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Archbishop Milingo advocating married priesthood

Milingo is launching a ministry to reconcile married priests

Wednesday, July 12, 2006 Spero News

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is back in the news - now he's claiming to be on a mission to reconcile married Catholic priests with the Church.

After remaining quiet in recent years, Milingo says he plans to embark on an independent charismatic ministry to reconcile married priests with the Catholic Faith. Married priests from Italy, South America and the United States will join the archbishop as he launches a ministry for the renewal of family for the future of the Catholic Faith, according to Milingo - who it was widely thought was in seclusion in Italy.

"The Church has nothing to lose by allowing priests the option to marry. Historically, out of holy marriages have come priests, popes, and loving servants of God and the Church," Milingo says.

Milingo has made waves in the past for his "non-conventional" healing ministry, not to mention his brief, but very public marriage in 2001, as well as his call for an end to mandatory celibacy."There is no more important healing than the reconciliation of 150,000 married priests with the 'Mother Church,' and the healing of a Church in crisis through renewing marriage and family," says Milingo.

Milingo was consecrated by Pope Paul VI in 1969 at the age of 39 as a bishop of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, where he became an exorcist in the 1970s. In a press release announcing his new ministry, Milingo says he was called to Rome in 1982 amidst controversy over his "extraordinary healing powers," failing to mention that another reason was his repeated performing of exorcisms without the Church's approval.

Similarily, according to Milingo his ministry to "'preach the Gospel, heal the sick and cast out devils' flourished in Europe, and his popularity grew despite efforts to restrict his ministry" doesn't mention that he was actually in Rome serving on the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.

By the turn of the millenium Milingo had become a supporter of Reverend Sun Myung Moon and the Unification Church, and Milingo even allowed Sun Myung Moon to arrange a 2001 marriage to the South Korean acupuncturist Maria Sung. According to Milingo, that marriage was not recognized by the Church, "and out of respect and love for the Holy Father," he "honored the pontiff's request to return to his healing ministry in Rome." It was widely reported that Milingo had since spent considerable time in seclusion praying for repentance, and was last heard of in Italy in 2004.

"Archbishop Milingo is not seeking to defy or divide the (Roman Catholic) Church, but is acting out of deep love for the Church and concern for its future," according to George Augustus Stallings, founder of the African American Catholic Congregation (AACC), in the same press release announcing the launching of Milingo's "ministry."

Stallings claims to be an archbishop of the schismatic AACC and also has a bit of a checkered past - marrying his wife, Sayomi, a former Moon aide, at the same Moonie wedding as Milingo. They have two children.

"Married Priests Now!"

Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, flanked by a group of international clergy, announced Friday the inauguration of a movement to reconcile the Catholic Church with the approximately 150,000 ordained priests around the world who have married.

The new association called “Married Priests Now!” is calling on priests who are currently married, and all national and international married priest organizations, to appeal to the Roman Catholic Church to reconcile married priests to active service.

Archbishop George Augustus Stallings, head of the breakaway African American Catholic Congregation (AACC), hosted the press conference.

Among those in attendance was Father Giuseppe Serrone, theologian, married priest, and founder of the Association of Married Priests. Father Serrone recently demonstrated in Saint Peter’s Square for the rights of married priests and women in the Roman Catholic Church.

A statement read by Archbishop Stallings pointed to the worldwide shortage of resident priests to “bring the Eucharist” to Catholics. It called for the Church to welcome the priests, “the majority of whom are ready, and willing to return to the sanctity of the altar.”

“Archbishop Milingo,” said the statement, “feels that he is an apostle called to bring back married priests to full service in the church.”

Heartfelt appeal

Milingo issued a heartfelt plea to those married Catholic priests who have been shunned and ostracized by the Church.

"To those priests who may feel that by marrying they have stepped down or fallen short, unleash your burden of humiliation, exclusivity and shame. Come among your fellow 'sinners,' so considered, who were to be branded, and to be forgotten forever as weaklings."

The soft spoken prelate caused a storm of controversy in the Vatican in 2001, when he was married by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon to a Korean acupuncturist. The crisis was resolved with the personal intervention of Pope John Paul II, and after the Archbishop agreed to “set aside his marriage” and return to his ministry of faith healing begun on the 1970’s.

Milingo’s announcement follows five years of Vatican-supervised seclusion which he said he had ended in order to “awaken the conscience of the church he loves." The Archbishop said his aim is not to defy the church, but to change it.

Milingo will embark on a six-month speaking tour of the United States, organized by the AACC.

World Peace Herald http://wpherald.com/articles/326/2/Archbishop-launches-married-priests-movement/Heartfelt-appeal.html

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From the Courier Journal

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20050826&Category=NEWS01&ArtNo=508260387&Template=printart

Friday, August 26, 2005

Future Catholic priest is married

Ex-Episcopalian currently a deacon

By Peter Smith psmith@courier-journal.com The Courier-Journal

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville may soon have its first married priest.

Jeffrey Hopper, a former Episcopal priest who converted to Catholicism in 2003, is a newly ordained Catholic deacon who is on track to be ordained a priest next May under a little-used church provision.

Approved by Pope John Paul II in 1980, the provision allows former Episcopal clerics to become Catholic priests while remaining married. This is a rare exception to the church's centuries-old requirement that only celibate men may be priests.

"They've been very nice about it here in Elizabethtown," said Hopper, who was ordained a deacon last Saturday at St. James Church there. "I've had some look at me and say, 'Did I hear that right? You're married and you're going to be a priest?' "

But he said they understand once he explains the papal exception. More than 70 former Episcopal priests to date have become priests under the provision throughout the United States -- just a fraction of the nation's 42,528 Catholic priests.

If Hopper, 47, completes training to become a Catholic priest, he cannot be a senior pastor of a church, but he will be able to teach, perform sacraments and do other ministry.

'A surprise to some'

"Although Jeff's ordination will be a 'first' for us, there have been many others around the nation, and there is a strong precedent for success," Archbishop Thomas C. Kelly wrote in a letter to priests last week. "

Nonetheless, it will come as a surprise to some and will undoubtedly invoke strong feelings in others," Kelly wrote. "I ask you to assure your parishioners that while this is an exceptional event, it is altogether a good thing for our Church."

The Roman Catholic Church also has married priests in so-called Eastern Rite churches -- which are loyal to Vatican doctrine and authority but follow Eastern Orthodox traditions, including allowing married priests.

Hopper said he knows that some advocates are calling for the Vatican to allow all priests to marry, citing the exceptions for Eastern Rite and former Episcopal priests.

But "I don't really see myself as a poster child for that," he said. He expressed doubt about being able to handle the workload of his senior pastor at St. James while also being married.

"I appreciate the church allowing me to do this," said Hopper, who has two grown children and is helping to raise a grandchild. "But if (the church) said no, I'd still say, 'Thank God I'm Catholic.' "

In fact, while the idea of a married priest is surprising to some, Hopper said the very idea of becoming a Catholic would have shocked him as a boy, growing up in Russell County in Southern Kentucky.

"In a thoroughly Protestant part of the country, (Catholicism) was just not part of your radar," he said.

He grew up in a small church in the Separate Baptists in Christ denomination and was baptized in the frigid December waters of Lake Cumberland. Hopper, who married his high school sweetheart, Betsy, believed he was called to the Baptist ministry. But as he served a career in the Navy, he grew attracted to the Episcopal Church with its sacraments such as communion. Both Episcopalians and Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is spiritually present in the bread and wine, although they differ on the theological explanations, and the Episcopal Church was "safely Protestant" to him at the time.

"Before, communion had been very special to me … a very profound way of remembering (Christ's death), but there wasn't a sense of spiritual presence," he said.

After leaving the Navy, he returned to Kentucky, attended two seminaries in Lexington, was ordained an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Lexington and served as pastor of a church in Covington for three years.

He then served as a military chaplain for 12 more years and grew increasingly attracted to Catholicism. His wife and then he converted, as did his grown children and other relatives.

As he neared his military retirement in 2003, he contacted Archbishop Kelly about his interest in returning to Kentucky and joining the priesthood. Lexington Episcopal Bishop Stacy Sauls was "very gracious" in accepting his decision to leave that church's priesthood, Hopper said.

Becoming a Catholic priest required Kelly's permission as well as an application to Rome -- approved by Pope John Paul II just days before his death earlier this year. Hopper had to undergo many hours of study and examinations on theology, Scripture and ethics.

Teaching and lay ministry Since returning to Kentucky, he has taught science at St. Rita School in Louisville and more recently has worked as a lay minister at St. James, helping prepare people for baptisms, confirmation and other sacraments. He will continue in that role as a deacon, a type of clergy, only he can now perform some sacraments, such as marriages and baptisms, and he can preach at Mass.

The Catholic Church has often been a destination for conservative Episcopalians upset with liberal trends in the church -- just as some liberal Catholics have found a haven in the Episcopal Church.

The divide between the churches has grown since the Episcopal Church's ordination of an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2003. "When that broke, I was already halfway mentally there (to the Catholic Church) anyway," Hopper said. "But the Catholic Church's strong support of the traditional family, I have to admit was a strong part of what attracted me to the church."

He said he was also a great admirer of Pope John Paul II's opposition to abortion, the death penalty and euthanasia as part of a "seamless" ethic on the dignity of life. But he said he's grateful for his time in the Episcopal Church. "The journey became not something away from, but something toward," he said. "This was just the finishing of a journey that had started a long time ago."

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How to solve the Catholic priest shortage Guest Commentary By George A. Stallings, Jr. Founder, Imani Temple

WASHINGTON, July 14 (UPI) — I have some good news and some bad news.

And some more good news.

The good news is that the Roman Catholic Church has been steadily growing, with a U.S. membership that has gone from just under 50 million to over 65 million in the past 30 years. During that same period Catholic membership worldwide increased by over half.

There are lots of reasons for this. Catholics are famous for having large families. In addition, there has been a global upsurge of interest in all things spiritual. The desire to discover God and life's meaning amid the disjointed chaos of modern existence has seldom been more keenly felt by young and old. It is evident that the "care of souls" demands a new pastoral vision.

The bad news is that, while the Catholic membership has been growing, the priesthood who is the guiding spiritual force — the hands and feet and voice of Jesus Christ's ministry - is dying by degrees and from within.

For every 100 priests who die or leave the ministry, only 30 or 40 replace them, according to Dean R. Hoge, professor of sociology at Catholic University of America.

In the U.S. there are an estimated 25,000 Roman Catholic priests who had to leave their active ministry because at some point in the course of their work, their calling to the ministry of God came to include a need to be part of a married couple.

Of the now married, former priests in the U.S., it is estimated that around half of these men would happily return to active ministry if invited.

These statistics, and their sources are shown in great detail on the website FutureChurch.org. People can argue this and that number or percentage of change - but nobody will argue the trends.

It is very clear that the Roman Catholic Church has a great need of priests. The Bishops worldwide have brought their concern repeatedly to the Vatican. In addition priests are needed to bring the Eucharist to those Catholic people who do not have a resident priest. The Eucharist is the essence of Catholicism. If there is no Eucharist, there is no Catholicism.

The "more good news" I mentioned earlier is that, currently on the sidelines, there are approximately 150,000 validly ordained former priests in the world. But these priests are married. The majority of these priests are ready, and willing to return to the sacred ministry of the altar. It is our mission to find a way to reconcile these married priests with the Church and to reinstate them in the public sacred ministry, working in every way possible with the Church.

Not only would that be enough to stem the current shortage, but the allowance of a married priesthood would cause a great many fine and qualified married individuals to consider a vocation.

There is nothing scriptural that forbids married priests. And in fact married priests (and married popes!) used to be quite common. Many people don't know that being a married Roman Catholic priest was perfectly fine with everyone until the 1100s. Both married and celibate priests were accepted.

In fact 39 Roman Catholic Popes have been married and were in good-standing with the church. When celibacy for priests became mandatory in the 12th century, the Church lost the considerable gifts of its married clergy.

No lesser apostle than St. Paul himself demonstrated his theology of the priesthood and the episcopacy when he wrote in his letter to Timothy: "A Bishop must be irreproachable, married only once, temperate, self controlled, decent, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not aggressive, but gentle, not contentious, not a lover of money" (Timothy 3:2-3).

Married priests are longing to serve God and the people in the Christian community through the church. A recently-formed association of married priests called "Married Priests Now!" is calling for those priests who are currently married, and all national and international married priest organizations to unite in an open call to the Roman Catholic Church to reconcile married priests to active service.

Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo feels he is an apostle called to bring married priests back to full service in the church due to the current priest shortage and the need to bring the Eucharist to every Catholic. Archbishop Milingo wants to see a priest in every parish. He feels it is the Will of God to bring priests back as full, vibrant and active ministers of the word and Eucharist.

Married Priests Now! seeks to value the ministry of married priests and reconcile them to public sacred ministry. It is not only a benefit to the church but to all of humanity. The role of the married priests in the family is essential. The family is the nucleus of the church and of society. The priest's ministry to his family gives him the experience and relationship to see the gospel differently and practically.

The charisma of married priests is needed now. Saint Peter was a married priest and so were the other apostles - and they received their ordinations personally from Jesus Christ.

It is the right of every human person to freely be accepted and given in marriage. This right must be returned to priests in the Latin Roman Communion. It is not only a matter of justice to the priesthood but a matter of the survival of the Church in the future.

Archbishop George A. Stallings, Jr. a former Roman Catholic priest, is patriarch and founder of Imani Temple of the African-American Catholic Congregation, in Washington, DC. He and his wife have two children.

The organization "Married Priests Now!" can be reached at 516-485-0616. Relevant websites are http://archbishopmilingo.org/ and http://marriedpriestsnow.splinder.com.

Vatican wary of comments over married priests

The Married Priests Now! Convocation has just concluded but not ended. It will be continued with other convocations, newsletters and local gatherings. The focal point of the MPN! convocation were the three Eucharistic Liturgies which called the priests to celebrate the married priesthood. Priests and their wives celebrated their marriages and the priesthood. It was a celebration of love for one another and for the church. For many it was the first time they had celebrated the Eucharist for a long time, and It became an epiphany-event for many as they lifted themselves up in hope and joy to see the current and future church with a restored married priesthood.

The speakers enhanced the convocation with thoughtful and provocative lectures which encouraged the idea of a restored married priesthood. At the opening dinner, Archbishop Peter Paul Brennan spoke of the need for a married priesthood and set the theme of the conference as a celebration of the married priesthood. Brennan said that the only goal of our Married Priests Now! was the restoration and the recall of married priests to full ministry in the church. He introduced Archbishop Stallings who greeted the assembly and introduced Archbishop Milingo. +Emmanuel Milingo and his wife greeted the participants and told the story of their marriage. Milingo gave an enthusiastic call for the church to recognize its own married priests and for married priests to join together in unity.

On the second day, Dr. Anthony Padovano gave a clear and practical analysis of ministry and the suitable theology of the renewed married priesthood. Dr. Leonard Swidler spoke of the way to restore a married priesthood through a change in the laws because such a change was the only permanent and long lasting method. It must be written into church law.

After lunch, Archbishop Milingo gave a spirited response to the letter of Cardinal Re which threatened him with suspension for continued work with Married Priests Now! Archbishop Milingo said that he is and remains a Roman Catholic archbishop and will always be, but that he will continue to work with married priests because the church has treated them so badly that they need to experience some Christian love and acceptance. If the institutional church fails to do it, he in good conscience must extend the hand and embrace of love to the married priests. He was followed by Peter Manseau who spoke of the children of married priests from his perspective of growing up in a married priest family which he has written about in his book Vows. Manseau spoke of the sense of loss that is part of the ethos of the family of a married priest and how children experience it. Dr. Sal Trozzo gave few incites into developing communities and future church forms.

In the evening Archbishop Brennan facilitated an open session for priests and their wives to tell their stories and to tell about ministries they have developed. Many of the international married priests told of their ministries and continuing work as married priests. The Independent Catholic Apostolic Church of Brazil which has 5,000 married priests was represented by Bishop Edson Luis Campos da Silva, a former Capuchin priest. He was accompanied by Fr. Marcelo Pires. Other international priests came from Italy, Peru, Paraguay, Africa, Mexico, and Canada.

The third day began with a special Eucharistic Celebration of Healing in which the priests and bishops extended raised hands to one another to offer healing from the injuries caused by the institutional brutality of the Church and the hierarchy towards married priests. Archbishop Milingo pointed out that the Eucharist is the heart of the priests ministry and that each priest should keep the blessed sacrament reserved in his family home chapel. He spoke of his own devotion to the Eucharist and of its role in the life of the priests, their families and the church.

The next session was an ecumenical sharing of the ministries of the American Clergy Leadership Conference, the Family Federation of Peace and the role of marriage and family. The convocation was funded by the American Clergy Leadership Conference and by contributions from other churches. Rev. Michael Jenkins, President of ACLC, Dr. Chang Shik Yang, and Rev. Phillip Schanker who told the story of Maria Sung Milingo's encounter with the Vatican.

The final luncheon featured Archbishop Milingo who gave a farewell comments and thanked all the priests who came to share this special celebration of the married priesthood. Archbishop Brennan read the MPN response to Cardinal Re's letter, gave a few comments and invited the participants to keep in contact through the website and the E-group. Archbishop Stallings introduced Archbishop Patrick Trujillo who gave a keynote talk on the Future of the Married Priesthood and suggested conference resolutions.

The most significant benefit of this convocation was that married-priests celebrated mass together and experience priestly fellowship with their wives and with the assembled community. The exchange of experiences and the meeting of other priests and bishops brought great hope for a real change in church law and policy. Married priests ought to be recalled. The Pastoral Provision given for Lutheran and Episcopal Church ministers needs to be extended to include the Church's own married priests.

On the Internet there is evidence that over 120 newspapers worldwide carried the story of this convocation. You can read these by going to Google, click on news, and type in Milingo in the search line.

+Peter Paul Brennan

Below is a reaction from one participant: Fr. Carrol Mrowicki.

I attended this International Meeting of about 125 priests, bishops, archbishops and their wives. I went there quite skeptical due to the press reports of the events surrounding Archbishop Milingo and his wife. My wife did not attend for similar reasons. But I was won over by the couple who are obviously very spiritual people doing what they believe is work that the Blessed Virgin Mary has instructed him to do. And that is heal and recall her married priests to minister to Her son's people. This conference was one of the more substantial events that I have attended and found that the level of the attendees was very impressive and such a loss to the church. We were unanimous in our feelings that marriage was a step up from celibate priesthood. This morning's liturgy was so inspirational and so Spiritual and impressive with no less than nine bishops and archbishops in attendance. Attendees paid their own travel expenses and they came from Brazil, Canada,Italy,Mexico, many US states and Zambia states. I have been a member of Corpus for many years and have attended many beautiful liturgies but this was especially moving with all those bishops and the various prayers and songs. It felt like a new Pentecost. The priests and bishops whole heartedly support Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, Archbishop Emeritus of Lukasa in Zambia and his wife Maria. If you are a married priest and have thought about a return to ministry why not contact this group or any other and look into opportunities for organizing and for regaining your ministry. I did this with CITI ministries a lay group working to encourage, duly ordained Roman Catholic priests of good character to serve the People of God once again. cmrowicki@yahoo.com

http://www.orgsites.com/ny/married-priests-now/

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarriedPriestsNow/

My dear brothers, married priests now!

Peace of Christ, and greetings from Washington, DC. Our meeting is over. I am certain that you have heard through TV, Radio or newspaper all that we have discussed together. Our document, the conclusion of the meeting from 12th to 14th July, 2006, has been diffused on 165 English newspapers, 110 Italian papers. We know that many other languages have as well given ample space in their papers. We owe them all a big thank you.

A few have taken it upon themselves to threaten us with excommunication or laicization. These are words which are obsolete after Vatican II. Nor can they be used for our case, because we are not quarrelling with anyone. We are stating facts which are pungent in the lives of married priests. Excommunication-laicization are terms of unnecessary threats which we consider, as the Lord says “Using old bottles for new wine.” Only a stingy person will do so. But he will lose clients later on when they will know that he uses old bottles for new wine.

The married priests now are always priests. They have an indelible priestly character, “according to the order of Melchizedech, the eternal priest.” This indelible character cannot be ‘excommunicated or laicized.’ So is Jesus the Eternal Priest, He too according to the order of Melchizedek. “No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way it was not Christ who glorified Himself in becoming High Priest, but rather the one who said to Him: :You are my son; this day I have begotten you; “ just as He says in another place: “you are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:4-6). This truth of the indelible character of priesthood is as well repeated to us every Holy Thursday.

Our glance at a priest must not stop on how he looks as we see him as a human being. He is a valuable person before God and before the Holy people of God. St. Ambrose puts it well when he says: “You saw the Levite there, you saw the priest, you saw the High Priest. Do not consider their outward appearance, but the grace of their ministries. It was in the presence of Angels that you spoke, as it is written: ‘the lips of a priest guard knowledge and men seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the angel of the Lord of Hosts.’” (Roman Breviary: St. Ambrose on Mysteries)

My dear brothers, married priests, it is true that through a long period of dispassion, despair and many other aspects of your suffering you have been inclined that you became unwanted by the church. But now once more through this circular you have been evaluated from the nature of your priesthood. Those of you who are able to gather together into threes or fives, please pray together as priests’ families or celebrate Mass together. Bring back Jesus in your midst and in your community. Be available if a local diocese asks for your priestly services. God bless you and be with you.

Yours sincerely,

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

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