- Kenya’s Cardinal John Njue has resigned from the Pope’s special election meeting on Wednesday, May 7, for health reasons, despite being eligible to vote
- Njue’s decision not to attend is accompanied by Spanish Cardinal, Antonio Cañizares, in which both have been quietly confirmed by the Vatican that they cannot travel due to health reasons
- His eligibility raised a conversation after the Vatican amended his birth date until January 1, 1946, thus ensuring that he remained below the 80 -year -old required by the voters of the conference
- Cardinal Njue was promoted to Cardinal in 2007, and his absence is widely felt due to his long -standing leadership in the Catholic Church in Kenya.
Cardinal Njue has decided not to take part in a pope’s eagerly awaited election meeting to elect Pope Francis’s successor, explaining health reasons.
Source: Facebook
Cardinal John Njue withdrew from the Pope 7 meeting for health reasons, despite being eligible to vote
Kenya’s Cardinal John Njue has decided not to take part in a key meeting to choose Pope Francis’s successor, citing health reasons.
A 79 -year -old Nairobi Archbishop, one of the highest bishops of the Catholic Church in Africa, was among the Cardinals who had the right to vote in the holy process expected to begin on Wednesday, May 7, inside the Sistine Church in the Vatican.
According to the Catholic news agency (CNA), for health reasons, Njue will not be able to travel to Rome to participate in the election of the new head of the Catholic Church.
The statement emerged a few days after Matteo Bruni, Director of the Vatican Information Office, revealed that two Cardinals who had the right to vote withdrew for health reasons, though their names were not immediately mentioned.
It has now been noted that another preleti is Cardinal Antonio Cañizares of Spain, retired Archbishop of Valencia, who has also withdrawn from the conference for similar reasons.
Source: Facebook
Why has njue legitimacy sparked debate
Njue’s invisibility is a matter of consideration not only because of its experience and status within the Church, but also because of tension over its legitimacy to participate in the meeting.
For decades, there was confusion about his official birthday, in which many Vatican documents showed that he was born on December 31, 1944.
If the date had not been corrected, Cardinal Njue would have crossed the 80 -year -old at the end of 2024, so he would not have the right to vote.
However, through the silent amendment, the Pontifical Yearbook book changed its date of birth to January 1, 1946, making him 79 years old and thus eligible to actively participate in the voting meeting.
This amendment allowed Njue not only to participate in this conference, but also to continue to be a member of the Vatican Department of Evangelism.
Njue, who was appointed Cardinal in 2007 by Pope Benedict XVI, has been a prominent leader in the Catholic Church in Kenya.
He was born in Embu and was given the Priesthood Bridge in 1973, climbed the stairs to the first bishop of the Embu Diocese, then became the Assistant Bishop of Nyeri and the Interimal Administrator of the Diocese of Isiolo. He later served as Archbishop of Nairobi until Pope Francis officially received his resignation in January 2021.
With all the Cañizares with all the withdrawal, the number of voters has now decreased to 133 from the previous 135.
According to the rules of the Church, at least two -thirds of the voters – equivalent to 89 votes – are required to elect a new pope, who will be the 267th pope and a spiritual leader of more than 1.4 billion Catholics around the world.
As the Church enters this transition following the death of Pope Francis, the absence of experienced voices like Njue will surely lead to a gap in the consultation of the conference.
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