Sheikh Chifuwe
15 September 2002
I won't stand in the way of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, said his estranged wife Maria Sung yesterday.
Commenting on Archbishop Milingo's statement declaring lack of interest in her, Sung blamed the Catholic Church for 'perpetuating lies' about Milingo's condition and their marriage.
"If Milingo wants to be free, I will not stand in his way," Sung said during her emotional briefing at Twikatane farm in Lusaka. "But I don't trust what was said and published in the media."
Sung said she did not believe that Archbishop Milingo would change his mind after all they had done together. Sung said she personally liked the Catholics as much as Archbishop Milingo did but did not like their campaign to end her marriage. She said the Catholics were not comfortable with the release of Archbishop Milingo because they were scared that he might destroy the Church as he was a very powerful person.
"We can't allow the Catholics to go beyond this, Archbishop Milingo decided that the Vatican can't go on with their lies, that's why he decided to marry," Sung said.
"The Vatican are just trying to brainwash Archbishop Milingo." Sung said she had a lot of trust in Archbishop Milingo and believed that he would still get back to her because he had never hurt anybody the whole of his life. She said she still did not believe that Archbishop Milingo would be released at the end of his retreat next month because the Vatican had been shifting dates since May this year.
She said the Unification Church to which she belongs believed in marriage which no man should be allowed to put asunder. Sung said as far as she was concerned there were no AIDS cases in the Unification Church because its members did not have casual sex until they married under the mass ceremonies.
"In our church there is not a single person with AIDS because we believe in marriage," she said. Sung said the Zambian government, Vice-President Enoch Kavindele and Dr. Kenneth Kaunda had been very supportive of her during her lobby for the release of Archbishop Milingo.
"The Vice-President and former president Dr. Kaunda took this matter very seriously but President Mwanawasa could not meet me because he said he was a Catholic," she said.
She said President Mwanawasa through one of his special assistants at State House also indicated that the matter also bordered on diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Zambia.
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