The Vatican moved Thursday to thwart renegade African Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo from ordaining more bishops in defiance of the pope, stripping him of his priestly functions so any future ordinations by him would be invalid, the Associated Press reports.

The Zambian monsignor has long been a problem for Rome, AP Vatican reporter Frances d'Emilio writes. Milingo angered the Vatican when he was married in 2001 to a South Korean woman by the Rev. Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church.

He was excommunicated in 2006 after installing four married men as bishops in defiance of the Roman Catholic Church requirement that its clergy be celibate. But despite that harsh punishment by the Vatican, Milingo, now 79, kept ordaining new bishops.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters Thursday he was unsure just how many bishops, although it appeared about three men were elevated to bishop's rank recently by the African churchman.

Another Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini, said although Milingo was excommunicated, any ordinations he performed were "illicit but valid" because he hadn't lost his priestly functions.

That meant if the ordinations continued, and the illicitly ordained bishops in turn began ordaining more bishops, the Vatican would run the risk of seeing Milingo's followers, who advocate abolishing clergy celibacy, set up a church outside the Roman Catholic church.

The African had a strong following in a church near Rome because of his reputation as an exorcist and healer. Catholic officials accused him of promoting African indigenous beliefs by performing mass exorcisms and healing ceremonies.

"Sadly, Archbishop Milingo has shown no signs of the desired repentance with a view to returning to full communion with the Supreme Pontiff and other members of the College of Bishops," the Vatican said in a statement.

AP photo