Pope appoints Bishop Kukah to top Vatican role

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the Bishop of the Diocese of Sokoto Hassan Kukah to a top position in the Vatican City.

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The Nigerian priest will serve as a Member of the Council of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, which will enable him to contribute to shaping Catholic Church’s teachings and stance on key global issues like the environment, human rights, migration, and human development.

A statement by Pascal Salifu, a priest and director of communications, Diocese of Sokoto, on Tuesday, said Mr Kukah was notified of his appointment in a letter addressed to him by the Pope.

The letter was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Peter Parolin, according to the statement.

By his appointment, Mr Kukah “joins other prominent Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops from all over the world to serve a five-year term on the Council,” the statement said.

The Dicastery deals with the key thematic issues around the Catholic Church’s Social Teachings covering the environment, human rights, migration, human development, social ethics, among others.

He is to serve in the council alongside the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, Walter McElroy; Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, Cardinal Conrad Krajewski of Poland, Archbishop Fulgence Mugalu of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

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Mr Kukah was first appointed to the Council in 2022 when it was reconstituted by Pope Francis.

Reacting to his appointment Mr Kukah said he is humbled by the appointment and thanked the Pope for giving him an opportunity to serve the Church.

He said the Dicastery fits perfectly into his areas of research and pastoral interest and looks forward to contributing to helping to infuse the Catholic ethos into public life in a world that has become severely wounded by human greed.

Read the full statement below:

VATICAN MAKES FIRST APPOINTMENT TO THE NIGERIAN CHURCH

The Vatican has announced the appointment of Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah, Diocese of Sokoto as a Member of the Council of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development, Vatican City. This was contained in a letter addressed to Bishop Kukah by His Holiness Pope Leo IV and signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Card. Peter Parolin.

Bishop Kukah joins other prominent Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops from all over the world to serve a five-year term on the Council. Other Members include the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, His Eminence Cardinal Walter McElroy, Card. Matteo Zuppi of Bologna, Card. Conrad Krajewski of Poland, Archbishop Fulgence Mugalu of Lubumbashi, DRC. Bishop Kukah was first appointed to the Council in 2022 when it was reconstituted by Pope Francis. The Dicastery deals with the key thematic issues around the Catholic Church’s Social Teachings covering; The Environment, Human Rights, Migration, Human Development, Social Ethics among others.

Prior to this appointment, Bishop Kukah was appointed by Pope John Paul 11 of blessed memory in 1996 and re-appointed by Pope Benedict 1V in 2005 to serve in the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue over a ten-year period. He was part of the Vatican delegation to Qatar when that country opened diplomatic relations with the Vatican in 2005. He was appointed by Pope Francis to represent the Vatican on the Advisory Board of the King Abdulazeez International Council for Interreligious Dialogue, KAICIID, 2018-2025.

The Council also announced the appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Okechukwu, Director of Health Services at the Catholic Secretariat, to serve along with Priests, Religious and the Laity who are all expected to bring their expertise into the work of the Council.

On the appointment, Bishop Kukah said he is humbled by the appointment and thanks the holy father immensely for giving him an opportunity to serve the Church. The thematic areas of the Dicastery, he said, fit perfectly into his areas of research and pastoral interest and looks forward to contributing to helping to infuse the Catholic ethos into public life in a world that has become severely wounded by human greed.

Fr Pascal Salifu

Director of Communications,

Diocese of Sokoto.

31/3/26