Bishop-Elect for New Nigerian Diocese Pledges to Foster “constructive conversations”

The Nigerian Bishop-elect, whose Episcopal Ordination is scheduled for December 13 told ACI Africa that dialogue of life “is even more pronounced among mixed families of Muslims and Christians who are breaking down barriers and fostering harmony.”

“While we acknowledge our differences in faith and worldview, we accept the common humanity, which we share as brothers and sisters who are created by the same God,” he said.

Born in January 1971 in Zamfara State, Mons. Musa who was appointed pioneer Bishop of Katsina Diocese on October 16 was ordained a Priest in June 1996.

In the October 23 interview with ACI Africa, the Catholic Bishop-elect pledged to foster a collaborative ministry and servant leadership after the example of Jesus Christ. 

“I hope to be a Bishop who collaborates with other vital segments of the church, the Clergy, the Religious and the Laity in realizing, planning and executing the work of evangelization,” he said, and added, “I plan to be collaborative and to be a servant leader who imbibes the principle of Jesus which says, Whoever wants to be first must be slave of all…to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

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Reflecting on security challenges in Africa’s most populous nation, Mons. Musa called upon the Nigerian government to “intensify efforts” to protect lives and property. 

“In these challenging times, I want to ask the government to intensify efforts towards providing security in both urban and rural areas, especially in places where people live in constant fear and are terrorized by bandits and traumatized by kidnapping,” he said.

He pledged to carry the young people along in the pastoral plans of the Diocese, saying, “The youth are the future of the church; we cannot have any successful pastoral plans without involving the youth; we consider them as the live wire of the Diocese.”

The new Nigerian Diocese, the 60th Catholic Diocese in the West African nation, has been dismembered from the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto; it becomes the seventh suffragan Diocese in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Kaduna, alongside Kafanchan, Kano, Kontagora, Minna, Sokoto, and Zaria Dioceses.

Measuring 29,000 square kilometers, Katsina Diocese starts off with a population of 9,669,439 of which 19,000 are Catholics, the Holy See Press Office has indicated, adding that St. Martin de Porres Church in Katsina is to serve as the Cathedral Church of the new Episcopal See.