Austrian Unification Church Distances Itself From Weapons Celebration in Pennsylvania by Separate Group

The Austrian branch of the Unification Church has publicly distanced itself from a “weapon celebration” held on February 28, 2018, in Pennsylvania, USA, where believers blessed weapons. Photographs of the event circulated internationally, according to the report, which said the Austrian church was responding to them.

In a message issued on a Friday, the Unification Church in Austria stated that, in the theology of Rev. Moon, a life lived for the benefit of fellow human beings is the most important goal. “Therefore, we reject the Sanctuary Church’s event on February 28, 2018,” the church said.

The group that held the event calls itself “The World Peace and Unity Sanctuary of Newfoundland, Pennsylvania,” or “Sanctuary Church” for short. The Austrian church said it has no connection to this group. According to the report, the Sanctuary Church opposes the official leadership of the Unification Church, has developed its own fundamentalist theology, and maintains intensive contacts with representatives of the American arms lobby. The church said the event had nothing in common with the teachings and objectives of the Unification Church. It noted that the Unification Church has been led since September 2012 by the widow of its founder, Sun Myung Moon, and that the Sanctuary Church has not shared those teachings and objectives.

The Unification Church in Austria has been registered as a confessional community with the Cultural Office since June 2015. Johann Brunnbauer, the church’s press coordinator and vice president, said, “Our teaching and our activities are completely in the sign of reconciliation and unification.” He said Mrs. Moon, like her husband, travels widely as a peacemaker. Its commitment to choosing peace over violence reflects the peacemaking teaching of Matthew 5:9.

Brunnbauer described the members’ aims as striving for a peaceful world by denying violence and promoting family values, interreligious dialogue and intercultural cooperation.

Source: Read the original report (translated from German)