Vatican warns bishop who married

By Candice Hughes, Associated Press, 7/18/2001

ATICAN CITY - The Vatican yesterday threatened to excommunicate an archbishop married in New York this spring in a mass wedding celebrated by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo was given until Aug. 20 to leave his new wife, sever his ties with Moon's movement, publicly promise to remain celibate, and ''manifest his obedience to the supreme pontiff,'' a Vatican statement said.

If he doesn't, he will be excommunicated, said the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which enforces Roman Catholic orthodoxy.

''The church, obliged as she is to proceed to this painful action for the good of the faithful, does not cease to pray to the Lord, the Good Shepherd, for the desired return of the archbishop,'' the congregation's statement said.

The 71-year-old archbishop was married May 27 in a group ceremony at a New York hotel. His bride, 43-year-old Maria Sung, was selected by Moon, as is customary in Moon's movement, the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.

After his wedding, Milingo said he had ''no desire to leave the church that I love.'' He said he had kept his priestly vow of celibacy since 1958 and still considered himself a Catholic but had decided that the church needed to change.

''The sacrifice of celibate life has fulfilled its purpose,'' he said.

In a letter to Pope John Paul II dated June 10, Milingo reassured the pontiff that his actions were a result of his faith in Jesus and love of the church. But in the letter, a copy of which was faxed last night to the Associated Press, Milingo also asked to be released from his vow of celibacy so he could consummate his marriage and requested an audience with the pope.

The congregation said it decided to make the warning public because it did not know where to find Milingo to ''invite him to reflect on the grave consequences of his conduct.''

Milingo was archbishop of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, when he ran afoul of the Vatican over his faith healing and exorcisms. He resigned under pressure in 1983.

Milingo then was brought to Rome as a functionary in the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples. Last year, he was quietly retired.

After the wedding, a Moon spokesman said Milingo and his bride, a South Korean doctor, planned to move to Africa.

This story ran on page A12 of the Boston Globe on 7/18/2001.
© Copyright 2001 Globe Newspaper Company.