Zaria, 28 December, 2023 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Sokoto Diocese has told Catholic Priests and Bishops not to view the priesthood and office of the Bishop along tribal lines.
In his homily during the Thursday, December 14 episcopal consecration of Bishop Habila Tyiakwonaboi Daboh as Local Ordinary for Zaria Diocese, Bishop Kukah said the office of Bishop is prone to confusion among Priests and the laity by being looked at as “a trophy for our tribes.”
“The office of Bishop today is susceptible to conceptual confusion among the laity and even us the Priests. The office is now being pulled and held up as a trophy for our tribes. We are often tempted to want to place our Bishops on some kind of ethnic hall of fame or pedestal, as a champion of the tribe,” Bishop Kukah said during the Holy Mass at St. Joseph Minor Seminary, Basawa, Zaria.
Bishop Kukah said that while they are at liberty to love their communities and be part of their cultural activities, Bishops and Priests must “rise beyond these human sentiments and serve as a lighthouse to which all different members of our diverse communities must look in hope.”
“We, Bishops and Priests must be patient and guide the expectations of our people carefully while not losing a moral balance,” he said during the consecration of the Bishop who was appointed to serve as the second Local Ordinary of the Nigerian Diocese that was erected on 5 December 2000 in September
