By Emeka Okafor
Pope Francis has appointed the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Bishop Matthew Kukah, as a member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Human Integral Development at the Vatican City in Rome.
This was contained in a statement signed by Director, Social Communications, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Christopher Omotosho.
According to the statement, Bishop Kukah’s appointment was contained in a letter to Bishop Kukah dated December 11, 2020, and signed by the Prefect of the Dicastery, His Eminence, Peter Cardinal Turkson.
It stated that the membership of the Dicastery is drawn from different regions of the world to advise and promote the Pope’s concerns on issues of justice and peace, human rights, torture, human trafficking, human dignity among others.
The statement further added that the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development was created on January 1, 2017, when the Holy Father merged the four Dicasteries -the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Pastoral Care of Immigrants and Itinerant People and Health Care of Workers.
“By this appointment, Bishop Kukah will join other members of the Dicastery drawn from different regions of the world to advise and promote the Holy Father’s concerns on issues of justice and peace, human rights, torture, human trafficking, care of creation and other issues related to the promotion of human dignity and development.
“The appointment, which is renewable is for an initial period of five years. The Council will be formally inaugurated on a later date,” the statement said.
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“This appointment adds to Bishop Kukah’s string of national and international engagements within the universal Church. He was first appointed a Consultor and later a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, Vatican City and served under three Popes.
“He is currently, Chairman, Dialogue Committees of both the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN)”.
The statement also said that Bishop Kukah was a member of the official delegation of the Holy See that met with the Emir of Qatar when that country opened diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 2002.
“In 2016, he was nominated by the Vatican to represent Africa on the Advisory Board of the Vienna based, King Abdulazeez International Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue (KAIICID).
KAIICID is the fruit of the collaboration between the governments of Saudi Arabia, Austria and the Holy See for the promotion of worldwide Dialogue between world religions. Bishop Kukah comes to the Dicastery on the Promotion of Integral Development with a lot of experience in the areas of human rights, justice and reconciliation”
