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24/08/2001 09:25  - (SA)	E-mail story to a friend

Rome - A controversial Zambian Roman Catholic Archbishop who broke his celibacy vow and married, was expected to meet his wife as early as Friday after an absence during which he decided to rejoin the fold of the Church.

Giuseppe Bellabarba, a spokesperson for the South Korean Unification Church, said agreement had been reached with the Vatican for the estranged couple to meet without witnesses.

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo,71, married 43 year-old South Korean doctor Maria Sung in New York last May in a ceremony at which the Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the South Korean Unification Church officiated.

The former archbishop of Lusaka - a healer, exorcist and sometime singer - was said to have decided to leave Sung after meeting Pope John Paul II this month. He has not been seen since the meeting and his whereabouts are unclear.

Sung started a hunger strike in protest at the separation from her husband and has accused the Vatican of drugging him and holding him prisoner after he sent a letter to the pope renouncing his marriage.

Final details had yet to be decided but the encounter would take place before Monday, said the spokesperson.

About 100 followers of the Reverend Moon gathered on Thursday evening in St Peter's Square for a special candle-lit ceremony as an expression of solidarity with Sung.

By her side a placard in Italian and English read simply, "Where is Milingo?" - AFP