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June 6, 2001
Zambian archbishop marries in mass ceremony
Wedding greeted with regret by Vatican officials
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo's participation in a New York wedding provoked statements of regret and sadness from Vatican and church officials.
Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Archbishop Milingo had placed himself outside the Church by participating in the wedding ritual and that formal canonical penalties would be announced against the archbishop.
"Obviously, the Holy See has noted with deep regret the gesture taken by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo,'' Navarro-Valls said in a written statement May 28.
Archbishop Milingo, a former Vatican official internationally known for his healing ministry, was among 60 men, many clergy, who were married May 27 in a New York ceremony officiated by the Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon.
"By participating in the public rite of marriage conducted by the `Moon' sect, he has placed himself outside the Catholic Church and inflicted a serious wound on the communion that bishops, above all, should show with the Church,'' Navarro-Valls said.
"Therefore, he cannot be considered a bishop of the Catholic Church, and his followers are invited to draw the necessary consequences of his behavior and his actions,'' he said.
Speaking with reporters, Navarro-Valls added that many in the Vatican felt sorrow that the archbishop would take a step at the age of 70 that contrasts so profoundly with a lifelong vocation.
In a statement from Lusaka, Zambian bishops said they were "deeply saddened and pained by the defection of Archbishop Milingo.''
The archbishop "betrayed his vows by attempting marriage while still under his priestly commitments,'' the bishops said.
They said they had tried to reach the archbishop before the wedding, but he "unfortunately rejected our regular and honest advice.''
Archbishop Milingo married Maria Sung, a 43-year-old Korean acupuncturist, whom the archbishop said was chosen for him by Rev. Moon May 25.
Also married in the same ceremony was Archbishop George A. Stallings Jr., a former priest of the Archdiocese of Washington excommunicated in 1990 after establishing an African-American Congregation and declaring it independent from Rome.
Franciscan Father James E. Goode, president of the National Black Catholic Clergy, told Catholic News Service it was "very painful'' to him and other African-American clergy to see leading figures such as Archbishops Milingo and Stallings abandon the work of helping blacks feel that they have a place within the Catholic Church.
In a written statement the day before the wedding, Archbishop Milingo said he would not "deny or abandon my Catholic faith,'' and that he would "continue to celebrate Mass every day of my life.''
The archbishop, who will be 71 June 13, said he had lived a celibate life since his ordination in 1958, and that priestly celibacy had a "profound meaning'' as an expression of the need to reject the "false love between men and women'' that followed the fall of Adam and Eve.
But now "many in the Church have realized that the sacrifice of celibate life has fulfilled its purpose,'' and "God has shown me that the oneness of a godly man and woman is a true reflection of the Holy Trinity,'' he said.
He said he and his partner would return to Africa with a mission to renew the continent's spiritual heritage and "rebuild the society.''
But Navarro-Valls said the wedding in no way places the Church's priestly celibacy rule in doubt. He said the archbishop's action was a question of "confused religious syncretism,'' not celibacy.
Navarro-Valls said Archbishop Milingo would be personally informed of the Church penalties against him before they were made public. The archbishop holds no Church office at present, but he was expected to be suspended from the active priestly ministry.
Church law also says that an apostate — one who abandons the faith — incurs automatic excommunication. If the apostate is a cleric, additional penalties can be formalized; in the case of serious scandal, this can include dismissal from the clerical state.
Determining apostasy can be a complicated matter, especially if the person involved still proclaims himself a member of the Church.
Until 1983, Archbishop Milingo was head of the Archdiocese of Lusaka, Zambia. In 1982 he was summoned to Rome and questioned about accusations of sorcery, theft and divisive pastoral leadership — all of which he denied. Nevertheless, he was divested of his archdiocese.
After that the archbishop was named a special delegate to the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. Vatican sources said he rarely worked at the office, and he was quietly dropped from the council in 1999 — although he remains listed as a consultor.
In Lusaka, Franciscan Sister Janet Fearns, acting director of Yatsani Radio, said many Zambian Catholics felt betrayed by Archbishop Milingo.
She said some political leaders were taking advantage of the situation by inviting Archbishop Milingo to return to Zambia. The politicians will use the archbishop as an "additional weapon ... against the church,'' which has been accused of "meddling in politics'' for resisting efforts by Zambian President Frederick Chiluba to seek a third term, she said.
A biographical sheet about Rev. Moon, now 81, said that in 1997 he "dissolved the Unification Church to form the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, challenging all faiths to work together to uplift God's first institution, the family.''
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