For a number of years the Church has
followed with great concern the difficulties caused by the regrettable
conduct of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. Many attempts have been made to
bring Archbishop Milingo back into communion with the Catholic Church,
including the consideration of suitable ways to enable him to exercise
the episcopal ministry. Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI were
directly involved in those efforts and both Popes personally followed
the case of Archbishop Milingo in a spirit of paternal solicitude.
In the course of this unhappy series of
events, Archbishop Milingo became irregular in 2001 as a result of his
attempt to marry Mrs Maria Sung, and incurred the medicinal penalty of
suspension (cf. Canons 1044 § 1, n. 3; 1394 § 1 of the Code of Canon
Law). Thereafter, he headed certain groups calling for the abolition of
clerical celibacy and gave numerous interviews to the media in open
disobedience to the repeated interventions of the Holy See, creating
serious upset and scandal among the faithful. Then, on 24 September 2006
in Washington, Archbishop Milingo ordained four Bishops without
pontifical mandate.
By so doing, he incurred the penalty of
excommunication latae sententiae (Canon 1382) which was declared
by the Holy See on 26 September 2006 and is still in force today. Sadly,
Archbishop Milingo has shown no sign of the desired repentance with a
view to returning to full communion with the Supreme Pontiff and the
other members of the College of Bishops. Rather, he has persisted in the
unlawful exercise of acts belonging to the episcopal office, committing
new crimes against the unity of Holy Church. Specifically, in recent
months Archbishop Milingo has proceeded to several other episcopal
ordinations.
The commission of these grave crimes,
which has recently been established, is to be considered as proof of the
persistent contumacy of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The Holy See has
therefore been obliged to impose upon him the further penalty of
dismissal from the clerical state.
According to Canon 292 of the Code of
Canon Law, the penalty of dismissal from the clerical state, now added
to the grave penalty of excommunication, has the following effects: loss
of the rights and duties attached to the clerical state, except for the
obligation of celibacy; prohibition of the exercise of any ministry,
except as provided for by Canon 976 of the Code of Canon Law in those
cases involving danger of death; loss of all offices and functions and
of all delegated power, as well as prohibition of the use of clerical
attire. Consequently, the participation of the faithful in any future
celebrations organized by Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo is to be
considered unlawful.
It must be pointed out that the
dismissal of a Bishop from the clerical state is most extraordinary. The
Holy See has felt obliged to act in this way due to the serious
consequences for ecclesial communion resulting from repeated episcopal
consecrations carried out without pontifical mandate; nevertheless, the
Church hopes that Archbishop Milingo will see the error of his ways.
As for those recently ordained by
Archbishop Milingo, the Church's discipline in imposing the penalty of
excommunication latae sententiae upon those who receive episcopal
consecration without pontifical mandate is well-known. While expressing
hope for their conversion, the Church reaffirms what was declared on 26
September 2006, namely that she does not recognize these ordinations,
nor does she intend to recognize them, or any subsequent ordinations
based on them, in the future. Hence the canonical status of the supposed
bishops remains as it was prior to the ordination conferred by
Archbishop Milingo.
At this moment, as the Church
experiences profound sorrow for the grave acts perpetrated by Archbishop
Milingo, she entrusts to the power of prayer the repentance of the
guilty party and of all those who
—
be they priests or lay faithful
—
have in any way cooperated with him by acting against the unity of
Christ's Church.
|