Vatican City - The Vatican has dropped the ultimatum it issued to a 71-year-old Zambian archbishop threatening excommunication for getting married.
Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Lusaka married a South Korean doctor, Maria Sung (43), in a mass wedding ceremony officiated by the Rev Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church in May.
The Catholic church threatened Archbishop Milingo with sanctions if he did not separate from his wife and cut ties with the Unification Church by August 20th. The archbishop met with Pope John Paul II at his summer residence outside Rome on Tuesday.
"Given the complexity of the matter, we may need to have lengthy discussions with Archbishop Milingo," said Vatican spokesman Father Ciro Benedetti. He denied a news report that a file against Archbishop Milingo accusing him of sexual crimes, including sexually abusing a nun, had been handed to the Vatican on Tuesday. But he did say the archbishop's marriage by the Unification Church was not legally recognised.