Anyone who has been following the rather curious career of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo knows what an absolute thorn in the side he has been for Rome and the kind of theological and ecclesiological troublemaker he has become over the past several years. Despite years of increasing penalties he has refused to conform to even the most basic requirements to return to good standing. It comes as no surprise to see this in a VIS story:
The commission of these grave crimes, which has recently been established, is to be considered as proof of the persistent contumacy of Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo. The Holy See has therefore been obliged to impose upon him the further penalty of dismissal from the clerical state.
It should be noted that the dismissal from the clerical state of one ordained to the Episcopate is, to say the least, extraordinarily rare. Dr. Ed Peters comments further on this case which leaves some rather interesting questions as yet unanswered, particularly around the statement that the Church “does not recognize” ordinations by Abp. Milingo. One can assume this is restricted to his episcopal ordinations, but perhaps not, and exactly how these ordinations are to be considered invalid and not just illicit is well beyond my competence. It has been a very busy, and interesting, past couple of days in the land of Canon Law.
