The head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis has honoured Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah with a new appointment.

Pope Francis appointed Kukah as a member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Human Integral Development.

This is contained in a statement signed by Director, Social communications, Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Reverend Father Christopher Omotosho, in Sokoto on Monday evening.

The statement said the appointment was contained in a letter to Bishop Kukah dated 11th December 2020, and signed by Peter Cardinal Turkson, the Prefect of the Dicastery.

“By this appointment, Bishop Kukah will join other members of the Dicastery 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, 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 Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development and 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.”

Omotosho further said that:

“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). He 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.”