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Milingo Saddens Bishops
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The Post (Lusaka)
May 30, 2001
Posted to
the web May 30, 2001
Webster Malido
Catholic Bishops in Zambia are deeply saddened and pained by the defection of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo by marrying in the Moon Sect.
In a statement yesterday, the Zambian Bishops stated that they had for a long time tried to reach out to Archbishop Milingo but that he had unfortunately rejected their regular and honest advice.
"Other people in the Church, including the Holy Father, have tried to reach out to him, but he took this advice as a form of persecution (Mt,18:15-17)," the statement stated.
"In spite of all the efforts made by us and others, he decided to go on with his plan to marry, thereby turning his back on the Catholic Church." The Bishops stated that by his action, the former Archbishop has put himself outside the Catholic Church.
"This implies that he is no longer a Bishop nor part of the Catholic Church," the statement read in part. They stated that the former Archbishop has betrayed his vows by attempting marriage while still under his priestly commitments.
They stated that his act portrays his failure to abide by sound apostolic tradition, which suddenly induced him not to perceive the advice from so many and not to discern the truth. "He rather portrayed the others as not understanding his actions," the Bishops observed.
They stated that they felt deep sympathy for the many people who put their trust in the former Archbishop but now felt betrayed and abandoned by his action. The Bishops advised that a challenge for those who had been betrayed is to make a right choice by committing themselves to follow Jesus Christ, who has the words of eternal life, rather than anyone else. They stated that the action by the former Archbishop was a reminder "to us of our own fragility in faith".
"It should therefore make us humble. Left to ourselves, without deep faith in Christ, we remain fragile and open to sin," they stated. However, the Bishops stated that the defection of Milingo does not change the Church of Jesus Christ, as it continues to bring His teaching and sacraments to the world.
The Bishops invited all Christians to continue praying for the former Archbishop in the hope that he will decide to repent and come back to the Church. The Vatican has also expressed deep regret at the decision by Milingo to marry in the Moon Sect.
According to a statement issued by the Press Office of the Holy See on Monday, the Vatican regretted that Milingo has caused a deep injury to the Church Communion by breaking away from the vows which Bishops have to live with. The Vatican stated that by his action, Milingo will not be considered Bishop of the Catholic Church anymore.
"The Faithful are invited to draw the appropriate consequences of his behaviour and his actions that constitute the pre-supposition for sanctions provided by Canon Law, which will be communicated to him and subsequently made known," the Statement read. The Apostolic Nunciature in Lusaka is, however, convinced that what happened now does not cast a shadow on the Catholic Episcopate as such, or on the Bishops, priests, religious and Catholics in Zambia.
"Rather it makes all of us more humble and attentive, given that all men and women experience their fragility in the faith, which remains in the peril of loss until the last day of our life," read the Apostolic Nunciature's statement.
The 71-year-old former archbishop of Lusaka married 43-year-old doctor, Maria Sung of South Korea on Sunday in a Unification Church, commonly known as the Moonies, ceremony, attended by 60 couples in New York.
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Copyright © 2001 The Post. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). |
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