Stranger Things

Dec. 14, 2020: Paula White Joins Forces with Demonic 'Moonies Cult', Praises Founder and Prays for 'Unification' (Protestia)

Sept. 12, 2021: Trump spoke at a 9/11 Moonies Conference Organized By The Widow of the Rev. Sun-myung Moon, Praising the Controversial UC (Business Insider)

Quote"I want to thank the Universal Peace Federation and in particular Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, a tremendous person, for her incredible work on behalf of peace all over the world," Trump said in his remarks. "What they have achieved on the peninsula is just amazing. In just a few decades, the inspiration that they have caused for the entire planet is unbelievable, and I congratulate you again and again."

Jim Stewartson, the founder of the anti-disinformation organization The Thinkin Project, wrote on Twitter that the event was "deeply harmful and deceptive. This is being pitched by a who's who of establishment extremists as some sort of peace mission to unify Korea," Stewartson wrote. "In reality, it's dangerous propaganda whitewashing a dangerous cult."

Note: Time Magazine in April 2024 reported that Trump was paid $2.5 million for the above.

QuoteToday, the mainstream Unification Church and its splinters compete for endorsement from the American right. Dunkley's leaked Zoom call also revealed a ramping up of political influence operations in "America centering on the work of the Washington Times."

On Aug. 12, 2022, former CIA director and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich addressed a Unification Church-front Universal Peace Federation (UPF) event in Seoul to mark the 10th anniversary of Moon's death. Trump, meanwhile, sent a video message that described Moon as a "true inspiration" and Hak Ja Han as a "amazing and wonderful woman." According to financial records, Trump received around $2.5 million to make that and two other video appearances between 2021 and 2022, while former Vice President Mike Pence was paid $550,000 for speaking at a UPF event. In May, Trump sent another video message to a UPF event.

Strait says the Unification Church leadership twists such paid endorsement "as proof of the divinity of mission" to coerce more donations from its members. The effect is circular: the more donations the church can solicit, the more it can spend on attracting high profile patronage, which it then leverages to attract more donations.

Sept. 13, 2021: Trump Hails 'Moonie' Church Founders In Virtual 9/11 'Rally' (Yahoo News/HuffPost)

QuoteBesides providing commentary for a heavyweight boxing match on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, former President Donald Trump hailed founders of the controversial Unification Church in a virtual speech at a conference hosted by the religious group. Trump commended the aim of the "Rally for Hope" to reunite North and South Korea. And he praised "tremendous person" Hak Ja Han Moon, billionaire widow of the late church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon, for her "incredible work on behalf of peace all over the world."

What the Moons "have achieved on the peninsula is just amazing," Trump went on. "In just a few decades, the inspiration that they have caused for the entire planet is unbelievable, and I congratulate you again and again." Trump also hailed the "incredible story" of the Unification Church, whose followers are often called "Moonies." Church members, who consider that term offensive, refer to themselves as Unificationists.

Rev. Moon — who considered himself the messiah, as does his widow — notoriously arranged mass marriages for church members who were strangers to each other. Some 20,000 couples were married in a single ceremony in 2010. Former church members tell stories of the organization's mind manipulation. Trump made no appearances at events memorializing Saturday's 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Dec. 18, 2021: Paula White Honors 'True Mother' Moon at Interfaith Prayer Rally for Korean Unification (Faithfully Magazine)

QuotePaula White, spiritual advisor to former President Donald Trump, called Hak Ja Han Moon, wealthy widow of Unification Church founder the Rev. Sun Myung Moon, "a jewel from God" during an event described by organizers as the "likely the largest and most diverse interfaith gathering ever" on December 5 in South Korea.

"I want to take a moment and honor as well as encourage Mother Moon for her great work as a spiritual leader who loves the Lord and seeks to carry out and to comfort the heart of God in all the areas of conflict in the world," White said during her remarks at the Cheongshim World Peace Center in Gapyeong-gun, about an hour from the capital Seoul.

White is senior pastor of City of Destiny Church in Apopka, Florida, and formerly served as head of the Trump White House's faith-based office. She claims to have been Trump's spiritual advisor for more than two decades and has often vouched for his Christian faith. Her ministry remains controversial with those who accuse her of teaching a prosperity gospel that financially abuses sincere believers.

Feb. 18, 2022: A Strange Unification (A Public Witness)

QuoteBack in the early 1990s, the Unification Church demanded an apology from a brash real-estate mogul they accused of using the church as "a scare tactic" in a "morally reprehensible" effort to get Palm Beach, Florida, officials to grant his zoning wishes. But that religious sect, founded by Sun Myung Moon — and thus often derisively called the "Moonies" — has apparently since made amends with that owner of Mar-a-Lago.

While many current officials and former presidents marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks last September at ground zero, former President Donald Trump instead offered commentary for a pay-per-view boxing match in Florida and virtually addressed a Christian Nationalism event at the National Mall. And he sent a recorded message to a conference held by the Unification Church. He thanked the Church's Universal Peace Federation, and he praised the widow of the sect's founder for her "amazing example of the power of faith in Almighty God." ...

In this issue of A Public Witness, we take you inside the Unification Church, its unusual religious teachings, and its quest for political influence. Then we listen to what U.S. politicians said at the most recent event to offer a word of warning about this heretical movement. ...

Aug. 20, 2022: Donald Trump & Mike Pompeo Spoke At A Moonies-Affiliated Event, Despite Japan Controversy (Business Insider)

May 4, 2023: Trump, Pompeo Celebrate Group With Unification Church Ties (Asahi Shimbun)

Sept. 14, 2023: Paula White Praises Deranged Moonies Cult Leader: 'She Loves the Lord' (Protesia)

March 28, 2024: Six Linked to Church Attended Kishida-Gingrich Meeting in 2019 (The Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteA bevy of people connected to the Unification Church accompanied former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich during his visit to future Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in 2019 in Tokyo. All but two of the eight-member contingent had ties to the church, The Asahi Shimbun has learned. ...

Gingrich visited Kishida on Oct. 4, 2019, at the headquarters of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Tokyo along with Michael Jenkins, the current president of UPF International. Jenkins was president of the U.S. branch of the Unification Church between 2000 and 2009. Masayoshi Kajikuri, chairman of UPF Japan, was also in attendance, Gingrich said. Kishida was the LDP's policy chief at the time. The meeting was arranged by UPF Japan, according to Gingrich. Gingrich is known for his close ties to the UPF, having spoken at several of the organization's large-scale gatherings.

Feb. 15, 1974: Rev. Moon: Nixon Backer (The Washington Post)



Sept. 19, 1977: '73 Record Tells of Plan by Sun Myung Moon Aides for Drive Against Nixon Impeachment (The New York Times)

QuoteThe head of the American branch of the church was further described in the minutes as disclosing something of Mr. Moon's ambitions, saying, "We are right on the edge of influencing people. Master wants to give an address to a joint session of Congress."

Beyond that the minutes of that meeting seem to illuminate the aspirations of the Unification Church for political and religious influence in the United States and to illustrate its tactical approach to a political operation.

May 17, 1982: The Nation's Capital Gets A New Daily Newspaper (The Washington Post)
Note: long and full of lots of interesting tidbits

QuoteThe Washington Times is not just any newspaper. Commonly referred to as "the Moonie paper" since its plans were announced, it is supported by the religious movement that Moon founded in Korea 28 years ago. Preaching "The Divine Principle," Moon sees himself as the new Messiah and Korea as God's chosen country. Since the church emerged in the United States in the early 1970s, questions have been raised about its finances, its suspected ties to the Korean CIA and its alleged brainwashing of young recruits. It is now an international business empire that encompasses entertainment, fishing, food retailing, publishing and, for a time, the Diplomat National Bank here. Robert Boettcher, the staff director of a 1978 House subcommittee investigation into Korean-American relations, says the church aims at creating a global theocracy that Moon would control. ...

But the real Washington story at The Times is its staff members--the ones who aren't church members. Many are familiar bylines from the Star. Some were bored writing books, others joined because of pleadings from already hired colleagues whom they trusted. Many badly needed a job; for them, their decision was proof that you can't eat your principles. Almost all had serious reservations. "You'd have to be a brick not to go though some sort of moral convulsions," says Doug Lamborne, The Times sports editor and former Washington Star copy editor. "I lost five pounds the first week. We all had these twitchy sort of feelings: 'Is what we're doing right?' " ...

With Moon and his family standing before them in ceremonial Korean dress, selected church officials played different religious and political leaders, such as Christ, Mohammed, Buddha, President Reagan and Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Each one prostrated himself before Moon, bowing his forehead to the floor three times, Soejima said. "The meaning is that Moon is higher than all of them," Soejima said. In church theology, "Sun Myung Moon is the father and his wife is the mother of the whole human race."

The next day, with the church officials assembled at Moon's estate in Tarrytown, N.Y., Moon expressed disappointment with his inability to win more converts in the United States. But he spoke with pride of The Washington Times, bragging of important officials who had attended its opening cermonies. Moon said that James Whelan, then publisher of The Washington Times, "listens to what I say and makes the newspaper as I tell him," according to Soejima. ...

"With journalism, we have now reached success by establishing The Washington Times," Moon said, according to Soejima. "We now have a direct influence on Reagan through The Washington Times."

Note: I decided to dedicate an entire thread to The Washington Times and Moon's later purchase of UPI.

May 26, 1991: Unification Church Insists Trump Apologize (The New York Times)

QuoteThe reports quoted the Trump associate saying: "If they don't like a subdivision of Mar-a-Lago, how will they feel when a thousand Moonies descend on Palm Beach every weekend?"

Sept. 5, 1995: Moon Group Paying Bush For Speeches (The Washington Post)

QuoteA series of speeches next week in Japan by former president George Bush, paid for by a group with ties to the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, has renewed bitter criticism of the church here in one of its most lucrative fund-raising countries. ...

But legal and church groups in Tokyo that have condemned the South Korea-based Unification Church's fund-raising practices for years said the federation is merely a "front group" for the church. They have written to Bush urging him to cancel his plans because his fees would be "money which has been unlawfully appropriated from thousands of Unification Church victims." ...

Nov. 16, 1997: The GOP's Own Asian Connection: Rev. Moon (The LA Times/Internet Archive)

Quote...But Republicans are also vulnerable on the foreign-money issue. Indeed, they are especially lucky that one of their most questionable relationships has gone virtually unmentioned amid the controversies about mysterious Asian political money. That is the GOP's long and lucrative relationship with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his Korea-based Unification Church.

Over the past quarter-century, the 77-year-old Moon has given the U.S. conservative movement sums estimated in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars. Most notably, Moon's deep pockets have financed the Washington Times, a leading conservative voice and one of the capital's two daily newspapers. But he also has invested heavily in building the right's political infrastructure, from direct-mail outlets to video-production houses, from think tanks to academic centers.

Much of Moon's influence-buying is done in secret and often occurs when conservatives are vulnerable to being bought. A recent example is Christian right leader Jerry Falwell, who feared his fundamentalist Liberty University in Virginia was slipping into bankruptcy. Desperate for an infusion of cash, Falwell and two associates made an unannounced trip to South Korea in January 1994, where they solicited help from Unification Church representatives, according to documents on file in a court case in Bedford County, Va. Months later, Moon's organization funneled $3.5 million to Liberty University through a clandestine channel. The money was delivered through one of Moon's front groups, the Women's Federation for World Peace. It then passed through the Christian Heritage Foundation, a Virginia nonprofit corporation that was buying up--and forgiving--Liberty's debt.

On Jan. 28, 1995, during his nationally televised "Old Time Gospel Hour," Falwell credited the directors of the foundation, Daniel A. Reber and Jimmy Thomas, with saving Liberty. Falwell made no mention of his more prominent financial angel, Moon, who is objectionable to many fundamentalist Christians because of his unusual biblical interpretations and his recruitment of young people away from their families.

I discovered the $3.5-million contribution while examining the Internal Revenue Service records of Moon-connected organizations. On the 1995 tax report for the Women's Federation, there was a line item listing $3.5 million going to the Christian Heritage Foundation. Susan Fefferman, the federation's vice president, admitted the money was targeted for Falwell's Liberty University. ...

Sept. 12, 1997: Major Media Ignore Ties Connecting Bush to Unification Church (National Catholic Reporter)

Nov. 22. 1997: A Church In Flux Is Flush With Cash (The Washington Post)

Quote"Of course, the whole thing is to buy respectability," said Marvin Borderlon, a Roman Catholic ex-priest who is president of the American Conference on Religious Movements, a Rockville-based group that fights discrimination against new religions. The group is funded by the Church of Scientology, the Hare Krishna organization, and most of all, by Unificationists, who give him $3,000 a month, Borderlon said.

"They'll have a conference on the essence of religious founders, like Buddha, Jesus and guess who," Borderlon said. "He gets a room full of academics to sit there while he pronounces himself the Messiah. He gets his picture taken with them. He gets credibility, they get to have their conference. It's all very messy."

Borderlon, like many people who have received some of Moon's generous bounty, has never been able to figure out the blizzard of organizations that make up Moon Inc. "My money is never from the church itself," he said. "It's always the International Something or Other." Wide-Ranging Interests On two floors of an office building in Falls Church -- purchased by a church-owned property development company from conservative activist Richard Viguerie -- the startling range of Moon's interests and activities is played out along hallways bare of art or decoration....

Borderlon, too, said Moon's various groups seem awash in cash. "I've made numerous trips to Japan for them," he said, "and they take me to see these great fancy businesses they have there. There's always huge amounts of cash involved in doing anything with them. In dealing with them, you have to accept cash. I came back from Japan once with $10,000 in my pocket -- cash." ...

"Tom McDevitt always told me that Father has directed us to get members elected to Congress so we can take over America," said Craig Maxim, a church member who quit in 1995 after spending several years as a regional leader and a singer at Moon's various mansions.

McDevitt ran an unsuccessful Republican campaign for a Virginia House of Delegates seat in 1993. Campaign records show many of McDevitt's contributions came from church members and businesses. Now press spokesman for several Moon-affiliated groups, he did not return repeated calls.

Moon's most ambitious foray into the political process in recent years was the American Freedom Coalition (AFC), a conservative group that built popular support for Col. Oliver L. North during the Iran-contra probe. In addition to about $5 million, Unificationists provided the personnel that gave the coalition its grass-roots strength, former church members said.

And then they gained the support of all the dead US presidents up until 2003, and I imagined these were free.
2002-2003: George Washington, Lincoln, JFK etc., Mohammed, and Han Hak-ja's Mother Deliver Messages from Heaven.

June 21, 2004: Hail To The Moon King (John Gorenfeld for Salon)

QuoteThe deeply weird coronation of Rev. Sun Myung Moon in a Senate office building -- crown, robes, the works -- is no longer one of Washington's best-kept secrets.

ou probably imagine your congressman hard at work in the Capitol debating legislation, making laws — you know, governing. But your newspaper probably didn't tell you that one night in March, members of Congress hosted a crowning ritual for an ex-convict and multibillionaire who dressed up in maroon robes and declared himself the Second Coming.

On March 23, the Dirksen Senate Office Building was the scene of a coronation ceremony for Rev. Sun Myung Moon, owner of the conservative Washington Times newspaper and UPI wire service, who was given a bejeweled crown by Rep. Danny K. Davis, D-Ill. Afterward, Moon told his bipartisan audience of Washington power players he would save everyone on Earth as he had saved the souls of Hitler and Stalin — the murderous dictators had been born again through him, he said. In a vision, Moon said the reformed Hitler and Stalin vouched for him, calling him "none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent." ...

Another good piece for some background information:

June 9, 2009: Moon's Ever-Changing Face-Lift (J. Isamu Yamamoto for The Christian Research Institue)

QuoteThis shift in focus to the Family Federation and away from the Unification Church has been effective in attracting prominent and respected political leaders and celebrities to the movement's public functions, thus drawing more attention from the news media. In fact, the Women's Federation for World Peace, a sister organization of the Family Federation, paid former president George Bush and his wife, Barbara, about $1 million to speak about family values at several Moon events in the United States and Asia. Bush, Gerald Ford, Jack Kemp, and other notable public figures have addressed Moon-sponsored conferences under the assumption they were affirming conservative views of the family yet not endorsing the theology of Moon.

Nevertheless, the press has had a field day in subtly scoffing at Moon's marriage ceremonies and his association with high-profile conservative politicians and entertainers. For that reason, Unificationists, as well as Moon himself, often claim that the American press has been on a relentless campaign to persecute him and his movement. In fact, they believe such persecution led to his unjust 13-month imprisonment in the Danbury Federal Penitentiary for tax evasion from 1984 to 1985. Some followers of Moon also admit that Unificationists purchased the Washington Times newspaper in 1982 in order to provide a positive portrait of Moon and his political conservatism.

The name J. Isamu Yamamoto, the writer of the above piece sounded familiar. Low and behold, I bought his book about the UC 19 years ago. I think it's in my office.

July 13, 2025: As a Former "Moonie," Trump's Cult Tactics Are Eerily Familiar (Akina Cox for Salon)

Quote...Most concerningly, both Trump and Moon have used scapegoats to distract their followers from their power grabs. Scapegoats are integral for a cult; they promote social cohesion, both by binding the in-group together over a common enemy, and by widening the gulf between members and outsiders. They cleave the world into a binary of us and them. Scapegoats are vilified as a tacit warning to cult members, an example of what could happen to them if they stray too far from the rest of the flock. The cohesion provided by the scapegoat places cult members in a position of further manipulation, when they don't look past the easy answers and see their leaders taking advantage of them.

When I was a child, I remember Moon preaching about an apocalyptic battle taking place between God and Satan, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. I was taught to be suspicious of all outsiders, but there were a few enemies he particularly liked to single out: feminists, homosexuals and communists. They, Moon said, were stymying our efforts at world peace and were the reason why we were all struggling in poverty.

Both the Unification Church and MAGA are masters of the manipulation tactic psychologists refer to as DARVO: Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender, in which perpetrators of abuse attempt to play the victim to avoid being held accountable. When Japan recently investigated the Unification Church for defrauding its members, leading to bankruptcies and suicides, the church decried the prosecution as an attack on religious freedom. Now, amid reports of attempted kidnappings of first-graders at schools, Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, complained to news outlets that agents have been harassed online, harming their well being.

For years, I tried to keep quiet about my past, in hopes that my parents and their ilk would leave me alone. Not anymore. As a child, more than once I had to walk by people protesting the Unification Church on the way to services. I stared with horror at signs portraying Moon with devil horns. I tried to push the images out of my mind, but they never fully left. They planted a small seed of doubt that maybe something we were doing wasn't right. These encounters put a human face to the opposition, so as that doubt grew, I knew that I wasn't alone. Those protests hurt the church in a way I didn't understand as a child — they made it less popular to join, ultimately stunting its growth. ...

I thought by leaving the Unification Church I would no longer be haunted by the specter of violence in my community, the horror of families being ripped apart, of leaders sowing division and chaos to distract from their greed and hate. But somehow, here I am again.

July 30: Akina Cox Part 1: Unification Church, Mass Weddings, & Unpaid Labor (Trust Me Podcast)

Aug. 6: Akina Cox Part 2: The Moonies, Ice & The Cult Tactics Of Donald Trump (Trust Me Podcast)

...
Oct. 7, 2022: Unification Church Tries to Derail Ex-Believer's Press Conference (Kyodo News)

QuoteThe controversial Unification Church on Friday attempted to stop a former believer's press conference by sending a message purportedly signed by her parents, but she pressed ahead and spoke out on alleged abuses that she and other believers endured at its hands.

In a summarized version of the faxed message read out during the event, Sayuri Ogawa's parents called for the press conference to be halted immediately, saying their daughter has a "tendency to lie," and the psychiatric issues she said she suffers had worsened since a gunman killed former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

At the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo, which hosted the event, Ogawa, who uses a pseudonym to protect her real identity, relayed her traumatic experiences as a so-called second-generation church believer. ...

Born and raised in the church, founded in South Korea in 1954 by Sun Myung Moon and often labeled by critics as a cult, Ogawa said that after graduating from high school, she was sexually harassed by a public minister during a retreat. The woman said that at the retreat, she was also told she was "possessed by an evil spirit" and subsequently sent to a facility in South Korea for a supposed exorcism.

Ogawa said the contradictory practices of the church and her witnessing other believers suffer mental breakdowns impacted her own stability, leading to her being hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.

An emotional Ogawa also said she grew up in financial difficulty, with her parents making frequent donations to the church. She said her family confiscated 2 million yen ($14,000) that she had saved by working a part-time job, adding the money has not been returned.

Oct. 12, 2022: I Was Recruited Into 'The Moonies' But Managed to Leave Thanks to Jesus & Some Kind Church Leaders (Woman Alive/Beth Axton - Internet Archive)

QuoteI eventually caused my family great distress by leaving my work and home and joining them for what proved to be a life of misery. Within a week I was asked to hand over everything in my bank accounts and to get another job and have my salary paid to them. We slept on floorboards for only two to three hours a night and fasted continually, but nothing seemed to satisfy to make enough restitution. As time went on I was completely drained and exhausted....

There are many of these types of groups masquerading as Christians, they often use an insidious mind control and a psychological coercion and hire reputable premises for their meetings. Be alert and let the words of Jesus speak to us: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My Name saying, 'I am the Christ', and will deceive many." Mathew 24.

Beth's Book: Why I Left The Moonies

March 16, 2023: In the Grip of the Unification Church: The Story of a Former Second-Generation Follower (Nippon)

QuoteThe woman's parents had an arranged marriage and wed in a mass weddings Moon presided over. This made the woman one of what the UC calls the "blessed second generation," who according to UC teachings are born free of original sin and so occupy a special presence within the movement. ...

The woman tells how her parents placed the UC before everything else, even family. "From the time I was a small child, my mother would be away from home for six months at a time doing missionary work overseas," she says, adding that while in elementary school she was made to go on some of these trips abroad. Her father, a local leader in the UC, was involved in church activities from morning until night. "We were never able to build a normal parent-child relationship."

As an adolescent, she began to worry that her parents planned for her to "receive a blessing," language used in the UC to mean a marriage between church members, and give birth to children who would be third-generation followers. When her suspicions proved true, she says she finally realized that her life was being controlled by others, filling her with hopelessness. ...

"I waited for a time when my parents were busy doing work for the church," she describes. "Then I grabbed my suitcase and left." She traveled to another prefecture where an aunt and uncle lived, but her parents quickly learned her whereabouts. "They told my aunt and uncle—who were only trying to protect me—that they should commit suicide. They said they would take me back home to re-educate me because I had become a devil." Sensing real danger, she lived on the run for a time, but her parents never relented. "They followed me and even had the police bring me home on one occasion." ...

Today, the woman is severely critical of the UC. "What kind of a church champions the value of family harmony while at the same time leaving me no choice but to cut ties with my own parents? How many other children have they hurt the same way? There is no doubt in my mind that the UC is a criminal organization that disregards the rights of children. Followers need to wise up to this truth."

2025 Cont.

July 24: Second-Gen. of UC Members in Japan Sue for 320 Million Yen in Damages (Mainichi Shimbun)

QuoteThese "second-generation" members claim that their parents prevented them from making free decisions and caused them severe psychological harm. The plaintiffs hold the church responsible rather than their parents, arguing that the parents' actions were strongly influenced by the church's teachings.

According to the plaintiffs' attorney, this is believed to be the first class action by second-generation members. The plaintiffs argue, "The church instructed parents to prioritize religious practice over the human rights of their children, severely distorting the environment in which the second generation grew up. These children suffered abusive acts that violated their rights to freedom of religion and marriage, among others."

July 31: Unification Church Land Seized for Donation Refunds (Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteThe Tokyo District Court issued the ruling on July 18 in response to a request by 10 women in their 50s to 80s who are former members of the religious organization. The women claim to have collectively lost 227 million yen ($1.52 million) to the former Unification Church, through what they describe as exploitative donation extraction practices. ...

The land, located in the upscale Shoto district, is estimated to have roughly the same value as what the 10 women are seeking in damages. The women's legal team warned of a growing risk that the group could hide or transfer assets, since the government-ordered dissolution of the church could be finalized as early as this year.

"Given the high risk of asset concealment, securing the land where the headquarters stands—a symbol of the organization—is highly significant," lead attorney Susumu Murakoshi said at the news conference.

Sept. 22: Defense Team to Claim 'Religious Abuse' Prompted Abe's Slaying (Asahi Shimbun)

Oct. 1: UN Experts Concerned by Continued Stigmatisation of Religious Minorities (UN Human Rights Office)

Quote"While the pamphlets highlighted important information about child abuse and offered a highly valuable line of contact between young people and the State regarding their human rights, it is disappointing that the pamphlets appear to target some practices and activities, especially those of Jehovah's Witnesses," the experts said. "Rather than protecting children who belong to religion or belief minorities, these materials risk contributing to their bullying and marginalisation," they said. Consultations with civil society and minorities in relation to the "Q&A on Responses to Child Abuse Related to Religious Beliefs, etc." ("Q&A Guidelines"), can help address these discriminatory concerns, they said.

Oct. 2: First Arbitration Concludes With Unification Church To Pay Victims (Mainichi Shimbun)

QuoteThe arbitration case filed with the Tokyo District Court was one of over 180 cases brought by victims seeking around 6 billion yen over the issue, which came to light following the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 by a man who claimed to hold a grudge against the church due to its aggressive fundraising.

The group of attorneys known as Lawyers from Across Japan for the Victims of the Unification Church began arbitration proceedings in July 2023, following the church's refusal to engage in collective bargaining over the matter.

A woman who was swindled out of around 36 million yen by the church said that she "hopes other victims will reach a resolution soon," adding that she had been frustrated by the deception.

Oct. 3: Unification Church Reaches Settlement with 3 Former Followers (Nippon TV)

QuoteThese are the first settlements reached in a group mediation involving about 190 former members and others seeking damages totaling more than 5.9 billion yen. Lawyers from across Japan for the Victims of the Unification Church said the three former followers are women in their 80s. The lawyers' group said the development opens the possibility of relief for many other victims.

Oct. 3: Japan Court to Deliver Ruling on Ex-PM Abe's Shooter in January (Mainichi Shimbun)

Oct. 22: A Son's Anger & A Mother's Faith: The Family History Behind The Abe Shooting Suspect (Mainichi Shimbun)

Oct. 22: Former PM Shinzo Abe Killer's Mother to Testify in Court (The Japan News/Yomuri Shimbun)

QuoteThe mother of Tetsuya Yamagami, indicted for killing former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a handmade gun in Nara in 2022, will go to court as a defense witness, it was learned Wednesday. ...

The defense witnesses include the mother, who went into personal bankruptcy after donating a total of around ¥100 million to the religious cult, his younger sister and a religion scholar well versed in the issue of massive donations to cults and their spiritual sales.

Oct. 29: Hearings on Unification Church Dissolution Order to End in November (The Japan Times)

QuoteDefendant Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, accused of murdering Abe in the July 2022 shooting, had said he was motivated by a grudge against the Unification Church, of which his mother was a follower. This raised public awareness of the issue of massive donations to the group by believers and shed light on its ties with conservative Japanese politicians.

So far, the high court has held closed hearings four times. According to the Unification Church, the fourth session examined testimony by two believers as requested by the group. Of the two, a South Korean national in her 50s who married a Japanese man at a mass wedding organized by the group claimed that she was discriminated against after the shooting.

The other witness, a Unification Church staff worker in his 30s, showed concern that defamation of believers will escalate after the disbandment order. Sources said that the high court asked both sides to submit final written arguments by Nov. 21, which means that the appeal proceedings will end soon. The court may give its judgment early next year.

If the court upholds the disbandment order, the process to liquidate the Unification Church will start immediately. The group can continue activities as an unincorporated association, but it must dispose of properties, including facilities for worship, and it will be unable to receive tax benefits.

2025

March 25: Court Orders Unification Church Demise Over Donations (Asahi Shimbun)

QuoteIf the dissolution order is finalized, the group will lose its status as a religious corporation, depriving it of tax benefits such as exemption from corporate tax on income from its religious activities. However, the religious activities themselves, such as faith and proselytizing, will not be prohibited.

March 26: Court Wary of Future Harm from Unification Church, Deems Illegal Donations Were Systemic, Prolonged (The Japan News/Yomuri Shimbun)

QuoteWith the harm caused by the Unification Church amounting to more than ¥20 billion over four decades, the Tokyo District Court focused on the scale of the damage and deemed that the organization systematically solicited illegal donations when it ordered the church's dissolution on Tuesday. ...

"The harm caused by the Unification Church accumulated over a long period of time and affected a wide range of people, which must have led to the impression that the group's characteristic of tolerating illegal acts has not changed," a veteran judge said about Tuesday's decision. ...

The district court acknowledged the ministry's assertion that over ¥20 billion in damage occurred over a 40-year period, with most of it inflicted as part of the Unification Church's religious activities. The court then concluded that it "can be said that in terms of societal norms, these were acts of the religious organization." A veteran judge said, "With this many serious illegal acts presented, a court can't disregard them just because they weren't criminal cases."

March 27: What is The Unification Church & Why Does it Face Dissolution in Japan? (ABC Australia)

QuoteDr Jeffrey Hall from Kanda University of International Studies told the ABC's The World program the Liberal Democratic Party was still dealing with the fallout. "More than half of the party was involved in some way, be it attending church events or relying on volunteers from the church, or appearing in church-sponsored publications," Mr Hall said.

Donald Trump, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush all had links with the organisation at some stage. Former prime minster Abe had spoken at a church-affiliated event previously. Donald Trump did too before coming US leader. "It's said that Donald Trump received more than $US2 million to speak at some of their events,"  Mr Hall said. "They [politicians] lent credibility to the church and thus helped the church to raise money ... and convince people, or the people's families that, 'we're not a shady organisation, it's OK to give lots of money to us — look, Donald Trump is speaking on our behalf," he said.

March 27: Editorial: Relief for Victims of Unification Church Remains a Top Priority (Asahi Shimbun)

March 27: Head of Japan's UC Vows to Fight Loss of Legal Protections (Reuters)

QuoteThe head of the Unification Church's Japan branch vowed to fight a court order revoking its legal protections, following a scandal over fundraising practices and links to the assassination of former prime minister Shinzo Abe. Tomihiro Tanaka, the Japanese president of the group now known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, told reporters on Thursday the group had settled all cases of damages levelled against it and the court's order was an attack on religious freedom.

This marks the third time a Japanese court has acted to dissolve a religious corporation due to legal breaches, according to public broadcaster NHK. The first two involved Aum Shinrikyo, a cult that carried out a fatal sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway 30 years ago, and a temple group involved in fraud, NHK said.

April 14: In the Shadow of a Murder: Religious Freedom Vs the Social Good in Japan (Professor Roy Starrs, PhD. Georgetown Journal of International Affairs)

QuoteThe assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzō Abe exposed unexpected ties between the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and the Unification Church, a global religious organization founded in South Korea and notorious for its abusive practices. The incident reignited one of Japan's most controversial debates: the intersection of politics and religion. This article examines the historical instances of collusion between the state and church in Japan, analyzing how these dynamics played a role in Shinzō Abe's assassination. It argues that Japanese lawmakers must take steps to sever ties with such religious organizations, in accordance with the country's post-war Constitution. Additionally, it calls for clearer legislation to both protect and compensate victims of religious abuse while balancing the delicate task of preserving religious freedom and regulating harmful religious practices.

May 3: The Unification Church Dissolution & Japan's Evolving Religious Governance (East Asia Forum)

June 2: Opinion - Japan Needs anti-SLAPP Laws As Journalist Sued by UC Affiliates (Mainichi Shimbun)

Oct. 10: Special Counsel Expected to Indict UC Leader Over Bribery Allegations (Yonhap News)

QuoteHan is accused of colluding with a former church official surnamed Yun to hand 100 million won (US$70,300) to People Power Party Rep. Kweon Seong-dong in 2022 in exchange for his help in gaining favors for the church in the event of Yoon Suk Yeol's election as president later that year. Yoon went on to win the election.

She is also suspected of involvement in gifting a luxury necklace and Chanel bags to Yoon's wife, Kim, while requesting favors, embezzling the church's money to purchase the gifts and ordering the destruction of evidence to Yun ahead of a police investigation into her alleged overseas gambling.

Oct. 10: South Korean Prosecutor Indicts Unification Church Leader In Probe Linked to Ex-First Lady (Reuters)

QuoteThe indictments against Han, 82, include accusations she violated the Political Funds Act, illegal solicitation, inciting destruction of evidence and embezzlement, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

Oct. 10: Unification Church Leader Indicted For Alleged Bribery Linked to Ex-First Lady (Yonhap News)

Oct. 10: South Korea Indicts Unification Church Leader Hak-ja Han (UPI - Owned by Preston Moon)

Oct. 13: Prosecutors: Kim Keon-hee Tied to Unification Church PPP Memberships (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteThe special investigation team led by Special Prosecutor Min Joong-ki, which is probing allegations of a mass membership registration of Unification Church followers in the People Power Party (PPP), has reported that the background of the collective registration involved a request from Kim Keon-hee. ...

Regarding the allegations, the special counsel team reportedly seized and searched a server containing the PPP's membership list on the 19th of last month, extracting a list of approximately 110,000 to 120,000 individuals suspected of being Unification Church followers. The team also discovered bundles of membership applications from Unification Church followers during a raid on the PPP's South Gyeongsang Province branch on the 30th of last month.

Oct. 14: Jeon Admits Delivering Gifts to Kim Keon-hee (The Chosun Daily)

Oct. 14: Shaman Admits Delivering Chanel Bags, Jewelry to Ex-First Lady's Aide (The Korea Herald)

Quote"It is true that in April and July 2022, Jeon received Chanel handbags and a diamond necklace by Graff from the former Unification Church official surnamed Yoon and delivered them to Yoo Kyung-ok, a former secretary for Kim," an attorney said in Jeon's criminal trial on Tuesday.

Oct. 15: From Reverence to Reckoning: Scandals Pull Back Curtain On The Unification Church (Korea JoongAng Daily)

Oct. 17: Kweon Seong-dong Faces Trial For Alleged 100 Million Won Unification Church Payment (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteThe first trial of People Power Party lawmaker Kweon Seong-dong, who was indicted and detained on charges of receiving more than 100 million won in illegal political funds from a Unification Church official, will be held on the 28th. ..

At the time, it was found that lawmaker Kweon received a proposal from former chief Yoon to the effect that "We hope presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol will attend a Unification Church event in February 2022. If you later support the Unification Church's policies and events, we will help with the presidential election by using the votes of Unification Church believers and the organization of the Unification Church."

Oct. 17: Court to Hold 1st Preparatory Hearing of UC Leader's Trial Later This Month (Yonhap News)

Oct. 18: Unification Church Leader Indicted in 500M Won Embezzlement (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteThe special prosecution team led by Min Joong-ki, investigating allegations related to Kim Keon-hee, has identified circumstances in which Han Hak-ja, the Unification Church leader, embezzled approximately 500 million won in church funds for personal purposes, including purchasing luxury goods and jewelry.

The plot expectedly thickens:
Oct. 18: Special Counsel Says Unification Church Spent About 500 Million Won on Jewelry for Han Hak-ja (Chosun Biz)

QuoteAccording to the special counsel, former Chief of Staff to the President Jeong Won-ju instructed Lee, a former Director General of financial management and the wife of former Unification Church World Headquarters head Yoon Young-ho, once called the "No. 2" in the Unification Church, in May 2022 to "pay 420 million won to S Jewelry for a brooch and earrings to be given to President Han."

Lee said the instructed amount was sent to S Jewelry with personal funds. She then submitted supporting documents as if the expense was related to major Unification Church events, according to the investigation. The special counsel contends that, through this, a total of 534 million won was reimbursed with Unification Church funds.

And the plot expectedly thickens... again:
Oct. 20: Secret Prosecutor Roster Found in Unification Church Raid (UPI - Owned by Preston Moon)

QuoteSouth Korea's special prosecutor has launched an internal probe after investigators found a confidential roster of law enforcement officers inside a Unification Church office during a recent raid -- a discovery that has intensified a widening corruption case linking religion, politics and the state.

The list, first reported by The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, contained the names and assignments of police officers temporarily working at the Special Prosecutor's Office. Such documents are normally restricted even within the agency.

Officials said they are investigating whether a retired police officer, identified only by the initial A, leaked the file to church officials.

An special prosecutor's spokesperson said the office is "verifying how the document was obtained and whether any ongoing investigations were affected." If confirmed, prosecutors say, the breach would mark one of the most serious leaks of investigative information in years, potentially allowing suspects to anticipate raids or destroy evidence.

More thickening of plots:
Oct. 22: Special Counsel Secures Luxury Gifts Given To Ex-First Lady (Yonhap News)

QuoteSpecial counsel Min Joong-ki's team said Wednesday it has secured luxury gifts offered by the Unification Church to former first lady Kim Keon Hee in 2022 in exchange for requesting policy favors on church issues.

Shaman Jeon Seong-bae, involved in Kim's bribery allegations, voluntarily presented a Graff necklace with a market value of 62.2 million won (US$43,500), and a pair of Chanel shoes and three Chanel bags, which the first lady had received and then exchanged, through his lawyer to Min's team Tuesday afternoon, according to assistant special counsel Park Sang-jin. ...

Jeon claimed previously that he had lost the necklace and bags as soon as he received them. But he recently reversed his previous testimony in court, reportedly asserting that the ultimate recipient of the luxury gifts was Kim.

October 24: Witness Testifies Luxury Items Delivered to Kim Keon-hee in Bribery Trial (The Chosun Daily)

QuoteJeon Seong-bae, known as "Geonjin Beop-sa," testified in court on the 24th regarding the allegation that he received a Graff diamond necklace worth 62.2 million Korean won and two Chanel bags worth around 10 million Korean won each from a high-ranking Unification Church official and delivered them to Kim Keon-hee, saying, "The luxury items were delivered to Ms. Kim." Ms. Kim has maintained that she did not receive the luxury items. However, Jeon, who was close to Ms. Kim, stated in court that day, "This is a part for which Ms. Kim should take responsibility." ...

When Jeon was investigated by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office before the special counsel was established, he stated, "I had kept the gifts, including the Chanel bags, in shopping bags but lost them." Last May, when the prosecution presented circumstances suggesting that former administrator Yoo had exchanged the Chanel bags for other Chanel bags and shoes, Jeon changed his statement, saying, "I had asked someone to run an errand." During the special counsel's investigation last August, he reportedly stated, "After telling Ms. Kim, 'I will keep them during the president's term,' I lost them." However, it is said that all of these statements were false.

Oct. 27: Formal Trial For Unification Church Leader To Begin in Dec. (Yonhap News)

QuoteThe first hearing will be held Dec. 1 and be followed by one to two hearings a week, the bench overseeing the trial at the Seoul Central District Court said during a preparatory hearing. An additional preparatory hearing will be held Nov. 18, it said.

July 13, 2022: We Were Wrong to Forget About the Moonies (The Telegraph/Internet Archive)

QuoteElgen Strait, who was born into the Moonies in the US in the early Eighties, but now hosts a podcast in which he rails against the church's sinister and bullying behaviour, is sceptical.

"There's a concept that runs throughout the entire organisation that says your spiritual standing is directly impacted by the amount of money you give," he says. "In the US you're meant to give 10 per cent of your pre-tax income every month. In Japan, it's 30 per cent. But that's just to start with."

On top of this, further donations are expected, he says, in order to "liberate your ancestors" and for a multitude of other "spiritual reasons". Ancestor liberation ceremonies are held to "promote ancestors in the spiritual world" (Dr Chryssides' words); or, as the late Rev Moon put it, to "completely change the lineage of all human beings back into God's lineage, as completely ideal sons and daughters" because "most of your ancestors have actually gone to hell". Liberating them can cost up to hundreds of dollars.

Elgan's Podcast

July 29: Shinzo Abe's Suspected Assassin Wanted Revenge Against The Unification Church. Here's What Growing Up in the Moonies 'Cult' Was Like. (Business Insider/Internet Acrhive)

Quote"I will fight for God! I will fight till I die!" Sujin* threw herself into the chant. It was the summer of 2012, and she and four other teens were on a three-month-long road trip — driving from Texas to Arizona, and then onto New Mexico, California, and Washington — to raise money for their church. ...

The second-gens were now in their final phase of the program: fundraising, primarily through the sale of trinkets. It was May 2012, on the cusp of one of the worst heat waves in American history. Most nights, Sujin and her fellow fundraisers slept on wooden boards set up at the back of their van, which they stationed at Walmart parking lots, washing their faces and armpits in public bathrooms.

Their days began at 7 a.m. and consisted of fundraising around town, with short breaks for fast food lunches and water. Sometimes, the girls would go "bar blitzing" in the evenings, which meant pairing up to sell trinkets at local bars. The church instituted this system of working in pairs after Jin Joo Byrne, an 18-year-old second-gen, was strangled to death during one of her fundraising runs in Charlotte, N.C., in 2002. Sujin remembered other members saying that church leaders had told them that it was a good thing Jin Joo was killed before she was raped. It was better to die, they said, than to be defiled.

The suncatchers the teenagers sold were bought in bulk from a supplier in the Philippines at less than $1 a piece. The teenagers were instructed to sell them at a considerable markup: A smaller one, priced at $15, had a pink flamingo on it, framed in green fronds of grass. The more expensive ones, sold at $35, had designs like blue- and brown-winged butterflies. On a good day, Sujin could rake in as much as $400."We made bank," Sujin said. "We were encouraged to get anything from anybody." ...

July 30, 2022: From 'Slapping Therapy' to Steep 'Liberation' Fees, Ex-Members Speak Out About Life Inside the Moonies 'Cult' (Business Insider/Internet Acrhive)

QuoteThere, Yuri met Hyo Nam Kim, who presided over the palace and who was said to host the spirit of Moon's mother-in-law. ...Hyo Nam nim — followers always used the honorific — told Yuri he needed to beat the evil spirits out of his body.

Three times a day, Yuri sat in a hall with rows of hundreds of other church members and performed "Ansu," a ritual to banish evil spirits. They beat their arms, legs, and backs to the beat of "Blessing of Glory," which a team of singers and drummers sang on stage in Korean. The Ansu leader yelled out different body parts, and others would walk through the crowd, sometimes urging people to hit themselves harder. Each session lasted over an hour. Sometimes, people drew blood. ...

To help make sense of the questions swirling in his head, Yuri anonymously started a blog named "How Well Do You Know Your Moon?" on Tumblr later in 2009. When church members caught wind of the exposés he posted, they denounced the blog as evil, and began what Yuri described as a "witch hunt" for its creator.

Yuri was outed by a church member who posed as a student working on a paper about the church. After he was discovered, his dad, who worked for the church like most first-generation members, had his salary cut by more than half.

Dec. 18: Elgen Strait - Escaping The Moonies (Sweeney Talks Podcast)

Falling Out With The Moonies (Elgen Strait's Podcast Spotify Channel)

March 9, 2023: Born Into & Married in the Moon cult with Elgen Strait (Steven Hassan/Elgen Strait)

And we can add Han Hak-ja's dead mother to the list, and of course, Jesus.

This next article is another one that I had bookmarked years ago. I just skimmed it looking for any Moonie reference, and I was surpised to see Teddy mentioned as I had already posted the links below this one:

Nov. 27, 2018: 'Extreme & Dangerous' Brainwashing, Abuse & Forced Child Labour – Inside America's Most Terrifying Cults Active Today (Teddy Hose via The Sun)

QuoteAnother former extreme group member Teddy Hose, who was born into the Unification or "Moonie" church, told how his brother shot and paralysed his mother in an accident he blamed on the group and the Moon family they followed. Teddy told how he grew up with Sean Moon, who (now) runs a gun-obsessed splinter group of the church called the Sanctuary Church, which encourages members to arm themselves with AR-15 rifles and devote themselves to the Moon family ahead of their own.

"The Moons were always into guns," he said. "Sean's older brother, Steve Moon, he loved guns and would often go hunting in the woods around our house, so I think my brother saw that. "I remember I was just doing my homework at my desk and my brother came in and said I got to tell you something: 'Mom was shot'.

"My mom was pruning some trees in the woods and my brother must have thought it was deer or something and he just took two shots in the dark.

"I didn't believe him and then I saw my younger brother behind him and he had tears in his eyes. I was like 'Oh my God'. She had two bullets in the stomach that reached her spine. She's paralysed from the waist down. "Just one shot changed everything, all because the local church boys thought guns were cool."

Teddy left the church with his family aged 22, after they realised how wealthy the Moon family were and how poor its members were.

"The Sanctuary Church (Splinter group led by Sean Moon) - it speaks the language of Christian values - but people need to know that this is not a Christian organisation," Teddy explained.

"They have someone who has guns who believes the world is trying to attack them. You're putting guns into kids' hands and giving them a religious reason to use them."

Feb. 8, 2022: Why I Left the Moonies (Teddy Hose on Facebook)

The above Facebook video is very heart-felt and touching. Teddy knew Young-jin Moon, the son who committed suicide at the age of 21, and it was Moon's reaction to his son's death that resulted in him leaving. I wasn't familiar with Teddy before I came across the above video, but he's been very active and vocal about sharing his experiences and educating about cults. Here are some more, the second video has a rather misleading title, there's very little talk of guns in the video. Instead, some very interesting accounts of growing up as a second generation member of the Moonies; plus, a little dig at the Moonie-owned Washington Times: