Pope Francis has appointed the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Kukah as member of the Dicastery for Promotion of Human Integral Development at the Vatican City, Rome.
A statement issued on Monday by the director, social communications, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Rev. Fr. Christopher Omotosho, said the appointment was contained in a letter to Kukah dated December 11, 2020, and signed by the prefect of the Dicastery, Peter Cardinal Turkson.
“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.
It also said that the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development was created on January 1, 2017, when four Dicasteries, namely, the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace, Cor Unum, Pastoral Care of Immigrants and Itinerant People and Health Care of Workers, were all merged by the Holy Father.
“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),” it said.
