Heartbreaking Reason Why An African Cardinal Doesn't Know His Age And May Be Dropped From Conclave

Nobody knows when Cardinal Philippe Nakellentuba Ouédraogo was born – and it has sparked a right confusion at the Vatican. What might seem like boring paperwork could actually tip the scales in next week's nail-biter of a papal election.

This situation comes as conservative factions work to upend liberal reforms made by Pope Francis. Since Cardinal Ouédraogo is known for his conservative views, his exclusion would be a blow to those trying to prevent another liberal papacy.

On the Brink of Exclusion: Conflicting Birthdates

The Burkina Faso cardinal's got two birth dates floating around the Vatican files – January 24th and December 31st, 1945. Sounds trivial, but blimey, it's massive. If he popped into the world in January, he's 80 now and can't vote. If it was December, he's 79 and gets a say in who runs the Catholic Church for the next decade or two.

Vatican staffers are tearing their hair out because this isn't just some minor cock-up. If Ouédraogo votes when he shouldn't, the whole election could be ruled invalid. Imagine that – the white smoke goes up, crowds cheer, then someone checks the fine print and says, 'Hang on, that bloke shouldn't have been in there!'

Cardinal Ouédraogo Addresses the Controversy

Cardinal Ouédraogo has offered an explanation to his supporters and colleagues: 'In my village, there were neither hospitals nor schools. I was born at home and was not given a birthdate.' Cardinal Ouédraog claims that when he entered the seminary, a birthdate— 25 January— was assigned to him for administrative purposes. Eventually, Burkina Faso's national registry designated 31 December 1945 as his official birthdate.

Italian newspapers are having a field day, mind you. One cheeky headline read: 'The miraculous case of the cardinal who got younger just in time for the conclave.' You can practically hear the cynical sniggers.

The timing's proper rubbish. Since Pope Francis kicked the bucket, there's been a right barney brewing between the progressives who loved his reforms and the old guard who reckon he went off the deep end with all that inclusivity malarkey.

What His Eligibility Means to the Politically Divided Conclave

Cardinal Ouédraogo stands as a significant figure among conservative factions within the Church, who are increasingly vocal about their desire to reverse or halt certain liberal reforms introduced under Pope Francis. They seek to retract the late Pope's blessings for same-sex unions and matters of gender identity.

Pope Francis was an avid defender and advocate of the LGBT+ community, famously saying, 'Who am I to judge them?' During a press conference in 2023, he doubled-down on his beliefs, emphasising that rather than the queer community, it is laws criminalising homosexuality which are sinful: 'This is not right. Persons with homosexual tendencies are children of God. God loves them. God accompanies them [...] condemning a person like this is a sin.'

Cardinal Ouédraogo's conservative faction has long voiced their disdain for Pope Francis' beliefs, with German Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller recently condemning him for deviating from the Bible's teachings.

'Doctrine is not the property of the Pope, the bishops, or the faithful,' Müller said in an interview with La Stampa. '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.' Müller also expressed concern about powerful 'ideological lobbies,' specifically naming what he referred to as the 'gay lobby.' To battle woke ideology, Müller believes, there needs to be a collective return to the Church's foundational teachings.

Given the divisive political environment within the Vatican, securing Cardinal Ouédraogo's conservative vote could be crucial Müller's agenda. After all, Müller's plea for a return to traditional values mirrors similar calls made by Pope Benedict XVI, who emphasised the importance of basic Christian principles. More relevantly, he appointed Cardinal Ouédraogo as archbishop almost three decades ago.

Cardinal Ouédraogo's Background And Rise to Conclave

Though the exact date is unknown, Cardinal Ouédraogo is registered with his birth in 1945 in Konéan, Burkina Faso where he studied at seminaries in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso before earning a doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome. Ordained a priest in 1973, he served in various leadership roles, including vicar general and seminary director, before becoming Bishop of Ouahigouya in 1996.

In 2009, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Ouagadougou which he held until his resignation in 2023 that was accepted by Pope Francis.

In 2014, he was appointed a cardinal— the only Burkina Faso native to receive this honour, other than the late Paul Zoungrana.

The 135 cardinal electors—now potentially 134 if Ouédraogo is excluded—will enter the Sistine Chapel on May 7th to begin voting. They'll remain sequestered until at least two-thirds agree on a successor.

Meanwhile, the bureaucratic confusion around a birth certificate from 1945 rural Burkina Faso could shape the Catholic Church's direction for decades to come—a reminder that in Vatican politics, even the smallest details can carry divine significance.