Kampala, Uganda, Jan 9, 2010 / 16:38 pm
Twenty priests in Uganda have formed a breakaway sect which does not require celibacy. The priests, who are either married or want to marry, have formed a body called the Catholic Apostolic National Church in Uganda.
Vatican officials said the priests are now considered outside the Catholic Church and would likely be excommunicated, the Catholic Information Service for Africa (CISA) reports.
The sect is headed by a former Zambian Catholic priest Rev. Luciano Anzanga Mbewe, who was excommunicated for founding the Catholic Apostolic National Church of Zambia, which allows married priests.
According to CISA, the breakaway Ugandan church is located in the eastern town of Jinja. Mbewe is expected to visit the town to officially launch the church and ordain new priests, according to Rev. Leonard Lubega, who Mbewe appointed bishop-elect of the group.