Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Diocese of Sokoto as a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Vatican City.

The 13-member council is the highest decision and policy-making body for the Holy Father.

Kukah’s appointment came in the wake of the appointment of His Grace Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja as a cardinal.

In May, the president of the Conference of Bishops of English and French-speaking West Africa, announced Kukah’s appointment as the chairman of the Commission on Culture, Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism.

In February, he was elected chairman of the Commission on Inter-religious Dialogue for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria.

Bishop Kukah had earlier served the council in a five-year tenure when His Eminence Francis Cardinal Arinze served as the president of the Council.

He was a delegate at the just-concluded Synod of Bishops for the New Evangelisation in the Vatican.
http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/breaking-news/kukah-appointed-member-of-papal-council/