USAKA: The Zambian government has summoned the Vatican's ambassador to Lusaka to explain the controversy over the marriage of Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, local newspapers said on Thursday.

"We are following up the matter seriously," Zambian Foreign Minister Keli Walubita said.

"Our concerns are that we have not been apprised of what was going on," he was quoted as saying by the state-run Times of Zambia.

The former archbishop of Lusaka has been at the centre of controversy since he pledged his troth to a Korean woman, Maria Sung, despite his vow of celibacy as an ordained Catholic priest, in a mass Unification Church wedding ceremony last May.

But Milingo last week renounced his marriage vows, saying he was returning to the fold of the Catholic Church.

He is expected to meet Sung in person to explain his decision, made after an audience with Pope John Paul II.

Orlando Antonini, the Vatican ambassador to Zambia, met Wednesday with Zambian foreign ministry officials, according to the paper.

Zambian Vice President Enoch Kavindele earlier this month said Milingo had a responsibility to his wife just like any other man.