The following article about Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo made me think of the way the GB treated Ray Franz, Ed Dunlap and all the others who were sacrificed for disagreeing with them. I am sure that if the GB had been so loving as the Pope was to Milingo, those men would have remained a part of the organization they loved. So then they complain when Franz writes a book telling the world his side of the story. Well, they got what they deserved.
Another interesting thing is the fact that all of this was so public. No secret judicial hearings. No Mickey Mouse attempts to put a "gag" order. The Pope didn't fear being questioned publicly by Milingo. He took Milingo into his own home and they talked it all out. I am impressed. The GB should learn a lesson from this institution which has almost two centuries of experience over them. If they want to survive as a religion, they better change their ways and FAST! They can learn from the mistakes the Catholic Church made in the middle ages, rather than REPEATING those same mistakes in a 21st century style!
DAILY NEWS BRIEF FROM CATHOLIC WORLD NEWS FOR AUGUST 24, 2001
Copyright 2001 Domus Enterprises
Milingo Appears In Public, Affirms Return To Church
ROME, Aug 24, 01 (CWNews.com) - Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo emerged from
his retreat on Friday to appear on Italian television and re-affirm that
he sought a reconciliation with the Catholic Church and that he saw
Maria
Sung as his sister, and not a wife.
The Zambian archbishop had gone into seclusion two weeks ago after
meeting with Pope John Paul II to discuss his actions in May, including
marrying Sung in a wedding conducted self-styled Messiah Sun Myung Moon,
making complimentary remarks about Moon's beliefs, and public attacking
the Church's teaching on priestly celibacy. Sung had been on a hunger
strike in Rome, accusing the Vatican of keeping Milingo away from her
and
demanding that she be allowed to meet with him.
Appearing on Italy's main evening news broadcast, he explained his
decision and read a letter he had tried to send to Sung. "The words of
the Holy Father-- 'in the name of Jesus Christ come back to the Catholic
Church -- moved me. My deepest desire is to obey the Holy Father and
submit to the laws of the Church," the archbishop said. "I love you as a
sister and I will continue to pray for you for the rest of my life," he
added.
Sung had watched the broadcast in Rome hotel along with a group of
reporters. "It's not possible, it's not possible. He's been drugged,
he's
been drugged," she said after Milingo had read the letter. She then
stood
up, wringing her hands, and went to her room.
Members of Moon's Unification Church had been in Rome, trying to arrange
a meeting between Sung and Milingo, but they imposed strict conditions
on
how they could contact each other, insisting they meet face-to-face. "I
really believe that if this letter had got to Maria, she would have
understood," Milingo said on the broadcast. "But they (Unification
Church
members) stopped it getting to her as you have seen."