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Bishop Mathew Kukah meets with the Holy Father, Pope Francis on Thursday, November 3rd, Members of the KAICIID Advisory Board.

Catholic Diocese of Sokoto marked the conclusion of Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy with Thanksgiving Mass in Holy Family Cathedral on Nov 11th. The Jubilee Year of Mercy was concluded at all Deaneries in the Diocese on Oct 28th. The Diocesan conclusion of Jubilee Year Mass was celebrated ahead of the formal conclusion of the Jubilee Year of Mercy which will be led by Pope Francis in the celebration of a special Mass of Thanksgiving in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on Sunday 20 November, the Feast of Christ the King.

Integration and national unity as the only solution to the conflicts in the northeast, Niger Delta and the clashes between herdsmen and farmers, a cleric of the Catholic church says.

In his speech at the 2016 Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations in Abuja on Friday, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah, expressed the belief that national unity would overcome ethnicity and nepotism, which, in his opinion still reign in Nigeria.

The faithful of the Diocese of Maroua-Mokolo in Cameroon are very afraid of suicide bomber attacks by Boko Haram. The terrorist group may have suffered significant setbacks in neighboring Nigeria, but the jihadists continue to wreak havoc in Cameroon.

When local Bishop Bruno Ateba celebrates Mass outdoors, it’s now customary that the worshipers hold hands, forming a circle, to prevent suicide bombers from mingling unnoticed among members of the community. Plus, large handbags are barred and volunteers screen Mass-goers for weapons and explosives.

On Monday, October 31st, Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Most Rev. Matthew Hassan Kukah visited Femi Fani-Kayode, Reuben Abati, Obanikoro at the headquarters of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Abuja.

Femi Fani-Kayode; former Minister of Aviation, the former junior Minister of Defence Musiliu Obanikoro and Reuben Abati, a former Presidential Spokesperson to Goodluck Jonathan are currently being held by the EFCC on charges relating to the former administration and the 2015 general election. 

Half a millennium after the Reformation, Catholics and Lutherans have a “new opportunity to accept a common path,” says Pope Francis.

The Pope said this today in Sweden, where he is on an ecumenical journey to commemorate the start of the Reformation by focusing on the 50 years of dialogue that have highlighted the points of unity between Catholics and Lutherans.

The Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Mathew Kukah cautioned members of the National Assembly against making laws that could disunite Nigeria and also any group or person not satisfied with the present composition of Nigeria can leave the country.

Bishop Kukah said this at the 11th Anniversary of Kpakpando Foundation for Physically Challenged Persons and the 50th birthday ceremony of its founder, Senator Osita Izunaso in Abuja.

At the Funeral Mass in honour of the late Vicar General of Abuja Catholic Archdiocese, Rev. Fr. Willy Ojukwu on Friday, Bishop Matthew H Kukah urged Christians to continue to pray for their pastors for the grace to fulfill their vocational call.

The Funeral Mass was presided over by John Cardinal Onaiyekan, the Archbishop of Abuja Archdiocese in Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Abuja. No fewer than 200 priests and five bishops attended the mass.

Bringing all people the lasting joy of the Church should be the focus of their service, Pope Francis told representatives of the Jesuits on Monday, as he urged them to shun pursuit of worldly leadership and position.

“The service of good courage and discernment makes us men of the Church – not clerical men, but churchmen, men ‘for others,’ without our own thing that isolates but placing everything we have in communion and service,” he said Oct. 24 to the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus at the order's general curia in Rome.

The Supreme Pontiff, Pope Francis 1, represented by Rev. Fr. George Ajana, President of Pontifical Mission Societies (Nigeria) during this year’s World Mission Sunday, at Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, Area 3, Abuja has said the 21 Chibok girls released from Sambisa forest need psychological evaluation conducted by experts.

Pope Francis who urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide psychological rehabilitation for the girls, being part of the 40 girls rescued, so far in his address said:

Have courage! Embrace your mission.

Pope Francis stressed this during his Angelus address in St. Peter’s Square, as he reflected on today’s readings, especially St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy, in which he encourages his disciple to remember that as Christians we are called to set out and evangelize.

Francis observed how St. Paul’s autobiographical account today is timely, given that today is World Mission Sunday, with the theme “Missionary Church, a witness of mercy.”

The universal church today celebrates the Mission. below is message of Pope Francis for World Mission Day 2016.

Hausa Translation

SAKON PAPA ROMA FRANCIS NA RANAN YADA BISHARA 2016

Ikkilisiya mai yada Bishara, Shaidar Jinkai

Yan'uwa Kaunatattu,

At a joint press briefing to conclude the Conference of World Religious Leaders in Abuja, Bishop Mathew Kukah said that Africa is currently facing two extremely difficult situations, which are the issues of extreme hunger and the genuine hunger arising from the failure of government and governance across the continent, thereby making Africa vulnerable and creating a very combustible environment. He argued that a lot of the problems people are facing, which have nothing to do with religion, are being baptized as religion.

The Catholic Diocese of Sokoto today distributed 50 motorcycles to her Catechists to aid in rural evangelization.

During the presentation at Malumfashi Deanery, The Vicar General Administration, Very Rev. Fr. Nuhu Iliya representing the Bishop, Most. Rev. Dr. Mathew H Kukah expressed gratitude to all the Catechists for their commitments in services to the church and humanity. He urged them to use the motorcycles in evangelizing and winning souls for the Kingdom of God..

Bishop Mathew Kukah made a presentation at The 2016 African Philanthropy Forum held in Rabat, Morocco.

The forum was a unique opportunity to reflect on the required bold steps and big bets, especially in response to the agricultural, climate, energy, governance and urbanization challenges facing the African Continent.

It also provides philanthropists and social investors on the Continent with the opportunity to consider the critical and strategic roles that they have to play individually and collectively in this journey of transformation.

Pope Francis named 17 new cardinals at the end of his Angelus address today, chosen from Asia, Africa, North and South America, Europe and Oceania.. The consistory for the creation of 17 new Cardinals is slated on Nov. 19, the eve of the closing of the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Thirteen of the new Cardinals are eligible to vote in any conclave to elect his successor. Here is the list, in the order in which Pope Francis announced them from the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica

Barely a week after his conferment as Peace Ambassador for Ooni of Ife's new initiative called "Violence Free World", Tubaba Idibia leads his team to a Peace Campaign in Sokoto State, North-western Nigeria.

Just as Nigerians were beginning to see the tide start to turn against Boko Haram militants, a relatively new menace has arisen. Nigeria now has to grapple with the increase in violent clashes blamed on Fulani herdsmen. Communities in Nigeria, particularly those in the North Central and Southern states of Nigeria are coming under constant attacks.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the First World Day of Prayer for Peace that St. John Paul convened back in 1986, an historic event which saw world leaders of different religions come together for the very first time to pray for peace. Over 450 religious leaders of different Faith gathered to pray for peace and strengthened dialogue in the spirit of Assisi.

A Communiqué at the End of the Second Plenary Meeting of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) at Domus Pacis Pastoral Centre, Igoba, Akure, Ondo State, 8-16 September, 2016.
 
1. PREAMBLE
We, the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria, held our Second Plenary Meeting of the year at Domus Pacis Pastoral Centre, Igoba, Akure, from 8 to 16 September, 2016. Having prayerfully reflected on the issues affecting the Church and our country, we now present our Communiqué.
 

For Bishop Matthew Kukah, persecution is not just the history of the Church. It’s a reality that he lives every day.

In the diocese of Sokoto, located in northern Nigeria, ministry includes not only the normal sacramental and pastoral concerns of any other diocese. It also includes regularly responding to violence and attacks against the small Christian minority living in the majority-Muslim area.

Christians living in northern Nigeria today wonder “why have they and their institutions become target practice,” Bishop Kukah told CNA.

During Canonization Mass, Pope Francis Suggests to Some 120,000 Faithful to Carry Her Smile in Their Hearts

“I think, perhaps, we may have some difficulty in calling her “Saint Teresa”: her holiness is so near to us, so tender and so fruitful that we continual to spontaneously call her ‘Mother Teresa.'”

‘Let us carry her smile in our hearts and give it to those whom we meet along our journey, especially those who suffer.’

Here is the Vatican-provided translation of Pope Francis’ homily at the canonization of Blessed Mother Teresa, held in St. Peter’s Square this morning:

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“Sacred music in Mass is different from the devotional and folk music that impacts so many of our lives”

This is the latest column from Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, reprinted from the Southern Nebraska Register.