The Rev. Sun Myung Moon—the leader of the Unification Church, which has a local branch in San Diego County—died Sunday in South Korea.
Moon was 92 and reportedly died from complications related to pneumonia, according to the church.
Moon founded the religious movement—which claims to have about five to seven million members worldwide—in 1954. The Unification Church of San Diego, located at 9754 Grosalia Avenue in Mount Helix, reportedly has about 100 members and is led by Pastor Walter Frank.
Although the local members are mourning, Frank told Patch that they will remember Moon for his accomplishments and that the church will continue to serve the local communities.
"He did so many things for us, our churches, our lives and our families. He filled our lives with so much hope," Frank said. "We will absolutely miss him. I doubt we'll ever meet somebody like him again on this earth but we had that opportunity and we're grateful for it."
Frank said it's believed that Moon's lungs were damaged when he lived in a North Korea Communist camp as a young man.
Members of the Unification Church believe Moon, at the age of 16, was selected by Jesus Christ to finish his work. The church grew rapidly after being formed in 1954 and later turned into a multibillion-dollar business empire—owning various companies including the The Washington Times.
“Words cannot convey my heart at this time. Rev. Sun Myung Moon has long loved America, and he believed in the need for a powerful free press to convey accurate information and moral values to people in a free world. The Washington Times stands as a tangible expression of those two loves,” stated president of the newspaper Thomas P. McDevitt in an article on the Times' website.
Moon is also known for his relationships with various leaders including former North Korea leaders Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.
Moon is survived by his wife Hakja Han Moon and 10 children.
For more on Rev. Sun Myung Moon, read HuffingtonPost.com's coverage.
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2012/04/matt-drudge-rescue-mission-to-moons.html The Political Extremists view is that "Politics IS Religion," therefore we can NEVER compromise, because we would, by definition, be compromising with Satan, or the Anti-christ. The Religious Extremists, like Rev. Moon believe "Religion IS Politics," that his particular "Christian" beliefs must become the law of the land because they are "TRUE." There can be no compromise, because ALL other or non-religious positions, are by definition, "false." Bloggers and commenters on Patch whose religion IS their politics and whose politic IS religion, for whom compromise is SIN, consider the possibility, while obviously well-intended, such absolutism is not healthy for the nation. I've often pointed to Jefferson's Bill For Establishing Religious Freedom, 1799. I quit my work in 2011 to run against Congressman Hunter because he is one of the hijackers of the GOP, who deny REAL Republicans any voice in the GOP. REAL Republicans, Independents, Libertarians, Reagan-Dems - You have a very real choice on November 6th. Continue down this road with NO voice in Washington, or end gridlock and start moving. Visit DavidSecorforCongress.com.
You need to stop yapping and actually run for Congress before anyone can vote for you however. BTW. I served with the 1st Air Cavalry Division in I Corps and III Corps in Vietnam 1968-69. Left here E-2, returned E-5 platoon leader. I don't need to highlight or pimp my service to try to get extra undeserved attention. If you agree that religion is politics and politics is religion, we totally disagree. You could run against me, I suppose. Write-in your name on the ballot. Ask those who agree with that notion to write you in, too. I'd like to know what kind of vote count you could rack up. Moon and his newspaper, "The Washington Times," were, and are, great supporters of using "Christian" religion to dominate our politics. Moon believed it was the best way to destroy real democracy, with rights for ALL, and move toward a theocracy. He was right about that. That's why he was wrong for America.
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