Moon-Struck Archbishop
To Marry in Mass Wedding

By MAKI BECKER
Daily News Staff Writer

ourting excommunication, a maverick Roman Catholic archbishop will get married today in a mass wedding organized by the Unification Church in midtown.

"At 71 years of age, after a lifetime of devotion to the church and to my priestly vows, the Lord has called me to take a step that will change my life forever," Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo said in a statement issued yesterday.

Milingo is likely to fall out of grace with his current employer, Pope John Paul II.

Milingo, a controversial faith healer who also practices exorcism, said the union would enable him to be "a vehicle of His grace and blessing to Africa and the world," but added, "I expect [it] will alter my relationship with the Roman Catholic Church as well."

At the Vatican, an official church source said Milingo would be automatically excommunicated if he married.

The ceremony, at which 60 clerics of various faiths will tie the knot, is set for noon at the New York Hilton Hotel.

Milingo's bride, chosen for him by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, is Sung Ryae (Anna) Soon, 43, a physician from South Korea, said the Rev. Phillip Schanker, a spokesman for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. He said the couple would live in Africa.

With News Wire Services

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