Emmanuel Milingo : Excommunication Threat Suspended

VATICAN CITY (AP) - With talks beginning, the Vatican said Wednesday that it has suspended its threat to excommunicate a Zambian archbishop who was married in one of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's mass weddings.

The announcement came a day after the Rev. Emmanuel Milingo had an audience with Pope John Paul II in what the Vatican said was the start of a dialogue it hoped could "lead to positive developments."

Milingo said Wednesday the pontiff asked him to think about what he had done.

"I must reflect," Milingo told a news conference. "I must examine my conscience."

But he stressed that any decision on how to proceed was not his alone to make.

"By this time, I am no longer single and I must consider another person - my wife - and her human rights," he said. "Also my wife must understand the church's reasons."

The Vatican had threatened to kick Milingo out of the church if he doesn't leave his wife by Aug. 20, sever ties with Moon's movement and remain celibate.

A Vatican official briefing reporters said no new deadline was set and the Vatican expected it will take some time to resolve the case. A second meeting between the pope and Milingo was scheduled for Friday.
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The 71-year-old archbishop was married May 27 in a group ceremony at a New York hotel in one of Moon's mass weddings. His bride, 43-year-old Maria Sung, was selected by Moon, as is customary in Moon's movement.
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