Pope Leo IV Appoints Bishop Kukah to Vatican Council for Integral Human Development

The Vatican has appointed Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto as a member of the Council of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

The appointment was conveyed in a letter addressed to Bishop Kukah by His Holiness Pope Leo IV and signed by Cardinal Peter Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State.

Bishop Kukah will serve a five-year term alongside prominent cardinals, archbishops, and bishops from around the world. Notable members of the council include Cardinal Walter McElroy, Archbishop of Washington; Cardinal Matteo Zuppi of Bologna; Cardinal Conrad Krajewski of Poland; and Archbishop Fulgence Mugalu of Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

This is not Bishop Kukah’s first role at the Vatican. He was first appointed to the council in 2022 when it was reconstituted by Pope Francis. The Dicastery focuses on key thematic areas of the Catholic Church’s social teachings, including the environment, human rights, migration, human development, and social ethics.

Prior to this role, Bishop Kukah served on the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue for a decade, having been first appointed by Pope John Paul II in 1996 and reappointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. He was part of the Vatican delegation to Qatar when the nation established diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 2005. Additionally, Pope Francis appointed him to represent the Vatican on the Advisory Board of the King Abdulaziz International Center for Interreligious Dialogue (KAICIID) from 2018 to 2025.

The council also announced the appointment of Dr. Emmanuel Okechukwu, Director of Health Services at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, who will serve alongside priests, religious, and laity, all expected to contribute their expertise.

Reacting to the appointment, Bishop Kukah expressed his gratitude, stating that he is humbled by the confidence reposed in him. He thanked the Holy Father for the opportunity to serve the Church, noting that the thematic areas of the Dicastery align closely with his research and pastoral interests. He added that he looks forward to contributing to efforts aimed at embedding Catholic ethos into public life in a world deeply wounded by human greed.