Nation & World : Monday, May 28, 2001

By Richard N. Ostling
The Associated Press

NEW YORK - A Roman Catholic archbishop who says God wants him and the Catholic Church to shed the celibacy rule married a physician yesterday in a group wedding conducted by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, 71, was wed with about 60 other couples in a ceremony at the New York Hilton. The bride, chosen for him by Moon, is Marie Sung, 43, of South Korea, said the Rev. Phillip Schanker, a spokesman for the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, the central group in Moon's movement.

He said the newlyweds plan to move to Africa.

Milingo has long been at odds with the Catholic hierarchy, although he remains based in Rome and still carries his title. He said in a statement that he had kept his priestly vow of celibacy since 1958 but has decided it's time for Catholicism to change.

"The sacrifice of celibate life has fulfilled its purpose. We enter the era when every man and woman is called to fulfill his or her original purpose to reflect God's image," he said. He added: "I have no desire to leave the church that I love."

Asked at a news conference whether the church would excommunicate him, Milingo said: "It doesn't affect me." He said he considers himself a Catholic and that Moon's religious teachings are in line with the Bible.

The Vatican, however, was expected to take action against him.

According to Canon Law, Milingo may be subject to automatic excommunication if the Vatican finds him guilty of apostasy, or renouncing his faith. Catholic priests are not allowed to marry without first leaving the clergy.

"I don't think I should comment on this until we hear something directly from Milingo," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said.

Moon does not require those who take part in his wedding ceremonies to follow his religion.

Milingo was archbishop of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, when he ran afoul of the Vatican over his ministry of faith healings and exorcisms. He resigned under pressure in 1983, a rare occurrence with an archbishop below normal retirement age and in good health.

Milingo then was sent to Rome as a functionary in the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples but continued public meetings of healing and exorcism. Last year, he was quietly retired.

Also among those married yesterday was former Catholic priest George Stallings of Washington, D.C., who was excommunicated in 1990 for creating the breakaway African American Catholic Congregation, of which he is archbishop.

Stallings, 53, married Sayomi Kamimoto, 24, a staff assistant in New York for the Unification Church.

The group weddings, called "Holy Blessing Ceremonies," are a central practice of Moon's religion. Moon arranges each marriage. He teaches that Jesus' ministry failed because of Jewish rejection and because Jesus did not marry. Thus the "Lord of the Second Advent" must appear at the end of time and, with his wife, become ideal "True Parents."

The faith teaches the second messiah was born in Korea around 1920, so the 81-year-old Moon fits the criteria.

Moon has been married twice and has 13 children. He moved to the United States in 1973.

Copyright © 2001 The Seattle Times Company

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