Archbishop weds and sparks furor

VATICAN CITY -- An archbishop who married an acupuncturist in a group wedding in New York conducted by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church can no longer be considered a bishop of the Catholic Church, the Vatican said Monday.

In an unusually strong statement, Vatican chief spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, a Zambian assigned to Rome, "could not be considered a bishop of the Catholic Church" and would be subject to "foreseen canonical sanctions."

Analysts said such sanctions almost certainly meant formal excommunication.

He had "inflicted a serious wound on the communion which priests above all must show with the church," Navarro-Valls said.

Priests are not allowed to marry without first leaving the clergy.

Zambia's Catholic bishops said they would meet in Lusaka today to discuss the incident.

Milingo, a 71-year-old faith healer who also practices exorcism, married 43-year-old Marie Sung on Sunday in a ballroom at the New York Hilton.

"God is still with me," Milingo said after the wedding. "I love my church."