Christian Leaders Speak at Seoul Gathering of Unification Church Group
Pastor Paula White-Cain, a spiritual advisor to former President Trump, joined prominent Christian Trump administration alumni in speaking at an international conference organized last week by the Universal Peace Federation, an organization founded and funded by the Unification Church, a Korean religious group that claims Christ’s messianic mission was incomplete until completed by church founder Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
Moon died in 2012, but the summit featured tributes to his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon, who is called the Unification Church’s “True Mother.” The summit also featured a religious ceremony celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Holy Ascension of Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
A UPF press release says 350 World Leaders From 157 Nations participated in a four-day World Summit 2022 and Leadership Conference to discuss the conflict on the Korean peninsula, education in Africa, religious liberty, and world peace. The event also featured a celebration of the 40th anniversary of The Washington Times, the church-owned newspaper which has reportedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars in church funds.
Among the leaders were former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who served in the 1990s. Trump also offered remarks.
Founded in 1954 as the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, the Unification Church is controversial both for its theology and its political activism in support of Korean reunification. Rev. Moon was born in the north before World War II, when Korea was divided.
The church has spent decades and invested many millions of dollars in all-expenses-paid conferences, think tanks, publishing houses, lobbyists, and events designed to promote its image, combat communism, and build bridges to America’s conservative Christian leaders, including Jerry Falwell and Tim LaHaye. The church sponsored prayer breakfasts during the administration of Richard Nixon, according to a 1984 report in The Washington Post:
“The church also is using its vast financial resources to foster a budding alliance with the New Right and conservative political leaders…These activities are described by Unification Church officials as part of a much broader, and sometimes more subtle, program to influence American politics and culture.”
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At last week’s event, Pompeo spoke to a crowd of thousands of similarly-dressed listeners, saying, “It is an honor to be a part of this memorial program in honor of the life of Rev. Sun Myung Moon,” who was imprisoned in the north. “He called for the unity of all Christians,” said Pompeo. “It is the Lord’s work.”
The event also featured condolences for Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan, who was assassinated in July. Abe, who had regularly sent congratulatory messages to Unification Church events, was killed by a man whose mother was a member of the church. The killer said he was angry that the church forced his mother to give big donations to the church until she went bankrupt, and he held Abe responsible for promoting the church in Japan.
Religious leaders caution that participation in Unification Church events lends credence to its heretical approach to Christian theology, and the U.S. House of Representatives has warned that church-related groups coordinate with Korean intelligence services.
White-Cain, Pence, and Pompeo have participated in other UPF events. White-Cain gave the invocation at a February Summit for Peace, saying:
Peacemakers are ones who bravely declare God’s terms, which make someone whole. They are those who promote God’s shalom, total well-being, both personally and communally…We know that true peace can only be achieved with faith. We must bring God directly into the equation.
Barry Bowen has covered her work with Moon-related groups for the Trinity Foundation.
MinistryWatch reached out to White-Cain through City of Destiny Church in Florida, which did not respond.
The event featured a Holy Water Ceremony honoring Rev. Moon, who claimed that Jesus appeared to Moon and asked him to complete Jesus’ unfinished work. He claims to be the true Messiah and humanity’s True Parent. In 2003, Moon said a crown should replace the Christian cross as Christianity’s key symbol because the cross is a reminder of Jesus’ pain.
