POPE LEO IV GIVES BISHOP KUKAH TOP VATICAN APPOINTMENT

April 1, 2026 • Dons Eze • 2 min read

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Pope Leo IV has appointed the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah, as a Member of the Council of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development in Vatican City.

The announcement was contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by Fr. Pascal Salifu, Director of Communications of the Diocese of Sokoto.

According to the statement, Bishop Kukah was formally notified of the appointment through a letter from the Pope, signed by the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Peter Parolin.

With the appointment, Kukah will serve a five-year term on the Council, alongside several senior Catholic leaders from around the world.

The statement noted that he will join prominent figures including the Cardinal Archbishop of Washington, Walter McElroy; Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna; Cardinal Conrad Krajewski of Poland; and Archbishop Fulgence Mugalu of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Dicastery for Integral Human Development handles major issues connected to the Catholic Church’s social teachings.

These include matters related to human rights, migration, environmental protection, human development, and social ethics.

Kukah was first appointed to the council in 2022, when it was reconstituted by Pope Francis.

The Sokoto bishop has previously served in several international roles within the Catholic Church.

He was appointed in 1996 by Pope John Paul II, and later reappointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, to serve on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for a period of ten years.

Kukah also participated in the Vatican delegation to Qatar in 2005, when the country established diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

In 2018, Pope Francis appointed him to represent the Vatican on the Advisory Board of the King Abdullah International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue (KAICIID), where he served until 2025.l

Reacting to the development, Bishop Kukah expressed gratitude to the Pope for the opportunity to serve the global church.

He described the appointment as a privilege and said the work of the Dicastery aligns closely with his academic and pastoral interests.

Dons Eze

DONS EZE, PhD, Political Philosopher and Journalist of over four decades standing, worked in several newspaper houses across the country, and rose to the positions of Editor and General Manager. A UNESCO Fellow in Journalism, Dr. Dons Eze, a prolific writer and author of many books, attended several courses on Journalism and Communication in both Nigeria and overseas, including a Postgraduate Course on Journalism at Warsaw, Poland; Strategic Communication and Practical Communication Approach at RIPA International, London, the United Kingdom, among others.