{"id":2431645,"date":"2025-05-06T18:56:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T22:56:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/african-cardinals-become-a-year-younger-through-vatican-legal-fiction-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-05-06T19:00:44","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T23:00:44","slug":"african-cardinals-become-a-year-younger-through-vatican-legal-fiction-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/african-cardinals-become-a-year-younger-through-vatican-legal-fiction-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"African cardinals become a year younger through Vatican legal fiction &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fafrican-cardinals-become-a-year-younger-through-vatican-legal-fiction-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2431645&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Two African cardinals have been legally designated as under 80 years old, allowing them to participate in the upcoming conclave of the Catholic Church. Cardinal Philippe Ou\u00e9draogo of Burkina Faso was officially recognized as 79 years old by modifying his birthdate in the Pontifical Yearbook, despite the ambiguity surrounding his actual birthdate due to the absence of registration in his village. similarly, Cardinal John Njue of Kenya had his birthdate changed to comply with age requirements, although he will not attend the conclave due to health issues. These instances highlight the complexities and practicalities within the Church&#8217;s governance,revealing that official regulations like voting age limits,established by Pope Paul VI,can be navigated through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/arch2-gets-30m-for-hydrogen-hub-critics-call-it-a-boondoggle-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"ARCH2 gets M for hydrogen hub; critics call it a \u2018boondoggle\u2019 - Washington Examiner\">legal adjustments<\/a>. The article illustrates that the Vatican operates like a human government, responding dynamically to circumstances rather than strictly adhering to immutable divine rules.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">African cardinals become younger through Vatican legal fiction ahead of conclave<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2114918\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Two cardinals of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/catholic-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Catholic Church<\/a> from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/africa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Africa<\/a> were rejuvenated below the age of 80 this week, allowing them to vote in the upcoming conclave. <\/p>\n<p>It wasn&rsquo;t the kind of miraculous event referred to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, but an efficient bit of legal fiction embraced by the Pontifical Yearbook.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3403183\/india-missile-attack-pakistan\/\">India launches missile attack against Pakistan<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3402893\/doug-ford-howard-lutnick-us-canada-trade\/\">Ontario premier insists Lutnick is &#8216;wrong&#8217; about Canada feeding off US<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3402191\/sistine-chapel-prepped-papal-conclave-future-catholic-church\/\">Sistine Chapel prepped for conclave as battle lines are drawn for future of Catholic Church<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Cardinal Philippe Ou&eacute;draogo of Burkina Faso was ruled out as an elector on Jan. 25 of this year, the day he turned 80, according to the yearbook. But that birthday was fake &mdash; the reality is, no one knows when Ou&eacute;draogo was born. Not even him.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In my village, there were no hospitals or schools. I was born at home and was not given a birth date,&rdquo; the cardinal previously explained in an interview with Dutch outlet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nd.nl\/geloof\/katholiek\/1260751\/deze-kardinaal-werd-ineens-11-maanden-jonger-gemaakt-nu-mag-h\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Nederlands Dagblad<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Cardinal Philippe Ouedraogo holds his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-research-on-manipulating-brains-and-rewriting-dna-should-worry-us-all\/\" title=\"Federal Research On Manipulating Brains And Rewriting DNA Should Worry Us All\">skull cap<\/a> as he arrives for the afternoon session of the Synod of bishops, at the Vatican,  Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. (AP Photo\/Andrew Medichini)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;In Africa, birthdays don&rsquo;t matter,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We celebrate community events, not individual ones. A birthday has little influence on social life.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>When Ou&eacute;draogo began pursuing the priesthood, his seminary gave him a manufactured birthdate for logistical reasons &mdash; Jan. 25, 1945. He then used this date on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-only-two-sexes-rep-chip-roy-to-introduce-legislation-that-would-make-passports-have-2-gender-options\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: \u2018Only Two Sexes\u2019 \u2014 Rep. Chip Roy To Introduce Legislation That Would Make Passports Have 2 Gender Options\">official government documents<\/a> for years.<\/p>\n<p>Later in life &mdash; the details of when are difficult to discern &mdash; the government of Burkina Faso assigned him an entirely new birthdate: Dec. 31, 1945.<\/p>\n<p>The national government uses the final day of the year as the default birthdate for those whose actual day of birth is unknown.<\/p>\n<p>Ou&eacute;draogo presented official documents to the Holy See ahead of the conclave to change his birthday in the Pontifical Yearbook and roll his age back, just barely sneaking under the age limit at 79 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Holy See press office director Matteo Bruni explained Ou&eacute;draogo&rsquo;s birthday has been &ldquo;modified with a valid document,&rdquo; noting the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/vatican\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Vatican<\/a> understands that &ldquo;not all countries enjoy the same quality of registry offices.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ou&eacute;draogo&rsquo;s case is not unique. <\/p>\n<p>A similar situation played out recently regarding Cardinal John Njue of Kenya, who similarly did not have his birthday documented as a baby.<\/p>\n<p>Vatican documents listed the former archbishop of Nairobi as having been born on December 31, 1944. Once again, this was a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >legal fiction manufactured<\/a> out of convenience. <\/p>\n<p>In 2024, the Pontifical Yearbook quietly changed his birthdate to January 1, 1946, making him 79 years old in the Holy See&rsquo;s eyes.<\/p>\n<p>Njue, despite being eligible, did not travel to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/rome\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Rome<\/a> and will not be voting in the upcoming conclave.<\/p>\n<p>At first, there was some confusion about the nature of his absence. The cardinal initially placed the blame on the Vatican.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Joined by a hundred Christians, the head of the Catholic Church in Kenya, Cardinal John Njue, wearing red cap, carries a Cross through the streets of Nairobi, Kenya, Friday, March 25, 2016, during the Holy Week celebrations, on Good Friday. Christians around the world are marking the death of Jesus Christ ahead of Easter Sunday. (AP Photo\/Sayyid Abdul Azim)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;Those who go there for the election are usually sent official invites, and that has not happened on my part,&rdquo; he told Kenyan newspaper the <em>Daily Nation<\/em>. &ldquo;The fact is that I have not been invited.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>His archdiocese later cleared the air and acknowledged they received an invitation from Kenya&rsquo;s apostolic nuncio, the country&rsquo;s papal diplomat. Instead, it appears that his poor health is holding him back from traveling.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Owing to his current health condition, His Eminence John Cardinal Njue will be unable to travel to Rome and take part in the Conclave,&rdquo; explained Archbishop Philip Arnold Anyolo, the current prelate of Nairobi.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3402191\/sistine-chapel-prepped-papal-conclave-future-catholic-church\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">SISTINE CHAPEL PREPPED FOR CONCLAVE AS BATTLE LINES ARE DRAWN FOR FUTURE OF CATHOLIC CHURCH<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Observers outside the Catholic Church often imagine it governed under divine edicts &mdash; rules and regulations carved into marble with the authority of providence.<\/p>\n<p>Pope Paul VI issued the act known as <em>Ingravescentem aetatem<\/em> (Latin: The advanced age&rdquo;), which established the voting ineligibility of cardinals over 80. The pontiff would have been the first to tell you it was not a God-given dogma, but a pragmatic governing decision.<\/p>\n<p>Cases like Ou&eacute;draogo and Njue are demonstrations that the Holy See is very much a government staffed and administrated by men, navigating a global society that challenge the church to act dynamically.<\/p>\n<p>God promised St. Peter the Catholic Church would never be conquered. One or two extra cardinals at the conclave won&rsquo;t be the end of the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2114918\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2114918\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>African cardinals under 80 due to Vatican legal adjustments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2431646,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AP534692270171.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[54734,54736,54735,9367,32076],"class_list":["post-2431645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-african-cardinals","tag-age-reduction","tag-legal-fiction","tag-vatican","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/AP534692270171.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2431645"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2431649,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2431645\/revisions\/2431649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2431646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2431645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2431645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2431645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}