Pope meets married archbishop

Pope John Paul II listened to Milingo's view

ROME, Italy -- An archbishop who defected from the Catholic church and married has met with Pope John Paul II in an apparent attempt to make amends.

Emmanuel Milingo, 71, defected to the controversial sect of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon, who conducted his wedding ceremony last May in New York.

In a brief statement the Vatican said the pope received Milingo at the papal summer residence at Castelgandolfo, southeast of Rome.

"The meeting was the start of dialogue that one hopes can lead to positive developments," the Vatican said.

Milingo, who was born in Zambia, unexpectedly showed up at Castelgandolfo late on Monday but was not received by the pope until Tuesday.

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A spokesman for the archbishop, the Reverend Phillip Schanker, told The Associated Press news agency that Milingo had sought the papal audience to explain his belief that priests should be allowed to marry and have families.

"He has begun conjugal life. He has come to understand that all the blessings of God were meant to be given through the family," Schanker said.

The meeting with the pope took place just two weeks before an August 20 deadline for Milingo to publicly return to the Catholic fold, renounce Moon's sect and leave his wife or else face excommunication -- a total severance from the church.

Last month, the Vatican read the religious riot act to Milingo, ordering him to comply with the conditions set by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The Roman Catholic Church has strict celibacy rules for its clergy, who are not allowed to marry. Moon chose Milingo's bride for him -- an acupuncturist from Korea.

Moon, leader of the controversial Unification Church, is hailed as the messiah by his followers but has been strongly criticised in several countries.

After the May wedding, Milingo told reporters he was unconcerned by the threat of excommunication.

"God is still with me," he said. "I love my church."

But he also said the Vatican was judging him and trying to put him up against a wall.