.
The first date would make him 80 years old, while the latter would make him 79.
This is important because cardinals who are over the age of 80 are not allowed to vote for the next Pope in the elections set to start on Wednesday.
If the cardinal took part in the conclave and it later turned out that he was too old to participate, it could render the result void.
Cardinal Ouédraogo is regarded as a conservative, which means he could be important for the traditionalist factions looking to roll back Pope Francis’ stances on issues such as blessing same-sex unions.
In last year’s Vatican yearbook, the cardinal’s date of birth is listed as January 24 1945, meaning that he is now over 80.
It is unclear how old Cardinal Philippe Ouédraogo is – and whether he was born on January 4, 1945, or December 31 that year
This is important because cardinals who are over the age of 80 are not allowed to vote for the next Pope in the elections set to start on Wednesday
But in the latest official Vatican directory, his date of birth is listed as December 31, 1945, the Telegraph reports.
That adjustment would make him 79 years old—just within the age limit to participate in a papal conclave.
The change has raised eyebrows. An Italian newspaper quipped that the cardinal had ‘found the secret to stopping time,’ while another ran the headline: ‘The strange case of the cardinal who has become a year younger so that he can enter the conclave.’
The cardinal, who hails from a rural part of Burkina Faso, has offered a simple explanation.
He said, ddressing the confusion over his age: ‘In my village, there were neither hospitals nor schools.
‘I was born at home and was not given a birthdate.’
This comes after a leading conservative cardinal issued a stark warning against powerful ‘ideological lobbies’ including the so-called ‘gay lobby’ ahead of the vote to choose a new Pope.
German cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a fierce critic of the late Pope Francis, urged the Church to return to its traditional roots and demanded the next pontiff be ‘strong on doctrine’ and ready to resist mounting liberal pressures.
Speaking to Italy’s La Stampa newspaper, Cardinal Müller insisted the new Pope must have ‘solid theological and doctrinal formation’ and stand firm against what he described as the creeping threat of ‘heresy’ and ‘gender ideology’.
‘Doctrine is not the property of the Pope, the bishops, or the faithful,’ he declared. ‘It must conform to the word of Jesus. No one can modify it. If Jesus says marriage is between a man and a woman, no one can change that doctrine.’
The outspoken cardinal also blasted calls to equate marriage with same-sex unions, saying it ‘totally contradicts the doctrine of the Bible’.
His fiery intervention came as cardinals from around the world gathered behind closed doors in Rome to set the date for the all-important conclave, which will now begin on May 7.
