Kukah Bags Pope’s Special Appointment Amid Christmas Message Furore

• The papacy disclosed Kukah’s appointment in a letter
• The appointment will be a massive boast for Kukah’s reputation

Pope Francis has appointed Bishop of Sokoto State Diocese, Matthew Hassan Kukah, as a member of the catholic church Dicastery.

Ekohotblog reports that the Dicastery is a group of exceptional and outstanding individuals who have shown remarkable understanding of the what the world needs to be a better place. The members are drawn from different countries of the world.

The appointment will be a massive boast for Kukah’s reputation who has become a target of criticism and indignation from Nigerians of northern extraction over his Christmas message in which he bemoaned the state of the nation.

Kukah had in a scathing but trenchant Christmas message said a non-northern Muslim president can’t get away with a fraction of what Nigerians overlook under the present administration, he said such president would have been ousted through coup.

He also accused President Muhammadu Buhari of nepotism, saying his government has the trappings of northern hegemony as other tribes have been relegated to second class citizen.

Kukah was widely excoriated by northerners for his sermon with some calling for his arrest and others threatening to evict him from the north.

It, however, seems the intemperate reactions and furore sparked by Kukah’s remarks only serve to catapult him towards grander position.

The papacy in a letter disclosed that the daring and unyielding bishop has been appointed a member of Dicastery for the promotion of Human Integral Development.

Read Also: Nothing In Bishop Kukah’s Christmas Message Denigrates Islam – Soyinka

The letter which was signed by the prefect of Dicastery, Peter Cardinal Turkson reads thus.. “By this appointment from Pope Francis, Bishop Matthew kukah will join other members of the Dicastery drawn from other parts of the world to advise and promote Pope Francis on the 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.”

In the letter, it was also made known that the appointment is for the period of five years, and it is renewable thereafter.