Milingo mess may be over
"My commitment to the life of the Church, including celibacy, does not allow me to be married," Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo said in a letter to Maria Sung, whom he "married" in a May ceremony officiated by Unification Church leader Sun Myung Moon. "The call from my church to my first commitment is just." After a brief meeting between Milingo and Sung yesterday, the Korean acupuncturist said she accepted the breakup. "For the great love for my husband, I'll respect his decision," she told reporters. "But that doesn't change the feeling I have for him in my heart." (Weblog feels it necessary to point out an important distinction that most media aren't making: the Vatican doesn't recognize Moon's mass weddings—and thus Milingo's marriage—as legitimate.) This seems to brings to a close one of the strangest (and most media-saturated) battles between two churches in the recent years. Some media have portrayed the tale as a soap opera. Indeed, it has included some spicy plot points, including accusations of drugging, kidnapping, brainwashing, and whispers of pregnancy. But The New York Times was able to see through the fog. "Though the language of romance has been used to describe their peculiar melodrama, the continuing saga of Archbishop Milingo and Ms. Sung seems less a love story than an interfaith firefight," Melinda Henneberger wrote in yesterday's edition. "In religious circles, the spectacle is widely seen as a straightforward and highly successful public relations attack on the Vatican by an outfit that the Curia does not even deign to consider its spiritual competition." Now that it's over, who won the public relations battle? It's hard to say, but Weblog thinks the Unification Church's efforts may at least cause both Protestants and Catholics to think twice before joining Moon in political and other nonreligious efforts.
Israel withdraws from Beit Jala
Under pressure from the U.S. and Europe, Israeli soldiers early this morning left the West Bank town of Beit Jala, which is mainly populated by Christians. "The withdrawal of the army forces comes after the Palestinians promised to keep the area quiet and stop the firing on the neighborhood of Gilo," says an Israeli army statement. The army says it will reoccupy the town if shooting at the Jerusalem suburb continues.
More articles
Money and business:
Survey: Religion affects investing | Faith and personal values guide more than a third of investors, but few use faith-based mutual funds (Associated Press)
Also: Putting their faith in investment choices | Though religious funds are scarce, many people say they apply personal beliefs in financial decisions. (Los Angeles Times)
Irish church fears euro short change | Parishioners who now put a £1 coin in the collection plate may reach instead for a €1 coin—worth 20% less than the currency it is replacing (BBC)
Amway fights back in court against soap rival | Amway says Procter & Gamble is harassing distributors with lawsuits and chasing away customers; P&G says Amway distributors are calling them Satanists (Pete Waldmeir, The Detroit News)
Can you love Jesus and journalism? | Life for a committed Christian working in the Street of Shame is difficult but not completely impossible (Rob Brown, The Daily Telegraph)
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