Vatican Says
Archbishop Milingo has Returned to the Church
Special to the Fatima Network
Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has
decided to leave his "wife" and return to the fold of the Roman Catholic
Church, the Vatican announced on August 14.
"I once again, at this time, dedicate my life
to the Catholic church with all my heart, I renounce my life with Maria Sung
and my links with Reverend Moon," Milingo said in a letter sent to Pope John
Paul II.
According to Agence France Presse,
the letter was dated August 11, but was only made public on August 14 by the
Holy See.
Meanwhile, Maria Sung has begun a hunger
strike, vowing to starve herself to death unless she sees her "husband".
Milingo came under the threat of
excommunication after he "married" 43-year-old Maria Sung, a South Korean
woman, in a mass wedding conducted by Sun Myung Moon on May 27.
In July, the Vatican told the Archbishop that
he would be excommunicated on August 20 unless he agreed to:
(a) Leave Maria Sung, (b) sever all links with
the sect, Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, (c) declare
publicly his fidelity to the doctrine and ecclesiastical discipline of celibacy
and to manifest his obedience to the Supreme Pontiff by a clear and unequivocal
act."
On August 6, Milingo met with the Pope at
Castel Gondalfo. After this meeting, the Vatican lifted the threat of
excommunication against the Zambian prelate.
The Archbishop has not been seen in public
since August 8. Maria Sung accuses the Vatican of holding Milingo against his
will. The Vatican responds that the Archbishop is on retreat "for a period of
reflection and prayer."
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