Defense Briefs Reveal the True Story in UCI Court Case

By Howard C. Self

INTRODUCTION

Our nation is in a time of turmoil and upheaval throughout our entire justice system. A number of major cities are reducing and/or otherwise restricting their police forces during a period of national turbulence and introspection. The currently dominant political party is introducing a bill to drastically transform the U.S. Supreme Court- by adding four justices to the court. (The other political party denounces this move as an obvious power grab.) The Supreme Court itself has been lately flipping back and forth on First Amendment issues in its judgements. Numerous faithful are finding themselves on trial for practicing their faith. Many are gravely concerned that the religious rights which have been the bedrock of our freedom and republic are now greatly threatened.

In this troubling setting, one current court case stands out in its importance regarding key First Amendment protections. The “Family Federation for World Peace and Unification International et al v Hyun Jin Moon et al” court case (commonly known as the “UCI case”, after the non-profit at the center of the dispute) is truly an epic battle with First Amendment issues at its heart. Following a controversial Summary Judgement and Remedies Order, two defense briefs filed on 03/22/21 initiated the appeals process by the defense. One brief represents the organization, UCI, itself and the other represents the individual directors of the UCI board. These briefs are very worthy of our study and understanding, as together they reveal the truth of this case and its underlying religious conflict. Not only do the briefs make clear the legal aspects of the case, they also necessarily clarify many key points of the ongoing Religious Schism from which the case was initiated.[1] [2] Right To Believe (RTB) strongly feels that all champions of the First Amendment should know the details of this seminal court case and details of the Unification Movement and its religious schism. We are therefore herein providing for our readers the contents of the two defense briefs, as well as our commentary on them and on the Movement and its schism. You may find the entire verbatim briefs at these two links: 2021.03.22 UCI Opening Brief and 2021.03.22 Director Defendants Brief on Appeal

Please read them for yourself.

It is important to note that originally the “UCI Case” was rather quickly dismissed by the District of Columbia Superior Court. That dismissal was based solidly on the prohibition by the First Amendment of any American court hearing a case with religious disputes at its core.[3] That core religious dispute is the deeply contentious religious schism within the Unification Movement of the late Reverend Sun Myung Moon. In order to understand why the decision to dismiss the case was the correct one to make, one must understand both the legal aspects AND the Religious Schism that sparked it. Therefore, Right To Believe will also provide on our website the actual briefs, videos of depositions, amici briefs, commentaries etc. from the UCI case as well as opinions and facts regarding the ongoing Unification Movement Schism. My commentary will draw on my 46+ years as a proud member of the Unification Movement and my 40+ years in leadership roles within the movement’s religious non-profits that all stoutly defended the First Amendment. In the end, the facts speak for themselves to all.

BRIEF SUMMARY AND ANALYSIS

After appeal by the Family Federation (FFWPU), the UCI case was remanded back to the DC Superior Court where it has languished for nearly 10 years under a series of judges. Legal costs have mounted into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The UCI case continues only because the string of Superior Court judges in the complex case have: (1) Ignored the First Amendment rights of the defendants (2) Failed to follow proper due process throughout the case and (3) Errantly accepted whole cloth the false narrative of the plaintiffs; ultimately using that false narrative as the basis for its unconstitutional decisions. In so doing, the court again and again ignored the volumes of evidence from UCI that effectively negated that narrative. The two defense briefs clearly articulate these errors of the court and more.

UCI is a religious non-profit organization of the Unification Movement led by a board of volunteer directors. Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, anointed by his late father as his successor in 1998, is its chairman and the chief defendant in the case. Dr. Moon is recognized by many tens of thousands around the globe as the undisputed spiritual leader of the Unification Movement. FFWPU is another non-profit of the Unification Movement founded by Reverend Moon. Dr. Moon was its international leader for over 10 years (1998-2008). In fact, it was Dr. Moon who built up FFWPU in cooperation with his father during that time.

Central to the case are fundamental disputes over the theology, polity and leadership of the Unification Movement as a whole and UCI in particular. The UCI case is one among 30 court cases on three continents brought against Dr. Moon and/or his associates by FFWPU or one of its allied organizations during the Unification Religious Schism. While most were dismissed quickly, some have persisted for years, costing incredible amounts of time and money. None have proven to be as costly as the “UCI Case”. Against his will, Dr. Moon was forced to respond to this unprecedented multitude of legal and personal attacks against himself, his family and his associates.

The UCI court case is the central legal gambit by FFWPU and its associates, (led overall by Mrs. Hak Ja Han, certain leaders within the Movement [hereafter, “clerics”] and several of Dr. Moon’s siblings) of an all-out legal harassment effort against Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon. This gargantuan legal campaign on three continents has been matched with an incessant personal smear campaign against Dr. Moon both within the Unification Movement and into the public. The real goal of these organized pogroms has not been so much about control of UCI or other organizations, but rather to destroy Dr. Moon’s reputation and his foundation for carrying on international public works, in order to wrest the mantle of leadership from him. All of this nefarious effort was undertaken because Dr. Moon refused to submit to Mrs. Han’s illegitimate leadership of the Unification Movement. Such submission to him would be unprincipled and directly contradictory to his calling by God and appointment by his father to be Reverend Moon’s official heir. In that sacred role, Dr. Moon feels duty bound to Heaven to take up and fulfill his father’s providential mission to lay the foundation for the peaceful unity of all humankind.

When this lawsuit was filed, FFWPU was headed by Dr. Moon’s younger brother, Sean Moon. Sean was removed from the Unification Movement leadership soon after Reverend Moon’s death by his mother,[4] Mrs. Hak Ja Han, who now claims to be FFWPU’s international director, the spiritual leader of the entire Unification Movement and the “Only Begotten Daughter of God” (OBD).[5] Mrs. Hak Ja Han later testified under oath that Sean had the understanding of the Divine Principle (the central teaching of Reverend Moon) of “a middle schooler” …and was never the legitimate heir. (see video deposition) [6] [7] This means that she and FFWPU perpetrated a fraud on the court (and on the entire Unification Movement) from the very beginning since Sean was a signer on the original complaint as the international president of FFWPU- a position that Mrs. Hak Ja Han had engineered for him. And she had falsely promoted him as being the heir to Reverend Moon. It is vividly apparent that she used Sean as a prop for the sole purpose of removing Dr. Moon from the FFWPU leadership; and once that was accomplished and Reverend Moon had passed, she expelled and denounced Sean. Thusly, she revealed that her true end goal from the start was to secure the leadership of the Unification Movement away from the true heir, Dr. Moon, and secure it for herself. When questioned on the stand by the defense lawyer, why she put Sean in such a high leadership role if she considered him so unqualified, she could not answer.[8]

As with most religious schisms, the question of legitimate leadership is the most pertinent issue. (After his removal from leadership, Sean publicly denounced his mother in most vile ways[9], started his own “church” and sued his mother in a New York court over the leadership of FFWPU[10]. (see Moon v Moon) Sean lost that case because the New York court accepted the FFWPU’s argument of “religious abstention” – ie. that since the dispute centered on religious issues, it could NOT be heard in an American court- which is the exact opposite of their arguments in the UCI case!)

After 10 years of contention in the DC Superior Court, an outrageous Remedies Order was issued on 12/03/20 by Judge Jennifer Anderson, then the presiding judge for the “UCI Case”. Her unprecedented and highly controversial judgement calls for the dismissal of the defendant directors and the restructuring of the UCI board (restructuring of a religious non-profit’s board is in contradiction of DC written law!).[11] Anderson’s ruling also imposes draconian fines against four UCI board directors of a half billion dollars! (This drastic punishment was ordered in spite of the judge herself acknowledging that the directors, who are all volunteers with the religious non-profit, never received any personal monetary benefits.)[12] These outrageous fines violate the 8th Amendment to the Constitution which states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” How cruel is it to impose a fine of over $100,000,000.00 on an individual and his family, as a result of his having served as a volunteer on a religious non-profit board? It is clear that Judge Anderson lost all proper perspective in this case.

The UCI case is now considered by many to be a case study in just how tragically wrong a court can go when it totally defies the First Amendment. Amici Curiae (Friend of the Court) briefs have been filed in support of the appeal of this outrageous ruling. One brief represents 10 noted legal scholars from prestigious law schools across the nation.[13] A second amicus brief was filed jointly by The Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty.[14] Both concluded that the Superior Court egregiously disregarded First Amendment prohibitions and are urging the Appeals Court to dismiss the case or at least to reverse the Remedies Order and the preceding summary judgement. (see 2021.03.29 Religious Liberty Professors Amicus Brief and 2021.03.29 Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty and Becket Fund Amicus Brief)

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FIRST AMENDMENT

Both defense briefs address the serious problems the DC Superior Court has created by ignoring or trampling over the First Amendment and other rules of law. As the “Defendants’ Brief” states, “It is hard to conceive of more glaring violations of the First Amendment than the orders below”.[15] First, the Superior Court flatly violated the First Amendment when it attempted to resolve questions of theology and polity within the Unification Movement. By choosing “winners” and “losers” in a heated religious dispute, the court overstepped by far the First Amendment boundary against ANY court so doing.[16] Secondly, the court was in error to grant summary judgement to the plaintiffs (“summary judgement” means the judge rules without consideration by a jury of peers, and in this case, not even a proper hearing before the far-reaching judgement was issued). Importantly, there was voluminous evidence from the UCI defense that contested the facts of the plaintiffs. By making a summary judgement, the court ignored those facts and failed to carry out proper judicial due process that would have allowed debate over those facts, thus denying the defendants their Constitutional rights.[17] [18]

Finally, the court further violated the Constitution and D.C. written law by removing the directors from the non-profit’s board based on their supposed spiritual disloyalty. As mentioned before, there is no legal basis for a Washington, DC court remaking the board of a religious non-profit…which is exactly what the Superior Court did![19]

Reading the Defendants’ Brief’s Statement of the Case, which outlines the history of the 10 years old case, one is struck by the overwhelming hostile bias that the judges repeatedly showed against UCI and its directors. Not only did the judges ignore the Constitutional protections of the defendants, they adopted wholesale the plaintiff’s narrative; comprised largely of unfounded personal attacks against Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon and his faith. The judges then applied this false narrative’s conclusions in making their draconian decisions against the defendants. In doing so, they had to choose winners and losers in the theological debates that rage within the religious schism of the Unification Movement. Making such decisions concerning theological disputes is exactly what the framers prohibited in the First Amendment. This bias against the defendants eventually led to the totally unconstitutional denial of UCI its right to be heard in court during the Remedies hearing![20] This one startling fact alone proves definitively that the court’s proceedings were out of order and unconstitutional.

Some other examples of judicial bias: early in the proceedings, Judge John Mott punished the defendants and their constituents pre-trial by issuing a court order that UCI’s donations to charitable projects, which UCI had been supporting for years, be blocked pending resolution of the case.[21] This punishment was meted out prior to any finding of guilt or wrongdoing by the defendants. This ruling meant that thousands of innocent people worldwide who were beneficiaries of these projects and donations have been unjustly punished for over eight years and counting.

Another judge (Laura Cordero) ruled against the Defendants’ motion for summary judgement and for the plaintiffs’ cross motion, without hearing any oral arguments. On that basis, another judge (Jennifer Anderson) made what amounted to dozens of theological decisions about the Unification Church in issuing the Remedies Order that refigures the UCI board and gives a fine of over $500,000,000.00 to four of the defendants.[22] There could hardly be a more egregious violation of long-established First Amendment precedent, which unequivocally prohibits courts from intervening in religious disputes.

The UCI Defense Brief proceeds to show in detail the errant history of the court’s lack of due process, to highlight the facts of the case, to provide irrefutable arguments based on a full view of the facts, and finally, to make the only reasonable conclusion – that the case must be dismissed. In so doing, the UCI Defense Brief is a great service to the defendants, to UCI, and to all who are concerned with protecting the First Amendment and freedom of religion. The court’s Remedies Order is “unprecedented” because it flagrantly overstepped the boundaries of the Constitution where other courts would have proceeded with caution.[23]

The UCI Brief also demonstrably shows that none of the actions taken by Dr. Moon and the UCI board were inconsistent with either the purpose of the organization or with its long history of donations throughout its existence. The majority of UCI donations have always gone to non-Unification Church entities such as The Washington Times, a ballet company, soccer teams, publishing houses, etc. Such donations were always made by UCI simply because the Unification Movement/Unification Church consisted of hundreds of entities in a broad range of fields. It was NEVER just a hierarchical single church entity as the plaintiffs have claimed and the court has accepted. To punish the board for donating to non-Unification Church entities is completely nonsensical. Also, it is important to note that UCI was far better off financially under Dr. Moon’s tenure of leadership than ever before in its history.[24]

The Defendant and UCI Briefs make it crystal clear that complete dismissal of this case is the only way to avoid serious unconstitutional overreach. We are hopeful and trusting that the Court of Appeals will give the Constitution, the First Amendment, and the presented facts in the case their proper due consideration and respect. If they do so, then justice will surely be served.

If not, and this Remedies Judgement with its draconian sanctions were to stand, it would mean that First Amendment protections for all religious organizations and non-profits are threatened. It is no wonder that organizations which champion the First Amendment such as the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and the Jewish Coalition for Religious Liberty (along with many scholars) are urging the appellate court in their amici briefs, to dismiss this case and/or reverse this decision. In addition, there could be a huge “chilling effect” on the establishment of nonprofit organizations upon which our society so greatly depends. Who would easily join the board of a charitable organization, knowing that if a third party challenged your board’s legitimacy in court that you may have to pay many millions of dollars in fines? Unless overturned, this remedies ruling also sets a dangerous precedent of judicial overreach with broad implications, leaving judges unchecked when they flout written law with impunity, as the Superior Court judges have done here.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE UNIFICATION MOVEMENT

The crux of the UCI court case dispute centers on the definition, meaning and purpose of the Unification Movement, sometimes called the “Unification Church”, and the identity of its legitimate leader. It is imperative therefore to know some basics of the Unification Movement and its history.

Development of the Movement

Members of the Unification Movement worldwide recognize that Reverend Sun Myung Moon, its Founder, was called by Jesus to complete the messianic mission to build a world of individuals, families and nations centered upon God. As Reverend Moon often made clear, he never intended to create a single institutionalized new church or even a new religion. His ultimate goal was that all humankind become united as one family under God. The messianic mission that he embraced entailed first the restoration of the original human family (Adam’s family, as referenced in the Bible). He taught that Adam’s family had become separated from God – in the first generation through Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and then in the second generation with the murder of Abel by Cain.

Jesus came to begin a new history as the “Second Adam”, but he was blocked by faithlessness and betrayal from establishing and settling the God-centered family ideal. Through sacrificially loving even his enemies, Jesus opened the way for spiritual transformation and the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purpose on earth and in heaven. Reverend Moon was called to carry forward the messianic mission, as the “Third Adam.” He understood that the Adamic family must set the precedent for the true family ideal, successfully settling true family standards and order across three generations.

The Adamic figure and his bride must succeed where Adam and Eve failed, in establishing the position of true parents. The true family ideal must be settled through each fulfilling their responsibility and inheriting heavenly traditions in the next generation, with the Third Adam bequeathing his authority to his son anointed as his successor and Fourth Adam. Because Adam’s family failed in two generations, the Fourth Adam must complete the settlement of the true family ideal by resolving Cain and Abel relationships.

Reverend Moon uniquely taught that the family is the center of God’s purpose, and thus the most important institution in human experience. After establishing the foundation for the True Family, he initiated the marriage blessing movement through which all people can reclaim their birthright in God’s lineage, working together to build world peace through ideal families. Through such families, all of the historic impediments to true unity (racism, nationalism, religious and other factionalism, etc.) could be historically overcome. Reverend Moon’s legacy, and the central focus within the Unification Movement, is not a church or any organization; it is most certainly the True Family.

A pivotal turning point in Reverend Moon’s ministry came in the 1990’s. Based on milestones reached, he declared the “end of the church era” and launched the new Family Federation for World Peace and Unification. He took dramatic steps to universalize the Marriage Blessing movement and began advancing supra-religious efforts to build world peace. And in this context, most notably in 1998 Reverend Moon anointed his son, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon as “Fourth Adam” .[25] Through a new era of “father-son cooperation”, Reverend and Dr. Moon continued to build the international foundation for one family of humankind under God. For over 10 years, Dr. Moon, together with his father, successfully led FFWPU and other organizations toward that goal. The rapid progress and development of FFWPU was then suddenly derailed by the Religious Schism that emerged in the Unification Movement.

The Religious Schism Develops Within the Unification Movement

The UCI court case has brought to light the fact that the Religious Schism of the Unification Movement did not first develop from disputes between parents and a son, or between two sons, within the Moon family. The schism’s roots actually began with a break in the relationship between Reverend Moon and his wife, Hak Ja Han. In the last year of his life, 2012, Reverend Moon spoke directly of this rupture, when he pronounced at a public gathering of over 10,000 in Korea, “Reverend Moon has no wife. Mother does whatever she wants to do…..”[26] This pronouncement was very startling to all who heard it. Until that moment, most Unification members had no inkling that such a rift between the “True Parents” could possibly exist. The actions of Hak Ja Han since that time further prove her disconnection with Reverend Moon, his teachings, his anointed heir and in effect, with God’s providence.

Reverend Moon always emphasized that lineage is more important than life itself, and that the true family ideal must be settled across three generations. He stressed the importance of the natural order within the multi-generational family and of setting proper precedents, especially in the passing of authority from father to son. Reverend Moon taught that the model true family comprises three generations of grandparents, parents, and children, with God in the grandparent position, constituting what he called the “Three Great Kingships.” Naturally and necessarily, the authority of the father passes to the next generation-to the son. Thus Reverend Moon was always very clear that his successor would be one of his sons, not his wife.

In retrospect, we can surmise that at some point, Hak Ja Han must have begun to disagree with her husband. Clearly she believed that she should lead the Movement after Reverend Moon’s passing, regardless of Reverend Moon’s succession plan. Her plan of taking central leadership of course, made her own son, Hyun Jin Preston Moon, a living obstacle to her intentions, since he had already been recognized as the “Fourth Adam” 10 years earlier.

Another major factor in the development of the Schism was the resistance by ambitious clerics within the Movement to Reverend Moon’s “End of the Church Era” pronouncement. In 1994, Reverend Moon announced that the role of the “church” had been fulfilled through a 40-year course. He declared the end of the church era with its hierarchical based leadership structure, and the beginning of a member-centered and member-led effort. In a major providential shift, he proclaimed a new era of family-centered development toward a world of lasting peace. Therefore in 1996 he launched the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification (FFWPU) as a vehicle for this new era, and together with Dr. Moon, began to build FFWPU as a broad-based ecumenical, pan-religious movement.

This new providential direction was a threat to unscrupulous clerics who had positions of authority and largesse within the structure of the “church”. Dr. Moon, as the main driving force for FFWPU, came to be seen as their major obstacle to retaining the old church structure. With Dr. Moon perceived as their common threat, Hak Ja Han and the clerics, (joined later by a few of Dr. Moon’s siblings) formed a cabal that would generate the smear pogrom and legal campaign against Dr. Moon. In effect, they engineered the Schism that would lead to 30 court cases on three continents– and eventually, the UCI case, while also shattering the unity of the Movement.[27]

Hak Ja Han has subsequently proclaimed her own divinity, developed her own doctrine called “Only Begotten Daughter” (OBD) Theology, reduced Reverend Moon’s Eight Great Texts to three books, and generally proclaimed herself to be the real messianic figure, not Reverend Moon. In the new “OBD” Movement, the True Family is no longer a central entity; it is not even considered by the leadership as being necessary. OBD group’s new “Constitution” calls for a group of the clerics to vote on and decide the leader of the Unification Movement upon Hak Ja Han’s passing.[28] Reverend Moon’s emphasis on the importance of lineage is now ignored.

Two major factors have induced many Unification members to accept these dramatic and unprincipled changes. First, because Hak Ja Han was Reverend Moon’s faithful wife for so many years, bearing him 14 children and having the title of “True Mother”, all members admired and naturally supported her. For most, it is impossible to think that “True Mother” would disunite with Reverend Moon and go against God’s providence. Therefore, she could easily play directly on the members’ simple trust and naiveté`, and together with the support of the clerics, make unprincipled changes and claims. Mrs. Han, like every human being, has her own portion of responsibility to fulfill that no one can do for her. By attacking and usurping the legitimate heir, she has proven her disunity with her husband and has, in effect, divorced herself from Reverend Moon and his providential mission.

The second major factor that allowed the Schism to grow is that many Unification members did not and still do not understand their own principled portion of responsibility. The OBD group promotes a simplistic faith, stressing that one only needs “to believe” that Hak Ja Han is the Only Begotten Daughter of God; if you just believe in that, then everything else will come to fruition…like magic. However, Reverend Moon taught clearly through the Divine Principle that just believing is not enough; both belief and action, faith and substance are essential to restore past failures and grow spiritually. The Divine Principle asserts that each of us must choose to believe in and relate with God (making a “foundation of faith”) AND then live and act according to God’s principles (creating a “foundation of substance.”)

Unification members must understand that blessed central families are engrafted through the Holy Marriage and Blessing Ceremony into God’s lineage, becoming members of the extended True Family themselves. Those blessed central families have a crucial providential role to play in the settlement of the true family ideal. The complete restoration of Adam’s family requires resolving failures of both parents (Adam and Eve) and children (Cain and Abel.) Blessed families representing the Cain position must unite with the Abel position represented by the True Family second generation, naturally centered on the Fourth Adam’s family, to finally resolve the Cain-Abel division. “Believing” ie. establishing the “foundation of faith”, is just the first step. Substantially completing that process of restoration is the most important responsibility for blessed central families; and that is to be accomplished through cooperating with and supporting the Fourth Adam. That active and living, genuine relationship centered upon God’s love is of far more importance than just being in the realm of belief.

It is crucial that all blessed members of the Unification Movement wake up to the reality that the Schism is creating a huge block for the completion of God’s Providence and the liberation of humankind. Their own families’ fulfillment is at stake.

The Effects of the Schism on the Unification Movement’s Culture

The Schism within the Unification Movement is best known for the many court cases that it has spawned. This reliance by Mrs. Han and FFWPU clerics on litigation through secular courts is a practice completely alien to the Unification Movement culture that Reverend Sun Myung Moon established. His focus was always on building loving, God-centered ideal families. He created a family-centered movement that emphasized universal salvation. Many leaders of his Movement through the decades became like small “Bernie Madoffs”, taking advantage of the good hearts of the members to enrich themselves in unprincipled ways. Yet, in all of Reverend Moon’s long life, he never took legal action against any of them, even when their misdeeds were made public. He preferred to practice forgiveness and unconditional Godly love. In his Thirteenth Message of Peace, Reverend Moon spoke of a world of ideal families as: “…an orderly world where people govern themselves by the heavenly way and heavenly laws, with no need for lawyers, prosecutors or even judges.”[29] Contrast that with the practice of Hak Ja Han who directed the filing of 30 court cases, some criminal, against her own son…legally hounding him on three continents! And she continues to push the UCI court case today, after 10 long years.

It is also anathema to true Unification culture that crucial questions regarding God’s providence would ever be brought before secular judges who know little or nothing of the principles which Reverend Moon revealed and lived by. All Movement members know that Reverend Moon suffered unjust imprisonment six times throughout his life as directed by secular judges and courts-in Japan, North Korea, South Korea and finally in the United States. These courts represented a variety of types of government – colonial, communist and democratic.[30] Yet, regardless of their governments’ philosophy, the judges in all of them failed to see the reality of Reverend Moon’s innocence, or to understand even a small part of God’s present day Providence. Many members of the Movement were also treated unjustly by secular courts due to innuendo and false accusations about their faith. For these reasons, Unification members understandably have a high degree of skepticism regarding secular courts. To suddenly rely on any court system for resolving disputes, especially regarding providential matters, goes directly against the thinking and experience of all Unification members around the world.

Mrs. Han and FFWPU clerics claim to be representing Heaven’s principles and upholding the legacy of Reverend Moon; yet in reality they are breaking the Unification Movement’s core traditions, principles and values. They have created a culture of mistrust rather than trust within the Movement; a culture centered on Mrs. Han’s personage more than on God’s love. Mrs. Han initiated the Unification Schism by first breaking with Reverend Moon, leading the attack on Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, and then going on to create her own new OBD theology, religion and culture. She thusly broke the sacred bonds of trust within her own family first. Why else would Reverend Moon say to the world, “I have no wife” in the last days of his life? Now, she continues to progressively break down the bonds of trust within the entire Movement.

Hak Ja Han and the clerics have shown continuous hatred and vitriol toward Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, UCI, and Dr. Moon’s many supporters worldwide. They thus created a very toxic environment within the same Movement that Reverend Moon had established centered on God’s true love. Their created environment is so toxic that a son cannot even talk with his own mother. It is in such a setting that Mrs. Han and FFWPU have made every attempt to defame and destroy Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon and his associates. Reverend Moon’s practice of non-retaliation, of “natural subjugation, even of one’s enemy, through true love” seems to be now also alien and unknown to them. If God’s true love is in their minds and hearts, it is certainly not in their practice. It is easy to see why many of the younger “Second Generation” blessed members have left the Unification Movement under this “Only Begotten Daughter” culture.

Why has so much animosity been shown to Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon by Mrs. Han and the FFWPU leadership? One can conclude that such an extreme effort to destroy him is necessary in their minds simply because they know that he is the legitimate heir to his father. IF he were not the real heir, he would not pose such a threat to them. His younger brother, Sean Moon, for example was propped up by Mrs. Han as the “heir”, and was given many leadership roles by her. For instance, he was given the role of International President of FFWPU for years and was included as one of the named plaintiffs who initiated the UCI court case against his elder brother. Once his usefulness to Mrs. Han was over, however, it was easy for her to dismiss him and cast him out of FFWPU – with just her word …in one day. At the same time, she declared herself to be the “Only Begotten Daughter of God”, a position with no precedent in Biblical history or in Divine Principle. She took immediate control of a large part of the Unification Movement.

It was an altogether different situation for Mrs. Han and the clerics when it came to trying to dismiss Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon. Dr. Moon is the only person that Reverend Moon ever referred to as “the Fourth Adam.” He is also the only person on earth to whom Reverend Moon gave the explicit authority to perform the Holy Marriage and Blessing Ceremony. And in spite of relentless efforts by Hak Ja Han and the cabal to convince Reverend Moon to denounce his son, Hyun Jin, he never did so. Dr. Moon is the only one who has truly maintained his father’s teachings and traditions, never wavering from them. He has stayed committed to Heaven’s course regardless of the countless threats and actions against him and his family. Unlike Mrs. Han, he has maintained the sanctity of the “Eight Great Textbooks” composed by Reverend Moon. Most importantly, he developed the Family Peace Association for the purpose of fulfilling the original mission of FFWPU- never relinquishing that heavenly responsibility.[31]

Mrs. Han, like every human being, has free will and her own portion of responsibility to fulfill- that no one can do for her. By going this way of attacking the legitimate heir, she is proving with her own actions, her disunity with her husband and with Heaven. She has, in effect, divorced herself from Reverend Moon and his mission, bringing great discord and strife to the Unification Movement. Sadly, her focus, as evidenced by the court cases, somehow changed from God’s true love to vengeance. Every day, the OBD culture has less to do with the fulfillment of Reverend Moon’s messianic mission to liberate God and humankind through true love.

CONCLUSION

The two defense briefs from the UCI appeal have certainly provided the opportunity to openly explain both the real truth about the “UCI court case” and the underlying religious schism that has wracked the Unification Movement. Clearly First Amendment protections of religious freedom are endangered by the unconstitutional rulings that are now being reviewed at the appellate level. We urge all champions of the First Amendment to add your voices to the growing chorus which is rightly calling for this case to be dismissed on religious abstention grounds.

To all of my spiritual brothers and sisters in the Unification Movement- please reflect earnestly on all that has passed during the dreadful schism that has afflicted us all. The all-out attacks on Dr. Moon and his family are not just attacks on a True Family member, but on the designated heir to Reverend Moon- on the “Fourth Adam”. Only by following the truth and upholding the teachings and legacy of Reverend Moon by supporting his heir, Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon, can the Movement heal and move forward to victory after victory. May God bless us all.

[1] Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, “Brief of Defendant-Appellant UCI”, Case No. 20-CV-0714, March 22, 2021

[2] Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, “Brief of Defendants-Appellants Hyun Jin Moon, Jinman Kwak, Youngjun Kim, and Michael Sommer”, Case No. 20-CV-0714, March 22, 2021

[3] Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Case No. 2011 CA 003721 B

[4] Public letter by Hyung Jin Moon and Yeon-ah Lee Moon, “Letter to Unification Church USA”, February 24, 2013

[5] Speech by Hak Ja Han, “A Time to Be United, Inside and Out”, Cheon Jung Gung, Chung Pyung, Korea, July 1, 2014

[6] YouTube video of Hak Ja Han’s deposition held on July 13, 2018, “Hak Ja Han Deposition Day 1 Part 3”

[7] US District Court for the Southern District of New York, “Moon v. Moon et al”, Case No. 7:2019cv01705, February 22, 2019

[8] YouTube video of Hak Ja Han’s deposition held on July 13, 2018, “Hak Ja Han Deposition Day 1 Part 3”

[9] YouTube video of a sermon by Hyung Jin Moon at Sanctuary Church in Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, “The Mystery of Babylon”, September 13, 2015

[10] US District Court for the Southern District of New York, “Moon v. Moon et al”, Case No. 7:2019cv01705, February 22, 2019

[11] Court of Appeals of the District of Columbia, “Brief of Defendant-Appellant UCI”, Case No. 20-CV-0714, March 22, 2021

[12] Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Case No. 2011 CA 003721 B