Korean church officials warn about meeting with Archbishop Milingo

Seoul, South Korea, Sep 14, 2007 / 09:09 am

The Archdiocese of Seoul has cautioned Catholics against meeting or consulting with the excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, who is currently residing in South Korea with his wife.

Archbishop Milingo is the former archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia. In a diocesan bulletin, dated Sept. 9, the archdiocese said lay Catholics must consult with their parish priests if they are invited to any meetings with the excommunicated prelate.

Milingo is promoting his U.S.-based Married Priests Now movement in South Korea. The 77-year-old is married to South Korean Maria Sung, who is a member of the Unification Church, founded by Reverend Moon Sun-myung.

Milingo incurred automatic excommunication in 2006 when he ordained four bishops without papal approval.

The former archbishop came to South Korea to take part in an "International Symposium on Catholicism Today” which the Unification School of Theology held in June at their premises in Gapyeong, 55 kilometers northeast of Seoul. During the conference, Milingo repeated his argument for married priests.

Fr. Peter Pai Young-ho, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, told UCA News Sept. 12 that "since Milingo is excommunicated, he has no authority to gather former Catholic priests or facilitate their Catholic priestly ministry."

Fr. Pai said Milingo fraternizes with Catholics and visits Catholic institutions as though he still holds episcopal office.

"It was reported that he has shown himself in Catholic archbishop's attire and held prayer meetings with local Catholics in several shrines in the country," the priest reported. "The shrine authorities, who did not recognize him, welcomed him, thinking he was a foreign archbishop visiting Korea.”