Story Filed: Friday, August 10, 2001 8:40 PM EDT
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- The archbishop who enraged the Vatican by getting
married is spending time praying and reflecting -- but without his new wife,
officials said Friday.
Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo also apparently didn't hold a second meeting as
planned on Friday with Pope John Paul II, and his spokesmen wouldn't say where
he was.
``He is in a spiritual retreat to reflect,'' said Milingo's Italian
spokesman, Maurizio Bisantis. In comments to the ANSA news agency, Bisantis said
it appeared Milingo had ``returned to the Catholic church.''
Milingo met Tuesday with John Paul to discuss his reasons for getting married
in one of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's mass weddings. His wife, Maria Sung, 43,
chosen by Moon as is customary in his movement, accompanied Milingo to Italy but
didn't attend the meeting.
The Vatican had threatened to excommunicate Milingo if he didn't leave Sung
by Aug. 20, sever ties with Moon's movement and remain celibate. On Wednesday,
the Vatican announced it was suspending its threat and that no new deadline was
set as talks with Milingo continued.
Milingo had told a press conference late Tuesday that he needed to consult
with his wife before deciding what to do next. ``By this time, I am no longer
single and I must consider another person -- my wife -- and her human rights,''
he told reporters.
However, officials with Moon's movement in Italy said Friday evening that
Sung had not had any contact with Milingo since Monday.
``She cannot reach her husband,'' said Giuseppe Bellabarba, a spokesman with
the movement. ``She wants desperately to meet with her husband,'' he said.
While Bisantis said Sung was planning to return to the United States alone,
Bellabarba said she was remaining in Italy for now.
Milingo and Sung were married May 27 in a group wedding in New York and have
since consummated the marriage, Milingo's Internet site reported.
The Zambian archbishop has said that celibacy for priests had served its
purpose and was now poisoning the priesthood.
On the Net:
Milingo's Web site, http://archbishopmilingo.org
Copyright © 2001 Associated Press Information Services, all
rights reserved.
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