Season’s Greetings

My Dear Bishops and Archbishops, and You My Dear Married Priests,
Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year, 2007! You and I ought to thank God for what we have done. We seem to go blindly forward, as we don’t see the opening doors of hope from our own Mother Church. The recent letter I received from Rome from Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops, clearly declares that there is no way to reconsider married priesthood for the Roman Rite, but we will enlighten him and the Holy Father with accurate information. He told me in the letter that he disapproves of our association Married Priests Now! and does not even think we are a sector in the Roman Catholic Church, but we are the Church, too!
As I read the letter I pitied the many married priests’ associations, some of which have been waiting for the opening of the door of the Vatican for approximately 40 years. But now while there seems to be no hope, we remain hopeful. We are sending the letter from Rome, study it and meditate on it. We will answer it shortly.
On the other hand His Eminence Giovanni Battista Cardinal Re leaves us free. It is up to us to develop our conviction and work hard to bring to the fore this traditional stem of the priesthood, Married Priests Now!, which is full of competent and able priests. The Roman Catholic Church will not close its eyes to the development of the Married Priests Now! Prelature, because God is with us.
Let us not look back, as the wife of Lot did when Sodom and Gomorrah were being burnt. We could not afford to live under celibacy which would consume us in the fire of sodomy. We know that the Lord pulled us out by force as He did with the family of Lot. (Genesis 19:15-16)
Remember the humiliations we endured. Still today many of our fellow married priests are in hiding, having lost the colorful glory of celibacy, like the Hebrews who regretted for leaving Egypt where they ate melons and cucumbers. They left in a hurry without enough food. So they complained to Moses: putting aside their slavery in Egypt they remembered the food they had in plenty. “They had been driven out of Egypt, with no time for dallying, and had not provided themselves with food for the journey.” (Exodus 12:39-40.)
The married priests like the Hebrews who remembered cucumbers and melons, are still today undecided to come out openly and leave aside the hypocrisy of hiding behind celibacy. The cucumbers and melons of Egypt stand for the glories they received from living the Angelic Virtue of celibacy. Some have been waiting for dispensation, and up till now they cannot squeeze it from the Vatican. The Vatican has watched the suffering priests under the torture of excommunication and expulsion from active pastoral work. Just like a cat that plays with a rat after paralyzing it, enjoys seeing it struggling for life.
Your future life is with us, be convinced of this fact. Your hope is with the Married Priests Now! We are convinced of what we are doing. On your behalf we maintain that your priesthood has not been touched in any way. We look forward to rectify your marriage, if you are not yet regularized. As you will celebrate with us on the day of the next convocation, rest assured that from that day on you have thrown away all the entanglements to your priesthood. Celebrate Mass freely, and be faithful to your wives, the twin souls God destined for you in eternity.
Our Mother Mary loves you. She sees in you the Image of her Son. How happy she will be to see you once more celebrate Mass. Together with you she will be once more on Golgotha, offering the sacrifice of Mass for the salvation of souls to the glory of God.
Once again, Maria and I, and the archbishops of our prelature, wish to you, your wives and your families a Christmas full of the joy and peace of Jesus, Our Savior. I will be remembering you in my masses on Christmas and throughout the season.
May God ever be with you.
Yours Sincerely,
Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

Video &  Snapshots of the 2006-12-09
Convocation of Married Priests
in Parsippany, New Jersey, USA

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Press Statement

Married Priests Defend Cardinal Hummes

Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo, Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Married Priests Now! Prelature said in a letter today to his bishops: “I would like to share with you my deepest concern with the situation of our Roman Catholic Church. I cannot personally accept the treatment which Cardinal Claudio Hummes has received in the Vatican after declaring clearly that celibacy is not a dogma but a church discipline. But as soon as he arrived in Rome he was questioned and forced to change his attitude to say that celibacy is a long standing law which has contributed a lot to the Catholic Church. We must protect and defend his integrity, and the dignity and status of the Church to tell the truth.”

Milingo continued, “This is what I have to say. If the Holy Father has appointed him responsible for the Congregation of the Clergy it is undoubted because he has the gift and the charism to run this congregation. In ecclesiastical language we say that when the Church appoints somebody to take certain great responsibility it means that they have discovered in him a certain worthiness and special divine grace to carry out the job. In simple words we say that we believe he has Gracious Status. That is a divine grace that supports his work and will influence his work. In the case of Cardinal Hummes what came out of his mind and heart immediately after his appointment to be head of the congregation of the clergy was to tackle the problem of celibacy. We believe this was the immediate inspiration of the Holy Spirit who presented the actual problem of the Church.”

His letter continued, “We know this about Archbishop Claudio Hummes, who is a simple Franciscan priest whose deep love, faithful service and distinguished church career to the people of God eventually raised him to the level of Archbishop of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He was personally selected and recently appointed by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, to serve as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. In that capacity, he is entrusted with the heavy duty and awesome responsibility of advising the Pope and the rest of the Roman Curia on matters related to the life and ministry of the Roman Catholic Clergy. It is ironic that, while his advice and counsel are eagerly sought at the highest levels of decision making, Cardinal Hummes' explosive statement concerning celibacy as "NOT a dogma but a discipline of the Church," was not well received or welcomed. Cardinal Hummes was simply telling the truth. His statement came two weeks after the Pope met with department heads (dicasteries) of the Roman Curia, effectively slamming the door on any possibility of change to the Church's current stance on celibacy.  Cardinal Hummes' prophetic voice immediately provoked the chastisement of the Vatican , leaving him with egg on his face while feebly attempting to re-shuffle his remarks by regurgitating stale  Vatican pronouncements on celibacy, thus minimizing the impact of his original statement. The Vatican 's dissatisfaction with the Cardinal's forthright and self-effacing statement impugned his integrity and damaged his sterling reputation as an uncompromising voice of truth. It is totally apparent that the Vatican has no tolerance or appreciation for independent-minded clerics who bring a Spirit-inspired and pastoral approach to matters affecting the growth, health and well-being of its clergy and parishioners. Persons who go against the grain are swiftly silenced and made ecclesiastical eunuchs for the sake of preserving the status quo. Cardinal Hummes has become a public relations nightmare for the Vatican and, unfortunately for the Congregation of the Clergy that could have benefited greatly under the aegis of Cardinal Hummes, his tenure may now amount to nothing more than an asterisk in the annals of Church History as another muzzled voice crying out in the wilderness to let the Holy Spirit once again renew the face of Catholicism.”

“It may be contagious,” Milingo said, “because today, in Belgium a survey of 234 priests revealed that a clear majority or 57% said their work load was too severe.  The priests supported the admission of married men into the priesthood which did not surprise Cardinal Danneels who said, “Everyone knows celibacy is an ecclesiastical rule that could change.””   Archbishop Milingo wondered. “Can we expect now that Cardinal Danneels of Belgium will now be called to Rome and asked to clarify his statement?” 

“We know that marriage is a sacrament and it is a higher calling than celibacy,” Milingo continued, “and the church will one day soon re-instate the married priesthood and that is the way Christ intended the priesthood to be lived because he called married priests first.  St. Peter was a married priest. The Holy Spirit is moving the hearts of the cardinals and bishops and they will do what is right for the church.”