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 life-long 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, who 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 Catholic 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.

From 7/26 THE RECORD

African archbishop who married faces excommunication, says Vatican office.

Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo will be excommunicated August 20 unless he:

1. Separates from Maria Sung, his Korean wife

2. Severs all liks with Rev. Moon's Unification Church and

3. Declares publicly his obedfiencve to the pope.

From 8/9 THE RECORD

Married Zambian bishop meets with pope, officials

In a move the Vatican said suspended his threatened excommunication, Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo met with Pope John Paul 11 and a Vatican doctrinal official who had ordered him to leave his wife and the Rev. Sun Myung (sic) Moon's sect.

The pope received Archbishop Milingo at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo Aug. 7, said Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, vice director of the Vatican press office.

'The meeting is the beginning of a dialogue that one hopes will be able to lead to positive developments," he said.

Speaking to reporters Aug. 8, Father Benedettini said the meeting effectively suspended the Vatican's Aug. 20 deadline for the archbishop's excommunication.

An informed Vatican official who requested anonymity said the dialogue process was expected to be "long" and involve multiple meetings with Archbishop Milingo.

Maurizio Bisantis, an Italian supporter of Archbishop Milingo who helped arrange the meeting, said the archbishop met alone with the pope for 45 minutes.

He said the meeting continued for another hour after the two were joined by Bishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, the pope's personal secretary; Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone, secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Father Josef Clemens, personal secretary to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the doctrinal congregations prefect.

Archbishop Milingo, a former Vatican official, was granted the audience after personally petitioning Bishop Dziwisz during an unannounced visit to Castel Gandolfo the previous evening. Bisantis said the pope also briefly met Milingo then to " greet him and ask him to pray" before their talks.

The informed source said Vatican officials had originally expected to require Archbishop Milingo to work toward resolving his situation with doctrinal officials before 'crowning' the process with a papal audience. The change in plans was because of the "pope's goodness , the official said.

Bisantis said Archbishop Milingo expected a second meeting with the pope Aug. 10.

The doctrinal congregation said in a July statement issued "by mandate" of the pope that Archbishop Milingo would be excommunicated Aug. 20 unless he left the woman he married in May in a New York ceremony performed by Rev. Moon.

The congregation said he also had to "sever all links" with Rev. Moon's sect and make a public declaration of his loyalty to the pope and his acceptance of priestly celibacy.

Before traveling to Rome, Archbishop Milingo said he would not comply with the Vatican conditions.

As we know now, Archbishop Milingo did renounce his marriage and comply with the Vatican directive. See Milingo.