Milingo to Expand Moon’s Influence in Kenya

From the Nairobi Standard:

[A] planned visit to the country by renegade former Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia is set to cause ripples within the local church that is grappling with the problem of priests leaving the church to marry.

Milingo is due in the country later this month to ordain three former priests as bishops of the Married Priests Now, a movement he founded after being excommunicated from the Roman Church in 2006.

A report from the Catholic Information Service for Africa adds:

The Married Priests Now movement, led by Father Daniel Kisomo formerly of the diocese of Machakos told CISA that their prelature is formed according to Canon Law Para 294-297.

“Ours is the Catholic Prelature of St Peter and Paul and we are within the Universal Roman Catholic Church,” said the former priest who is set to be ordained as the group’s first bishop in Kenya.” He, however, did not state the date and venue of the much hyped ordination which he claims will be presided over by excommunicated Zambian Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo.

As I’ve blogged previously, Milingo – formerly known for his strong views on demons and exorcism – is now Rev Sun Myung Moon’s creature: he has declared Moon to be the Messiah, and Milingo’s breakaway church in Zambia was established with assistance from Moon’s Universal Peace Federation (an organisation which claims to support interfaith cooperation rather than religious schism).

The UPF has also been active in Kenya; a UPF website tells us that:

The Prime Minister of Kenya, the Hon. Raila Odinga, and his wife Ida Odinga, joined by an international delegation that included seven former heads of state and over 120 members of parliament, spiritual leaders and representatives of civil society, were warmly welcomed by a crowd of over 10,000 enthusiastic Kenyans to the Global Peace Festival (GPF) in Nairobi, Sunday, August 31 [2008]…Dr. Hyun Jin Moon, co-chair of the UPF and founder of the Global Peace Festival Initiative, delivered the GPF keynote address. Dr. Moon, who is the third son of the international spiritual leaders and peacemakers Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon, urged Kenyans to take pride in their nation and Africa’s role as the cradle of civilization.

Meanwhile, a Milingo minion in Zambia named Luciano Mbewe has been excommunicated by Roman Catholic Church.

(By the way, my spin-off blog on the Universal Peace Federation is still going, albeit intermittently)