Pope appoints Nigerian priest as adviser on Christians/Muslims relations

Pope Francis has appointed Rev. Fr. Joseph Ogundipe of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, as one of the six new consultors that will be advising him { Catholic Pontiff} on relations between Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.

Rev Sr. Eunice Ikufisile, the Director of Social Communications in the Catholic Diocese of Oyo, stated this in a statement she e-mailed to the News Agency of Nigeria {NAN} in Lagos on Tuesday.

Ikufisile said that Bishop Emmanuel Badejo of the Catholic Diocese of Oyo received the message on March 9, 2020 from the Vatican City and conveyed the appointment to Fr Ogundipe same day.

The statement said that Fr Ogundipe would serve with the Commission for Religious Relations with Muslims at the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue (PCDI) based at the Vatican.’

The statement also quoted Badejo to have said that the appointment of Ogundipe as a consultor to the Commission for Relations with Muslims was for a period of five years.

“The principal purpose of the Commission is to provide time for reflection on the church’s relations with Muslims.”

“As you know, the Apostolic Constitution Pastor Bonuson the Roman Curia (1988) makes provision for this Commission within the ambit of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue,’’ he said.

The statement quoted the letter as saying: “The Commission meets once a year and the agenda provides for communications from individual Consultors on the situation of Islam and Christian-Muslim relations in their respective countries.