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"News that's not known, or not known enough." Helen & Harry Highwater's cranky weblog of news and opinion. |
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The Republican Party's man on the moon: Unification Church leader and self-proclaimed Messiah builds legacy with support from the Bush administration by Bill Berkowitz, Working For Change February 5, 2003
On December 19, 2002, while many Americans were caught up in Trent Lott's troubles or trying to figure out what to get their mother-in-law for Christmas, the Corporation for National and Community Service announced the appointment of three managers to oversee AmeriCorps. David Caprara was appointed director of AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America). Caprara comes to government service having served as president of the American Family Coalition, an organization many observers say is a "front" organization for the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. Caprara's appointment is the latest in a series of events signifying a close relationship between the Bush Administration and the Rev. Moon's Unification Church. On January 19, 2001, one day before George W. Bush was sworn in as President, the Rev. Moon sponsored a prayer luncheon that brought together some 1,700 religious, civic, and political leaders. In the crowd was a bevy of Christian Right luminaries including the Rev. Jerry Falwell; former National Evangelical Association President Don Argue; Trinity Broadcasting Network's Paul Crouch; and the Southern Baptist Convention's (SBC) president, executive committee president, and CEO, as well as Richard Land, the president of SBC's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. John Ashcroft, who had not yet been confirmed as Attorney General, dropped by and "brought down the house... with a tale of amazing grace," reported a front-page story in The Washington Times. The Rev. Moon addressed the crowd and handed out free copies of one of his books and other Unification church materials. When SBC leaders discovered that the event had been sponsored by The Times -- the Moon-owned conservative newspaper that has lost money every year since its launch in 1982 -- they were surprised: "We knew that it was going to be an interdenominational event, but we had no idea that the luncheon was hosted by the Moonies," claimed one SBC spokesperson. A few months later, the American Leadership Conference (ALC), a project of the American Family Coalition and The Washington Times Foundation -- both Moon-sponsored groups -- sent thousands of invitations to clergy and community leaders inviting them to attend local events called "Faith-Based Initiatives For Family and Community Renewal." According to Church & State's Rob Boston, "The flyer promised that the 'cutting edge program' would 'provide the latest information on innovative policies and programs from the Executive and Congressional leadership in Washington; and build alliances for faith-based services at the state and community level.'" Boston, assistant director of communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, pointed out the "faith-based summit" was actually held in Washington, D.C. and down-linked by satellite to more than forty participating sites. The summit was organized by a number of leading GOP congressional figures including Bush's faith-based point-men, now former Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK) and Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA). And, "efforts to promote it at the grassroots level were turned over to a Moon organization," which Boston writes, gave them "an official relationship with the Republican leadership" and this "enhanced status enabled him to do grassroots political organizing -- and religious recruitment -- with the apparent blessing of Bush and his GOP allies in Congress." On May 21, 2002, the Rev. Moon hosted a gala 20th anniversary celebration for The Washington Times at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The Times reported the following day that "more than 3,000 congressmen, state legislators and business and religious leaders from across the country" attended and heard country music singer Randy Travis and radio talk show host Laura Schlessinger, who delivered the keynote address. One of the highlights of the evening was the reading of a congratulatory message from President Bush, who called The Times "a distinguished source of information and opinion" and "a forum for the debate of timely issues." The SBC's antipathy over the Rev. Moon's sponsorship of the prayer event and the Republican Party's dependence on its organizing skills are indicative of the longtime love/hate relationship Christian evangelicals and GOP operatives have had with the Unification Church. (Boston recently told me that the "baggage associated with the Unification Church has created problems for the church over time, so they formed the more family-friendly-sounding Family Federation for World Peace and Unification.") "What I find interesting about the whole Moon phenomena is what money can do for you," says Rob Boston. For more than two decades, Moon's Christian Right partners have accepted his bountiful financial support: Not too long ago, the Rev. Jerry Falwell's financially-distressed Liberty University received a gift of $3.5 million. Christian Right leaders eagerly accept lucrative speaking engagements and attractive travel packages to Moon-sponsored events and conferences. And the GOP adores that The Washington Times serves as a daily boom-box for the right's political and social agenda. There is however, the embarrassing side of the coin: The loopy mass wedding ceremonies the Rev. Moon presides over; his financial sponsorship of the Nation of Islam's Million Family March; the bad publicity garnered by the Rev.'s dysfunctional family; and the reports of teenagers enticed into joining the church and subsequently kept away from their families. And Christian right leaders are more than uncomfortable when the Rev. claims to consider himself the new Messiah, sent by God to complete the failed mission of Jesus. Dr. Massimo Introvigne, the director of the Center for the Studies of New Religions in Torino, Italy, who has tracked the Rev. Moon's international activities, told Church & State that "There is no doubt that Moon and his followers believe that he IS the Lord of the Second Advent, i.e. a Messianic figure complementary to Jesus Christ." According to Rob Boston, "Moon has made numerous statements over the years implying that he is something more than a mere mortal. A passage on Moon's official website states the matter plainly: 'The Christian world must confront the fact that the Messiah's second advent took place at the end of World War II, in an obscure setting,' it reads. 'As did Jesus, he met with countless difficulties, including accusation and rejection. Bearing every cross, he -- the Reverend Sun Myung Moon -- took responsibility for the failure of this generation of Christians, and he stands today as the historical victor with a worldwide following.'" The Rev. Moon has been a consistent friend and supporter of the Bush family. During his run for the presidency, George the elder enjoyed unequivocal support from The Washington Times. And according to veteran reporter Robert Parry, after he left office "Moon-affiliated organizations paid for speeches by former President Bush in the United States, Asia and South America... The price tag for the speeches has been estimated at from hundreds of thousands of dollars to $10 million." During the 2000 presidential campaign the paper threw its whole-hearted support behind George W. Bush, and over the course of the past two years has consistently supported the president's agenda. Bill Berkowitz is a longtime observer of the conservative movement. His Working For Change column Conservative Watch documents the strategies, players, institutions, victories and defeats of the American Right.
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