The Holy See has written to controversial Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo asking him to repent and again leave the Korean woman he had "married" in 2001 and to stop his activities with the 'Married Priests Now!' lobby group he has created.

According to a report by Associated Press, the former archbishop of Lusaka, who married a South Korean acupuncturist, Maria Sung, in a ceremony celebrated by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church, has received a letter from the head of the Vatican's Congregation for Bishops demanding that Milingo send a letter of repentance to the pope by October 15 or face "canonical suspension."

"Your behavior, activities and public statements during these past few months are completely contrary to the obligation of every bishop," Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re wrote in a letter to Archbishop Milingo.

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I beg you to reflect seriously on your behavior and all its consequences."

Asked how he would respond, the Archbishop said, "I will stay with them", referring to his married clergy advocacy group, 'Married Priests Now!'

"The new association of married priests called 'Married Priests Now!' is calling for those priests who are currently married, and all national and international married priest organizations to unite in an open call to the Roman Catholic Church to reconcile married priests to active service," Milingo says on his website, http://www.archbishopmilingo.org

About 120 couples from the group are reportedly meeting this week in New York City.

Archbishop Milingo had previously renounced his marriage to Maria Sung following a personal appeal from John Paul II.

In July, he reappeared in the United States to announce his new organization. He says he now lives with his wife in the Washington DC area.

However, other Catholic advocates of a married priesthood are keeping their distance from Archbishop Milingo, The Houston Chronicle says, citing his links with the Unification Church.

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