The Words of the Milingo Family
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The Words of the Milingo Family |
My Fellow Married Priests, Bishops and Archbishops.
Good news is now from Europe, who is depressed by the fact that Archbishop Milingo is defrocked to the lay state? The ball has gone back to the Vatican. They have written from Europe that finally they have understood what the Vatican thinks of the laity. The last tail in the Christian community, to be swayed anyhow by the ruling clerics in the Roman Catholic Church. To be reduced to a lay state means the greatest humiliation which a cleric undergoes. Hence the lay state in the Catholic Church is the dust-bin into which the Catholic, clerical dirty debris has to be thrown in.
IN U.S.A. comes another title, which sounds the same as "Thinking aloud." They say: "let us come to the open. A lay man in the concept of the Roman Catholic Church is the first and last ladder in the Christian Community. He/she the lay man or lay woman is to by nature, according to the sense of the Roman ruling clerics, the one to be guided and to be led. He/she has very little to contribute to the spiritual growth of the Christian Community."
Let me chip in, in this colloquy, so interesting. Since the subject is me, I dare say courageously that the observation of the laity, and their reaction to my being defrocked is justifiable. However, I must confess from the depth of my heart that when the Apostolic Nuncio in Zambia told me the good news, I never regretted for what I have been doing. As he shook hands with me as I went away, we easily changed to another matter, without any sign of regret. I clearly stated on Radio that the Vatican is backward, and is becoming old, losing memory of both the original Catholic Doctrine, and Apostolic tradition. In whatever way can neither a simple baptized Christian be reduced to paganism, nor a priest to the lay state. The Bishop, who enjoys the plenitude of priesthood, cannot be reduced to the lay state by whatever authority on earth. There are things which God has reserved to Himself. Neither can God Himself change a priest into a lay man.
We read in the letter to the Hebrews: "Now the former priests became priests without any oath being sworn, but this one with the swearing of an oath by him who said to him, "The Lord has sworn an oath he will never retract: you are a priest forever; the very fact that it occurred with the swearing of an oath makes the covenant of which Jesus is the guarantee all the greater." (Hebrews 6:20~23). Our priesthood is guaranteed by Jesus Christ.
Our Married Priesthood will restore the laity to their pristine state in the Catholic Church.
The whole Christian community enjoys the common priesthood, since all of us, as long as we live, we have to contribute to the building up of the earthly Christian community, the mystical body. We all have always something to offer to God in thanksgiving, and in expiation of our own sins and the sins of others. Contributing to the salvation of all makes all of us priests, together with Jesus, whose whole life was an offering, a sacrifice for the redemption of mankind. Hence we read in the book of Revelation: "He loves us and has washed away our sins with His Blood, and made us a kingdom of Priests to serve His God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. "We are all in this se use priests in the true sense. (Hebrews 1:6) We all undergo all sorts of sufferings as we lead our daily life. Our morning offering, as we start the day makes us already aware of our role in the Christian community. As we recite the our Father." We feel the weight of our Christian community. Since the our Father teaches us concerns for others.
Then comes the teaching of St. Peter the Apostle: "The New Priesthood: He is the living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen by God and precious to him; set yourselves close to him so that you, too, may be living stones making a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer the spiritual sacrifices made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (Peter 2: 4~5)
The distinctions between clerics and the laity is from the Roman Empire nobility. With the acceptance of Christianity by the emperor Constantine, the Roman Catholic emperor church introduced clear cut distinctions between the laity and the clerics. But it was not so in the tradition of the original Christian community. As you have seen the priesthood, both in the book of revelation and in the second letter of St, Peter, the way he addresses the Christian community is very much edifying. It is said that the Constantine Christianity followed the culture of the nation where it was first established, where there were ranks and classes among the people. So it is from the Roman way of clarifying human beings.
Allow me to first refer to St, Peter, who consoles us once more like St, John the Evangelist in the Revelation speaks of our common priesthood. Here we go: "He is the living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen by God and precious to Him; set yourselves close to Him so that you, too, may be living stones making a spiritual house as a holy priesthood to offer the spiritual sacrifices made acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (2:4~5). He is writing to the Christian community without distinctions. We are all priests. We are part of Jesus body, the High and Eternal priest. St. Paul has great respect for the Christian community. He introduces himself to the Ephesians as follows: "Paul, by the will of God an Apostle of Christ Jesus, to God's holy people, faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ." (Eph. 1:1~2).
More than this, we don't expect from an Apostle, who, as he says himself," by the will of God an Apostle of Christ Jesus. "What respect he has for the Christian community of Ephesus.
As he writes to the Philippians, he does not forget to use the same greeting, with respect to their community: " Paul and Timothy, servants' of Christ Jesus, to all God's holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together their presiding elders and the deacons, together their presiding elders and the deacons, Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Philippians 1:1~2). If we the so called Bishops were truly following the Apostles' path, we should not hesitate to call ourselves servants of our Christian community. So is Jesus both our servant, as well as of God the Father. We are ordained, taken from the people, to serve to people, not just to rule. How the Vatican state, which is truly a lay state has lost touch with the Apostolic teaching, and even that of Jesus Christ. The so called lay people are not our servants. We are their servants.
Chapter 16 of the letter to the Romans is still more edifying, as Paul, full of gratitude to the different Christians, who collaborated with him in the Evangelization, uses words of appreciation to all of them, which leave us dumb-founded. For instance he calls Prisca and Aguila "My fellow worker." Then he calls Andronicus and Junuas "outstanding Apostles." He calls Urban "My fellow worker in Christ." This is what the Apostle Paul teaches us of the spiritual rank of the Christian community. Where prom did the Roman Catholic Church take the word " Layty?" what a strange theology.
"The saints have their first lesson of goodness from their parents. The three sisters who entered the Carmelite community in France, where with their future doctor of the church, St. There of the child Jesus. To-day the church is in the process of canonizing their parents. They were born from a holy bed, from which they grew up desirous of serving God, as they learnt the love of God from their parents, which the Roman Catholic Church calls the laity with disdain.
St. Bridget of Sweden had eight children. St. Catherine of Sweden is her daughter. After the death of her husband, as if not satisfied to have borne the burden of upbringing the eight children, she embarked on founding a new order of Bridge tines. She worked as well so hard to bring the Pope from Avignon, France, to Rome. But the Pore was stubborn. However, her fellow woman St. Catherine of Siena succeeded to bring the Pope back to Rome. What could the church be without the so called "Layty?" it wouldn't be a Church.
From the outset, as Jesus went about preaching the word of God, He was never alone. He had the Apostles, the 72 disciples, the women and other people who loved him, and had accepted His preaching. Every where the Gospel was preached, there were so many witnesses to confirm what they experienced as they went about with Jesus Christ. Each one contributed to the measure of one's faith. There were no humiliating distinctions as of now.
"Defrocked to the lay state." a lie of the Vatican, propagating doctrinal error.
God Bless, Yours Sincerely,
Archbishop E. Milingo
Gum-Gang Park Villa Plot 6- 308,
170
Pyoeng Chang, Jong -ro
Seoul, South Korea