5. Persecuted Prisoner - Resources for a 6 week, 40 day, Sermon Series on True Father, Sun Myung Moon

1941-43: Education, Imprisonment and Torture in Japan

In 1941, Rev. Moon graduated from high school and went to Japan to study electronic engineering at an industrial college affiliated with Waseda University. During his time in Japan, he continued his intense prayer and search for the truth. A school friend during that time said that in his room he kept three Bibles — one in Korean, one in English and one in Japanese, which he studied continuously.

He also was a Christian leader in the Korean independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea. Young Christians and communists were the strongest leaders of the independence movement against the Japanese occupation of Korea. In Japan, some of his closest school friends were communists and while their atheism pained him, he recognized their sincere dedication to an utopian ideal. A fellow student at that time, Aum Duk-Moon, reports that Reverend Moon defended communists to his Christian friends, saying that they were good people and that Koreans should work together to save their country. He was eventually imprisoned by the Japanese for his student underground activities and tortured for not revealing the names of his collaborators. This imprisonment was what would be his first of six imprisonments under four governments: Japan, North Korea, South Korea and the United States

1943-46: Return to Korea, Outreach to Christian Churches, Imprisonment and Torture

In 1943, Reverend Moon returned to his native land.Upon returning from Japan, Reverend Moon was married to Sang Il Choi, a strong Christian from a well-known Presbyterian family.

In 1944, Reverend Moon was again arrested and severely tortured by the Japanese occupation government in Korea after his name came up in the interrogation of a communist student friend who had been active in the anti-Japanese underground in Tokyo. He refused to confess and was finally released.

In spite of such treatment by the Japanese; his cousin and companion at the time reports that Reverend Moon showed only love and respect to Japanese people. When the war ended in August 1945 he persuaded others not to take revenge on local Japanese officials and worked secretly to get them safe transport back to Japan.

1946-50: Preaching in Communist North Korea, Imprisonment in a “Death Camp” and Escape to the South

In 1946 Reverend Moon was called by God to travel to the communist north. Before World War II, the center of

He began to teach publicly, despite the dangers presented by the communist-dominated government. As a poor preacher with new interpretations of the Bible, Reverend Moon was more vulnerable than leaders of the established churches and was, therefore, one of the first religious figures to be imprisoned by the communists.

Rev. Moon at North Korean court

Charged with disturbing the social order, in November 1946, the young minister was imprisoned and tortured. The police believed him to be dead and tossed his body into the prison yard. Some of his followers found him and carried him away to tend to his broken body. Miraculously, Reverend Moon survived and regained his strength. Undaunted, he began preaching in public once again.

Hungnam prison camp

Labor at death camp

In April 1948, he was arrested a second time and sentenced to five years of hard labor in Hungnam prison. He was among the first of the Christian ministers sent to the Soviet-style North Korean gulag. Hungnam was an extermination camp where prisoners were deliberately worked to death. Few lasted more than six months. Yet in that horrific concentration camp, Reverend Moon survived for nearly three years. Although he did not speak a word of the Divine Principle, many of his fellow prisoners looked to him for spiritual strength and became his disciples.

On June 25, 1950, the North Korean army invaded the South in a lightning attempt to unify the entire peninsula by force. UN and American forces, under Gen. Douglas MacArthur, rescued the beleaguered South. One month after the capture of Seoul, UN forces reached the gates of Hungnam prison. Knowing the UN forces were near, the communist prison authorities began to execute the prisoners. The prison camp was liberated by UN forces just hours before Reverend Moon’s scheduled execution.

1954: The Founding of the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity (known as the Unification Church)

Church in Seoul

On May 1, 1954, in Seoul, Reverend Moon founded the Holy Spirit Association for the Unification of World Christianity, Rev. Moon’s faith community which became popularly called the “Unification Church” worldwide.

The church immediately attracted followers from a major Christian women’s university, Ewha University, a school closely linked with the Korean government and with the mainline Protestant denominations. Because many students were joining the church, the school sent professors to investigate. When several professors also joined, instead of sincerely welcoming this new church, the school persecuted it. The university president ordered the professors and students to either leave the church or leave the school.

Coincidentally, newspapers in Seoul suddenly began to print alarming stories about the Unification Church, sex orgies and Reverend Moon being a North Korean agent. Reverend Moon was thrown in jail, to be released weeks later when no charges could be found. Again the following year he was thrown in jail on charges of evading the military draft, even though during the time in question he had been in Hungnam prison. After several months confinement--and sensational media coverage--the charges were dropped. His release received scant notice in the press. Thus began the pattern of collusion between religious leaders, government and the media that to this day suppress Reverend Moon and his church.

Amid this severe persecution, Reverend Moon nurtured a growing community of faithful disciples, known as “weeping church” because of the tearful prayers of Reverend Moon and his followers. By 1957, churches were established in thirty Korean cities and towns.

1974: Persecution in America Begins

As a result the rapid growth of the movement in the United States, it went through a period of persecution similar to what other new religious leaders and movements have faced in the past--the new was seen to be strange and threatening.

Reverend Moon’s appeal for a true Christian renewal of America was initially welcomed. However, this receptivity proved shallow when, in 1974, he became an easy target for the now-hostile news media unhappy over Reverend Moon’s “forgive, love and unite” message concerning the Watergate scandal.

The fair and objective coverage of the past was replaced by portrayals Reverend Moon and his church in the worst possible light. All sorts of unfounded allegations from Korea were dug up. In this atmosphere of hysteria, the enthusiasm and idealism of his young followers was reinterpreted as “brainwashing.” Reverend Moon was portrayed as a hypnotist and an agent of a foreign government. Religious and racial bigotry and persecution, a phenomenon in the United States as old as the country itself, showed its ugly face. Even though America was founded for the sake of establishing religious freedom, regrettably, religious intolerance remains today. The Unification Church bore the brunt of America’s religious intolerance for three decades.

1983: Investigation and Indictment by the United States Government

Under strong pressure from a few politicians who saw an easy way to garner favor with voters riled up by the bad press about Reverend Moon and the Unification Church, the United States government launched a plethora of official investigations of Reverend Moon involving nearly twenty federal agencies. Hearings were conducted on Capitol Hill to warn of the dangers of new religious movements. .

Meanwhile, a five-year IRS investigation finally produced a politically-crafted indictment against Reverend Moon. This indictment, handed down in 1981, charged him with evading income taxes nearly a decade earlier, as well as conspiracy to avoid those taxes. The total amount of taxes supposedly evaded was less than $8000.00. No one in the United States has ever been indicted for tax evasion of such a small amount. The indictment’s real purpose, however, was to spur Reverend Moon to leave America.

However, the United States government and some politicians underestimated Reverend Moon’s religiosity and commitment to his mission in America. When the indictment was handed down, Reverend Moon was in Korea. His lawyers recommended that he not come back to America, since there is no extradition treaty between the United States and Korea and by staying away he could avoid conviction and imprisonment. However, he did not follow their advice. He was, after all, a man of God, not a criminal fleeing the law. He immediately returned to the United States. He told his counsel: “I will not abandon my mission in America. That I will never do.”

Upon arriving in New York for the Federal District Court arraignment he spoke only one sentence: “Your Honor, I am not guilty.” The outcome of the trial was a foregone conclusion. He was convicted and sentenced to spend eighteen months in a federal prison. When, the Supreme Court refused to hear the case, despite forty amicus briefs from mainline Christian leaders, legal associations, civil liberty groups and state governments, he prepared to go to jail.

Still, the US Justice Department tried to negotiate with Reverend Moon’s attorneys, determined to achieve their goal of him leaving the United States permanently. On the condition that Reverend Moon depart for Korea and never come back to the United States, they said the government would waive his prison sentence. He flatly refused. His comment was, “It must be God’s will that I go to prison. There must be a providential reason why I must go this way.” Imprisonment was not new to Reverend Moon: He already had endured imprisonment in communist North Korea, South Korea and Japan during World War II.

1984: Top Religious Leaders Call the Indictment a Serious Violation of Religious Freedom

In the meantime, protests were being made all around the nation over the injustice Reverend Moon was suffering as a result of religious persecution. Many Christian leaders who never knew or cared about him began to realize that the government had made a serious assault on religious freedom. Christians,

including the National Council of Churches headed by Rev. Dean Kelley, and non-religious groups representing over 160 million Americans came to his legal defense.

1984: US Senate Subcommittee Publishes a Report That in Rev. Moon’s Tax Case “Injustice rather than justice has been served”

A US Senate Subcommitte published the following report on Reverend Moon’s conviction:

“We accused a newcomer to our shores of criminal and intentional wrongdoing for conduct commonly engaged in by a large percentage of our own religious leaders, namely, the holding of church funds in bank accounts in their own names. Catholic priests do it. Baptist ministers do it, and so did Sun Myung Moon… we charged a non-English-speaking alien with criminal tax evasion on the first tax returns he filed in this country. It appears that we didn’t give him a fair chance to understand our laws. We didn’t seek a civil penalty as an initial means of redress. We didn’t give him the benefit of any doubt. Rather, we took a novel theory of tax liability of less than $10,000 and turned it into a guilty verdict and eighteen months in a federal prison.

“I do feel strongly, after my subcommittee has carefully and objectively reviewed this [Reverend Moon’s tax] case from both sides, that injustice rather than justice has been served. The Moon case sends a strong signal that if one’s views are unpopular enough, this country will find a way not to tolerate, but to convict. I don’t believe that you or I or anyone else, no matter how innocent, could realistically prevail against the combined forces of our Justice Department and judicial branch in a case such as Reverend Moon’s.”

1984-85: Prison Life in America

Rev. Moon with Rev. Kamiyama in Danbury Federal Prison

Without bitterness, Reverend Moon served time in Danbury Federal Prison, the sixth imprisonment of his life. He quickly won the respect of fellow inmates for his humble and friendly ways.

On August 20, 1985, Reverend Moon was freed after completing thirteen months of incarceration. Upon his release, major Christian and civil rights leaders, including Reverend Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority and Reverend Joseph Lowry of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, held a press conference decrying the persecution and imprisonment of Reverend Moon and to welcome him back.

Cheong Seong Gyeong – PRISON

P1174 Those who enter prison have feelings of desperation and discouragement from the moment they enter, but I had considerable interest in what kind of results would come after my life in prison. You have all learned about restoration through indemnity, so I think you understand. What was going to happen after I surmounted each obstacle? The pain I was going through then was not the problem, but I would always think about what new historical gift might come after the pain. This is still fresh in my memory. (133-300, 1985.1.1)

P2013 At the end of the Japanese occupation, I fought together with an underground movement trying to restore independence to my homeland of Korea. Even now, that memory is fresh. I was at the point of vomiting blood and collapsing from lack of breath, and I fought thinking, “In the name of God I must bring the Japanese Empire to submission.”

God was with me in that. When I went to North Korea it was the same. I was thrown into prison, but in that situation I went forward in Gods name. When I went to prison in Gods name, God followed me there. (166-159, 1987.6.5)

Book 1 • True God Section 5. Let Us Liberate God 5.1. God is like a prisoner

P141-2 We must liberate God. God is confined by love. He may as well be in prison. He has not been set free. Due to the Fall, the ideal world that the all-knowing and almighty God, the Creator of the universe, intended to establish based on love was snatched away by Satan. Thus, God could not be liberated in heart. The foundation for liberating God’s heart has not emerged in this universe. God is thus confined. His mind and heart cannot be at rest when His beloved children have died. (138-261, 1986.1.24)

p807 God is suffering as if He were in a prison under eternal siege because of the love lost to Satan. (290-17, 1998.2.2)

Messiah - My Testimony to Rev. Sun Myung Moon Volume II - Bo Hi Pak

Chapter 17 - Twentieth-Century Crucifixion: Maneuvered Into Prison [Part 5/6] The Move to Danbury Prison

On July 20, 1984, the day Reverend Moon was to enter the federal prison in Danbury, Connecticut, he had to report in by 11 o’clock at night.

Before departing from his home at the East Garden estate on the banks of the Hudson River in upstate New York, Reverend Moon and his family enjoyed a family dinner together. It was my good fortune to be included.

His manner was the same as usual. His twelve children were there, from the grown-ups to those still in their infancy. Reverend Moon spoke as he caressed their heads.

I have to go away for a while. I want you to listen to what your Momma says. Make sure you study hard at school. That way, I’ll he sure to bring some great presents when I get back.

His manner was just what it would be if he were departing on an overseas trip. The elder children thoroughly understood their father’s heart. Their father was smiling, so cool and composed, but the elder children hung their heads, crying all the while. “You take care, now,” he said. Then he asked, “Are the Unification Church members gathered outside yet?” and walked outside.

About a thousand members were waiting to send off their spiritual leader. All of them had gloomy faces, and they could not help crying.

Reverend Moon stood before them. I took my place beside him to translate. I have never had a situation as difficult to translate in as this. My throat was so dry that I could hardly speak.

Reverend Moon scolded me, saying, “You mustn’t be like that now.” Then he started speaking in his usual powerful voice.

Are you sad today? What kind of faces are these I see? I’m happy. I’m glad. I’ve never been as hopeful as I am today. Don’t you know that all the things that God sent mc to America to achieve, all those things are going to be accomplished by me going to Danbury? Today, I’m moving the global headquarters for the Unification Church to Danbury, Connecticut. I can see a new hope just beyond the hill where the Danbury prison stands. A new heaven and a new earth are waiting for me. When I think of all the miracles and heavenly grace that Heaven has in store, I feel like I can’t contain my excitement. I’m looking at the mysterious and profound providence of God, and I’m eager and ready to depart.

But what kinds of faces do you have on today? It seems like you’re not thinking about things with the focus on God’s Will. You are thinking about the situation focused on human beings! Have we lost? Have we won? (Yeah! We have won!) Have I given in to America, or has America given in to me? (America has given in to you.) Then that’s all we need to worry about.

Today, I want you all to send me off as a heavenly victor. You should be bold and fearless. Fight on with the highest of spirits. “As is the master, so are his men.” (Translator’s note: A Korean proverb; literally it means, “A brave general has no weak-kneed soldiers.”) Got it?

The members answered in one loud voice: “Yes!”

As Reverend Moon got into his car and left, the members cheered, “Hananim Mansei! Cham Pumonim

Mansei!” (Three cheers for God! Three cheers for True Parents!) As I got into the next car to follow him, I started weeping bitterly.

“Even though he says that, still, it’s our Father who is going to jail. It’s so unjust, so unwarranted! Heavenly Father, please forgive us.” But my tears were those of repentance, not sorrow.

The drive from East Garden to Danbury prison takes about one hour. Reverend Moon arrived at the prison in the hot air of the summer’s night. He took his wife’s hand, then held all of our hands before calmly walking into the prison with a smile on his face.

The prison staff was lined up to politely welcome this important guest. Even at this late hour, all the inmates also showed up and welcomed him with applause. Everyone knew about his fight, thanks to the media coverage. The whole prison had been awaiting this day, as if it were a festival or celebration. For them, it was exciting to get a glimpse of such a famous person.

Messiah Behind Bars

Rev. Sun Myung Moon, incarcerated at Danbury on July 20, 1984, was released from prison on August 19, 1985. His term amounted to 396 days, or precisely 13 months.

The sentence he received had been 18 months. So why was he released after only 13 months? The truth is, Reverend Moon became a model prisoner. Although he was the oldest inmate at sixty-four years of age, he became an example for the younger prisoners. This is what he said about it.

I received awards for being a model prisoner even in the North Korean prison, where life was just like hell. Compared with a North Korean concentration camp, an American prison is like paradise. I wouldn’t be much of a leader if I couldn’t become a model here.

Reverend Moon digested the prison lifestyle in prayer and by practicing his faith. From start to finish, his prayers were always the same: Reverend Moon was incarcerated at Danbury on expressing gratitude to God. July 20, 1984, and released on Aug. 19, 1985. His term amounted to 396 days, or precisely 13 months. The other prisoners were truly surprised by his humility. Since he was so well known, they had expected something entirely different. But when they came into contact with him, they were all struck by his attitude. Prison rules forbid any proselytizing or preaching. But there wasn’t any need for that. Reverend Moon’s lifestyle and behavior were witness enough to his faith. A good number of prisoners began to have “strange,” mystical dreams and to feel drawn to him, just as had happened in the North Korean concentration camp.

Other prisoners would volunteer to do the work that Reverend Moon had been assigned to do, but he wouldn’t allow it. His chores included preparing meals, washing dishes, and cleaning the kitchen, dining area, and toilets. In other words, he had to do the most menial work. And he did it without so much as a frown.

Mr. Kamiyama, who had gone into the prison on the same day, could hardly bear to watch his teacher do such incredibly menial, humble labor. He was distraught to see this situation. “Father, let me do it,” he would say, as he tried to grab a broom or a wiping cloth so that he could do it instead. But Reverend Moon would refuse, time and again, so that all Mr. Kamiyama could do was stand by and cry as he watched.

Reverend Moon finally said to him: “Hey, Kamiyama! I’m really happy that God is letting me do these things. If I did not come into jail, when or where would I have the chance to do this kind of work? When I make the dinner and feed the inmates, I just think about how I am feeding God’s children. Or when I clean up the dirty toilets, or the kitchen, I just imagine that I am cleaning up America. Thank you God, thank you. You let me feed my people, and You make the way for me to clean up my house, and to clean up America.” This was Reverend Moon’s credo in jail.

For twenty-four hours a day, he lived with the heart of the parent of humankind. He saw everything from the position of a parent, and he approached everyone with a parent’s compassion. There was no prison for Reverend Moon, no hell. Everywhere was heaven. Heavenly Father was with him, and that’s what heaven is: the place where God always dwells.

He spent each day in gratitude and an atmosphere of peaceful calm. Looking at him, even these unfeeling, hardened inmates were moved.

Church at Three O’clock in the Morning

Reverend Moon usually went to sleep about midnight. But he would be up again at three in the morning, praying on his top bunk (he had asked Mr. Kamiyama to sleep on the bottom bunk). When praying, he would bend over with his knees tucked under him and his forehead pressed against the bedding. In many instances, the prayers were filled with tears of compassion. He was praying as the True Parent for a suffering and fallen humankind. At five o’clock, he would go to the kitchen and get the morning meal ready for the rest of the inmates.

One day, the prison chaplain, Reverend Graham, came to see Reverend Moon. “I suppose you also celebrate a service on Sundays in your church, too. At that time, please feel free to use my chaplain’s office and the chapel. What time would you like to use them? I’ll draw up a schedule.”

Straight off the bat, Reverend Moon replied, “How about three o’clock?”

“Sure, that’s fine,” Reverend Graham said, writing it down in his schedule, “No problem. Reverend Moon, 3 PM.” In a fluster, Reverend Moon corrected him. “No, no. I mean three o’clock in the morning!”

This time Reverend Graham was surprised. “Three in the morning? What on earth are you doing at that time?” he asked, a bit skeptically.

“We pray at three o’clock. Then we have our service at five,” said Reverend Moon. Then, with a playful smile, he added, “In America, not many people are praying at that time, right? So God will be sure to listen to my prayers if I pray then, don’t you think?”

Reverend Graham was moved to admiration. He sensed that he had met a true religious leader. “Of course,” he said. “Sunday at 3 A.M. I’ll just leave the door open. Make yourself at home,” he added, and left.

From that time on, Reverend Moon would go together with Mr. Kamiyama to the chapel office every Sunday. There, he would take up the same position in prayer, on his knees on the floor with his head bent down, almost curled up like a shrimp. At five o’clock, he would offer “Kyeung Bae Shik” to God [a short “Ceremony of Respectful Obeisance” where the participants offer full Korean-style bows before God, a long-standing Unification Church tradition. It was this that Reverend Moon was referring to when he told Reverend Graham that he has his service at 5 A.M.].

After a short time, this practice became known to the other inmates. Some of them asked the Reverend if they, too, could attend this Kyeung Bae Shik.

Reverend Moon replied, “Sure, you can come, but I do my praying in Korean. It would he better if you came to the service time during the day.”

But the inmates were not persuaded. “°That’s OK,” they said. “We don’t need to hear what you are saying. We’d just like to come and be there with you.”

So beginning the next week, at five o’clock every Sunday, a number of inmates took turns participating in Kyeung Bae Shik with him. Copying his actions, they did full Korean bows beside him, then listened to his tearful prayers. To them, Kyeung Bae Shik with Reverend Moon was an honor. In this manner, the Danbury prison Unification Church was founded spontaneously,

There was another notable incident at the prison. A young Jewish man who had been imprisoned for a drug-smuggling offense hanged himself from a large pine tree in the yard behind the prison. Reverend Moon was quite upset about the incident. As Mr. Kamiyama told us later, Reverend Moon spoke to him about it. “If I had talked with that young man before he did this, I could have changed his mind… Ah, what a loss. I really wish I could have spoken to him before this happened.”

That is the parent’s heart. As the True Parent of humankind, how could he feel anything but pain over this tragic loss?

The Danbury Correctional Institute was divided into two different locations. One section housed those

convicted of relatively serious crimes, such as drug trafficking, fraud, or robbery. The regulations were very strict there. The second prison, situated atop a grassy hill, was a minimum-security facility. There were no bars or guards. This section contained those convicted of less serious crimes, where there was no real concern that they might attempt to escape. This second prison, which housed about two hundred inmates, was where Reverend Moon spent his incarceration. In back were a beautiful forest and mountains. Whenever he had the time, Reverend Moon would go outside and walk around the grounds. His favorite spot was sitting under one particular tall tree, with Mr. Kamiyama reading to him from the volumes of his published speeches. Hours would pass this way. Though he was listening to his own words, he still found a lot of inspiration from hearing them read.

One time, he turned to Mr. Kamiyama and said, “I’ve already said everything that I have to say to humanity. Everything that God wants to say through me has been said. The reason I keep going on is just that you [that is, everyone] haven’t gotten the message yet.”

Mr. Kamiyama later told us that when the sun went down and it became too dark for him to see the pages anymore, Reverend Moon would reluctantly call a halt to the reading and move inside.

Reverend Moon always lives his life surrounded by the words of Heaven. In fact, he himself is the substance of those words, the full manifestation. During his time in prison, all he thought about was what he was going to do to restore life to the world once he was out.

The Faithful Hak Ja Han Moon

As far as the Unification Church is concerned, the place where Reverend Moon resides is the global headquarters. So when Reverend Moon said that he was moving the world headquarters to Danbury, it was quite true; that is exactly what happened. From Danbury, he carried out all the important tasks of leading the international movement.

Apart from Tuesdays and Wednesdays, visiting was allowed every day from 8 A.M. until 3 P.M. The visiting room was nothing like what one sometimes sees in the movies, with iron bars and the visitors talking through tiny little holes under the stern gaze of fearsome-looking guards. At first glance, the Danbury visiting room seemed more like the lobby in a cheap, rundown hotel. Comfortable chairs were scattered around, and there were vending machines dispensing drinks, sandwiches, hamburgers, and the like. The only sign of it being a prison visiting room was one guard sitting at a desk.

During visitors’ hours, Reverend Moon’s family or church staff members would go up to the guard’s desk, show some identification, and give Reverend Moon’s name. An announcement would promptly be made: “Visitors for Reverend Moon.”

Whenever he came into the room, all those waiting there would show some expression of respect. Some would stop their conversations for a moment and look at him. Sometimes the guard would stand up and position himself as if he were assigned to protect Reverend Moon. The Unification Church leader would walk over to his family and hug his wife and children. Next, he would shake hands with the church staff and take a seat at the head of a table to get started on the day’s work.

During the time of his incarceration, one of his main sources of strength, comfort, and support was his wife, Hak Ja Han Moon. Throughout this period, she exhibited the qualities of a faithful wife. From the day her husband entered Danbury, she never missed a single day of visiting him.

She was particularly concerned about the protection around her husband and the kind of food he was getting. At her urging, Mr. Kamiyama would sleep while Reverend Moon was still awake, then get up at midnight and keep a vigil until dawn. After Mr. Kamiyama was released from prison on December 4, 1984, a number of the inmates who had become Reverend Moon’s disciples took over this duty in turns.

Since Mrs. Moon was not permitted to bring food for her husband, she settled for bringing a few vitamin pills every day, along with some traditional Korean tonics.

But her most important support for her husband during his stay in Danbury was the earnest way in which she expressed her complete devotion. When it was time for the morning visit, Reverend Moon would he standing outside waiting for her car to arrive, and when it was time for her to go home in the evenings, he would see her off and watch her car drive into the distance.

Every morning, after finishing his prayer at five o’clock, Reverend Moon would go to the public phones and call his wife. The relationship these two have is what one would expect to see between two young lovers, head over heels in love. This testifies to the fact that their relationship as a true husband and wife is not a fleeting thing.

During the long visiting times, Mrs. Moon never diverted her attention from her husband. Speaking in a

soft, gentle voice, she would go to pains to ensure that her husband was always comforted and supported. In this way, she defined the atmosphere in which innumerable items on the agenda were reported and then decided in our meetings.

I was fortunate enough to be able to report about the religious freedom rallies that were happening all around the world, and so, in a small way, bring some satisfaction to Father. But throughout his ordeal as well as after it was over, he never said anything critical about the U.S. government. He never grumbled about his situation, nor did he ever suggest that he felt any resentment due to his appointed lot. He never complained that the trial was unfair or commented about the way the government conspired to hurt and imprison him.

An Unexpected Birthday Celebration

One day, as I was leaving the prison after having said good-bye, Mother (Mrs. Moon) whispered to me, “Come by East Garden for a moment, will you?”

I had no idea what she wanted but thought it might be very important, so I hastily drove my car to the East Garden estate. When I stepped into the house, I got an enormous surprise. A splendid banquet had been prepared, and all of True Parents’ family was gathered.

A thought flashed into my mind, “Aha! That’s it. It’s one of the children’s birthdays. There’s the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner on the wall.”

Mother invited me to sit at the head of the table, a place of honor. Only Father and Mother Moon’s places were more honored. Everyone sat in their places, and Mother turned to the children and spoke. “Today is Mr. Pak’s birthday. Mr. Pak has been doing more than anyone since Father’s trial began, as well as since Father went to Danbury. So today I got this special dinner ready so that we can all show him our gratitude and give him our support. Of course, it’s a shame that Father can’t be here.”

I was so moved by this totally unforeseen situation that tears streamed down my checks. (“This is what true love is like. This is what Mother’s love is like. Here I am, a sinner who sent the Messiah to prison, and Mother has understood my heart. She prepared all this to comfort me. I am so lucky, so incredibly blessed.”)

I was so choked up with tears that I couldn’t even man-age to say, “Thank you, Mother.”

Mother stood up and offered a tearful prayer. One thing I regret is that because the situation was so impromptu, a recording was not made of her prayer. That birthday prayer was precious. It is one thing I will never forget in my entire life.

When it came time to cut the birthday cake, the children all sang “Happy Birthday, Colonel Pak” in strong, loud voices. After the cake, Mother presented both my wife and me with presents.

In my heart, I made a pledge. “Mother, forgive this unfaithful son. It is all my fault that Father is now in prison.

Thank you for giving so much love to this unfaithful son. I’m sorry I have only one life to give in Bo Hi Pak and author Kiyoshi Nasu visit Reverend Moon and attending you and Father. Even if I Takuru Kamiyama in the Federal Correctional Institution in gave every second of one hundred Danbury, Connecticut. lives, it would still be far too little.”

That day was August 18, 1984. I’d forgotten that it was my birthday. But I thought of True Father. In the midst of all his tribulations, when did he have the chance to think about his own situation, his own birthday?

A Japanese Journalist Visits Danbury Prison

In September 1984, a Japanese journalist came to Danbury prison to interview Reverend Moon. The prison authorities issued a special permission so that he could enter and see all the facilities. He could even take photographs freely.

There were no other visitors that day, and so we had the entire visitors room to ourselves: Reverend Moon, the journalist, Mr. Kamiyama, and myself.

The first thing the journalist asked was, “How hard has it been for you, Reverend?”

He replied. “I’m quite all right. I feel quite at ease. In fact, I thank the American government because, due to the people from the Justice Department, I can have such a peaceful, restful time here.”

I could see that the journalist was really surprised, which is quite understandable. The only reason Reverend Moon was here was that a conniving and unscrupulous Justice Department had put him here, and by means of a contrived prosecution at that. But he was grateful?

Again, the journalist asked Reverend Moon, “But isn’t it a bit unbearable? Don’t you feel degraded by the government setting a trap for you like this?”

Reverend Moon answered him clearly and unambiguously. “I am here because of the providence of God. I don’t have any enemies. I only feel thankful.”

I looked over at the journalist. His lower jaw hung open. Reverend Moon continued:

By my coming here to prison, the Unification Church and the traditional Christian churches have become one. From the historical perspective, this is a very meaningful event. Think about it. Christianity and Judaism have walked the path of hostility and persecution toward each other for the last two thousand years.

Even after two thousand years, the rift between them has not been resolved. But by my being imprisoned here, the Unification Church and the older churches have become one. That’s an amazing thing. Aren’t the ministers out there fighting and demonstrating on my behalf? There are thousands of them, maybe even tens of thousands. It is really a miracle, and it is what I have been hoping for all my life. The providence of God cannot be fulfilled without the older churches and the Unification Church becoming one in unity.

The Japanese journalist was deeply impressed and left rather speechless. He had come to Danbury prison with an image of a Reverend Moon who would lay bare his discontent and complaints against the injustice of his situation. Instead, the reality was totally unexpected.

That day, we were guided around the facilities. For me, it was the first time I had seen them. Starting from his bunk, we visited all over, including the kitchen and dining area where he worked during the day. Both were spotless. People later told us how they had begun to shine from the time that Reverend Moon entered the prison. They were much cleaner and well organized than even a staff cafeteria in a large corporation.

We were also guided around the grounds behind the prison. The view that unfolds is striking. I couldn’t help but be deeply moved as I observed this beautiful scenery, thinking, “Father is actually reviving his spirit here each day by looking out over this magnificent nature.”

True Father pointed out the place where he sat with Mr. Kamiyama and read his earlier speeches. He told us that he had read Loyalty and Filial Devotion Are the Source, a special Reverend Moon is warmly greeted by Kiyoshi Nasu, Washington correspondent for Japan’s Mainichi Shinbun newspaper. compilation of his sermons, about eight times at this spot.

To the journalist from Japan, Reverend Moon’s noble and elevated character was only too apparent in this kind of environment. In his admiration and wonder, he muttered to himself, “I saw a Messiah today, the Messiah sent by Heaven. I saw the Messiah.”

The journalist went back to Japan and, before his impression faded, wrote a book about Sun Myung Moon. So it was that Okjungei Kuseju, the book I introduced at the beginning of this chapter, was

published on January 1, 1985. The Japanese journalist is of course none other than Kiyoshi Nasu, the renowned commentator on diplomatic and international affairs. Born in 1916, Mr. Nasu has been Washington correspondent for Japan’s Mainichi Shinbun, as well as New York bureau chief and editorial adviser for that newspaper. His published works include Munojokaneun Hmikwankye (The collapse of Japan-U.S. relations) and Soryeon Bonkwe (The breakup of the Soviet Union).

Peace Loving Global Citizen on PRISON LIFE

P92 Each time I collapsed from the torture I would endure by telling myself, “I am being beaten for the sake of the Korean people. I am shedding tears as a way of shouldering the pain of our people.” When the torture was so severe that it took me to the verge of losing consciousness, I would invariably hear the voice of God. In the moments when my life seemed about to end, God would appear to me. My body still carries several scars that I received then. The flesh that was gouged from my body and the blood that was lost have been replaced, but the pain of that experience remains with me in these scars. I have often looked at these scars and told myself, “Because you carry these scars, you must succeed.”

I was scheduled to go to trial on April 3, the fortieth day of my imprisonment. This was delayed by four days, however, and my trial was held on April 7. Many of the most famous ministers in North Korea came to the courtroom and accused me of all manner of crimes. The Communist Party also scorned me, saying religion was the opiate of the people. Members of our congregation stood to one side and wept sorrowfully. They wept as though their child or husband had passed away. I did not shed tears, however. I had members who would weep for me with such sorrow that they were writhing in pain, so I did not feel lonely as I traveled Heaven’s path. I was not facing misfortune, so I felt I should not weep. As I left the courthouse after my sentencing I raised my shackled hands and shook them as a sign to our members.

The shackles made a clanging sound that sounded to me like bells. That day I was taken to the Pyongyang Prison. I did not fear life in prison. It was not as if this were the first time for me. Also, there was a hierarchy among the prisoners in each cell, and I was quite good at becoming friends with the head prisoner at the top of this hierarchy. All I had to do was exchange a few words and any head prisoner would quickly become my friend. When we have a heart of love we can open anyone’s heart.

After I had been in the cell, sitting in the farthest corner, for a few days, the head prisoner moved me to a higher position. I wanted to sit in a tiny corner next to the toilet, but he kept insisting that I move to a higher position in the cell. No matter how much I refused, he insisted.

After making friends with the head prisoner, I looked carefully at each person in the cell. A person’s face tells everything about him. “Oh, your face is this way, so you must be this way.” “Your face is such a way, so you must have such a trait.”

The prisoners were surprised to find how much I could tell them about themselves by reading their facial features. In their minds they didn’t like the fact that a person they were seeing for the first time was able to tell so much about them, but they had to acknowledge that I was describing them correctly.

I was able to open my heart and share with everyone, so in prison, too, I had friends. I became friends with a murderer. It was an unjust imprisonment for me, but it was a meaningful period of training. Any period of trial in this world has important meaning.

In prison even the lice are friends. It was extremely cold in the prison. Lice would crawl in single file along the seams of our prison clothes. When we took the lice and put them together, they would attach themselves to each other and become like a tiny round ball. We would roll these, similar to the way horse dung beetles roll balls of dung, and the lice would do everything they could to stay together. Lice have a character of digging in, and they would put their heads together so that only their back ends were sticking out. We had a lot of fun in the cell watching this.

No one likes lice or fleas. In prison, though, even lice and fleas become important partners for conversation. The moment you set your eyes on a bedbug or flea, some realization flashes in your mind, and it is important that you not let this pass without notice. We never know when, or through what means, God will speak to us. So we need to be mindful to examine carefully even things like bedbugs and fleas.

A Grain of Rice Is Greater Than the Earth

On May 20, three months after being placed in Pyongyang Prison, I was moved to Hungnam Prison. I felt indignation and also shamed before Heaven. I was tied to a thief so I could not escape. We were taken by vehicle on a route that took seventeen hours. As I looked out the window a powerful feeling of grief welled up inside me. It seemed incredible to me that I would have to travel this winding road along rivers and through valleys as a prisoner.

Hungnam Prison was a concentration camp for special laborers working in the Hungnam Nitrogen Fertilizer Factory. During the next two years and five months I underwent hard compulsory labor. Compulsory labor was a practice that North Korea learned from the Soviet Union. The Soviet government could not simply kill members of the bourgeoisie and other people who were not communists, because the world was watching and they needed to be mindful of world opinion. So it came up with the punishment of compulsory labor. People who were exploited in this way were forced to continue working until they died of exhaustion. North Korean communists copied the Soviet system and sentenced all prisoners to three years of compulsory labor. In reality, the prisoners would usually die from the labor before their terms were up.

THE PERSECUTION AND PROSECUTION OF REVEREND MOON BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT: THE TRUTH HIS UNJUST 1984 CONVICTION AND IMPRISONMENT FOR TAX EVASION.

In the media’s coverage of Reverend Moon, it is often mentioned that he was convicted of tax evasion and imprisoned in 1984. But little is written regarding the legal controversies surrounding his troubling case. Little is also written about broad cross-section of religious and civic organizations that spoke on Rev. Moon’s behalf regarding him as a victim of religious persecution plain and simple.

Reverend Moon’s court case is now cited in law courses as an example of the law gone wrong. Forty leading groups and individuals signed amicus curiae (friend of the court) briefs on behalf of Rev. Moon’s appeal to the US Supreme Court. The outcry in support of Rev. Moon by the religious community and civil liberty organizations has rarely been seen in US legal history.

Reverend Moon is no stranger to unjust treatment by state authorities- he has been jailed four other times by three different governments: once in Japan, twice in North Korea, and once in South Korea.

Those who know Rev. Moon see his ordeals as badges of honor conferred on a man of uncompromising faith. Other religious leaders imprisoned by secular authorities — to name just a few — are Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., St. Francis, Ignatius Loyola, George Fox and, of course, Jesus Christ.

Opinions on Reverend Moon’s felony conviction for “tax evasion” of $7300.00 by leaders who worked on his behalf:

Rev. Ralph Abernathy, President Emeritus of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference , in his review of the book The Odyssey of New Religious Movements:

“The abuse of the Unification Church and other new religions is painfully reminiscent of the black experience.”

Rev. Dean Kelly, head of the National Council of Churches at the time said:

“…the whole appalling story of how Sun Myung Moon and his accountant were framed by the government of the United States… should be read by every American who values religious liberty and wants this miscarriage of justice never to be repeated.”

Los Angeles Times editorial (3/2/84)

“The Supreme Court should reverse Moon’s conviction and reaffirm the principle that the First Amendment makes no distinction between popular and unpopular religions or orthodox and unorthodox faiths.”

Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee

I do feel strongly, after my subcommittee has carefully and objectively reviewed this case from both sides, that injustice rather than justice has been served. The Moon case sends a strong signal that if one’s views are unpopular enough, this country will find a way not to tolerate, but to convict.”

Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference

“…Reverend Moon was a victim of both religious and racial bigotry… May all of us in the community of conscience pray and work that such injustice may never, never happen again.”

Carlton Sherwood, Pulitzer Prize Winner and author of the book, Inquisition: The Persecution and Prosecution of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon

“Rev. Moon was tried and convicted for operating his church in much the same manner as mainstream U.S. religions do… The hypocrisy of selective investigation and prosecution in the Moon case is as astonishing as it is obvious.”

James J. Kilpatrick, Syndicated Columnist

“Viewed as a matter of criminal law, the record does not establish Moon’s guilt… Moon was denied a fair trial. It is not necessary to like this Korean guru to say, as I must, that he got a bum rap. It is small wonder that other churches are alarmed.”

MORE ABOUT THIS UNITED STATES MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE AND THE INNOCENCE OF REVEREND MOON:

Troubling Issues in the Tax Case of Reverend Moon

Most are unaware that:

The actual tax liability in question was $7,300. over a three-year period, which is below the Justice Department’s minimum standards for criminal prosecution.

Justice Department internal memos indicate that virtually all senior attorneys familiar with the case, including the chief of criminal tax prosecution, opposed prosecution of Reverend Moon, believing there was no case against him. **

Reverend Moon’s church maintained from beginning to end that the assets in question were church- owned, held in Rev. Moon’s name in trust for the church. This practice is common to many Catholic dioceses, and a host of large and small churches in America. Rev. Moon had faithfully paid tax on all assets he considered personal. Yet the government claimed that all the funds should be considered personal, and insisted on criminal rather than civil prosecution.

Virtually every federal law enforcement agency in the country spent a combined ten years and untold millions investigating Rev. Moon and found no wrongdoing. Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Carlton Sherwood called this final case “”the most intensive and expensive criminal tax investigation of any religious figure in U.S. history.” IRS accountants set up offices in his church’s headquarters for two years, poring over church financial records. The account upon which they based their case had been closed years earlier, in 1975, as professional tax accountants worked to organize the young church’s finances.

Rev. Moon waived his right to a jury trial, preferring a panel of judges familiar with tax law, rather than a citizen panel with potential bias against a controversial religious leader. The government refused his request, and trial Judge Gerard Goettel imposed a jury trial upon Rev. Moon. The judge later acknowledged that a non-jury trial would have been fairer, and made a surprising and widely publicized observation: “In attempting to get an unbiased jury,” he stated, “the leaning has been heavily towards people who don’t read much, don’t talk much, and don’t know much because they are obviously the persons who start off with the least bias. Conversely, they might tend to be the less educated and less intelligent people.”*

James J. Kilpatrick, Syndicated Columnist

“Viewed as a matter of criminal law, the record does not establish Moon’s guilt… Moon was denied a fair trial. It is not necessary to like this Korean guru to say, as I must, that he got a bum rap. It is small wonder that other churches are alarmed.”

Realizing that most any church could be prosecuted in the same way, more than 40 religious groups representing 160 million Americans filed “friend of the court” briefs urging the Supreme Court to overturn Rev. Moon’s conviction.

These included The National Council of Churches, the Presbyterian Church, the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, the American Baptist Churches, the National Association of Evangelicals and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Thousands of clergy across America joined the “Common Suffering Fellowship”, demanding to go to jail on Rev. Moon’s behalf. Many of these were veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, such as Rev. Ralph Abernathy, Dr. Wyatt Tee Walker, Rev. James Bevel, Dr. Milton Reid, Rev. Walter Fauntroy, and others who walked with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The response of the African American community was so strong and immediate, veteran columnist William Raspberry asked, “Why are these people, whose judicial concerns tend towards the legal rights of poor blacks, moved to support a controversial Korean nearly all of whose American followers are white?” The Southern Christian Leadership Conference,

National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, African Methodist Episcopal Church, and the National Conference of Black Mayors also filed briefs with the Supreme Court on Rev. Moon’s behalf.

Unanswered Questions

1. According to a Justice Department review, the same tax theory applied to convict Rev. Moon would have made him eligible for a $700,000 charitable deduction. One reviewing attorney observed it was “inconsistent to try an evasion charge in the face of a $700,000 deduction.” **

2. Why would Rev. Moon, who has invested vast amounts into numerous enterprises in the United States, seek to purposely defraud the US Government of $7,300? And if he were hiding the assets, why would he place them in an account in his own name, declaring and paying taxes on any income he considered personal?

3. Well-known Americans are routinely forgiven by the IRS for “oversights” as large as $50,000, $100,000 or more, and through civil prosecution merely asked to repay the amount owed, or given a monetary fine. Why was Rev. Moon prosecuted criminally and put in jail for $7,300?

From Jesus to Gandhi to Martin Luther King, Jr., the use of judicial authority to oppose unpopular and revolutionary leaders is common. When speeding tickets and loitering charges failed to stop Dr. King, officials re-audited previous tax returns and charged him with tax fraud in Alabama. In Rev. Moon’s case, media professionals who value truth and fairness should take care not to base new stories upon old prejudices and misinformation.

* ”INQUISITION: The Persecution & Prosecution of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon” Carlton Sherwood, 1991

** Justice Department documents available through Freedom of Information Act

Truth is my Sword

After Reverend Moon’s rally at the Washington Monument in 1976, Congressman Donald Fraser, who was chairman of the House Subcommittee on International Organizations, formally decided to launch an investigation into allegations that the government of South Korea had conducted illegal operations against the government of the United States. He began recruiting investigators and put together a team.

Since 1973 the Subcommittee on International Organizations under your leadership has conducted hearings on the human rights violations in at least twenty-four countries, yet twenty of them are anti- communist allies and only four of them communist. No one has more contempt for human rights than communists. How could it be that you have spent more time looking into human rights violations of non- communist countries than communist ones?

For more than two years the Subcommittee on International Organizations has been ostensibly pursuing a probe of the KCIA. However, in those two years this Committee has given the impression to the world through the press that the United States Congress is investigating the Unification Church of Reverend Sun Myung Moon. The Washington Post stated this clearly in an article on March 19, 1977, that the Fraser Subcommittee “plans to examine further ties between the South Korean government and the Unification Church of the evangelist Sun Myung Moon”

This subcommittee has allowed unsubstantiated allegations and so-called evidence to receive wide press coverage, while the sworn testimony indicating the innocence of Reverend Moon and the Unification Church has been totally ignored.

Chicago Tribune, March 27, 1978.

I was momentarily consumed with anger.

I must give you hell, Mr. Chairman. Let me quote a couple of paragraphs from the Chicago Tribune. March 27, 1978: “Moon Church Traced From Sex Cult: Once-secret government files released by a House subcommittee traced the so-called ‘Moonie’ church from its origins as a small-time Korean sex cult to a worldwide organization operated by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.”

I quote further: “Diplomatic cables said that the church patriarch, the Rev. Sun Myung Moon. headed a

Korean cult that ‘interprets the Bible in sexual terms…’”

Still more: “The author of the cable quoted Thomas Chung, president of the Korean Students’ Association in Washington, as saying: ‘Colonel Pak was in trouble because he had attempted to initiate into his church (i.e., to have sexual relations with) the wife of a visiting ROK (Korean government) official (either the minister of national defense or the chief of staff). According to Chung, the matter had been hushed up but only with difficulty, and Pak had nearly lost his job because of it.”…