Moonie parents?

MSNBC/February 15, 1999
By Jeanette Walls

Is an apparently apolitical holiday like Parents Day really a celebration of the Unification Church? Some critics of the church are saying so.

In 1994, President Bill Clinton and Congress declared that the fourth Sunday in July would be National Parents Day, and some critics of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon are saying there are numerous links between Moon and the holiday.

For example, Arizona State Rep. Mark Anderson, a longtime follower of Moon, has been a Parents Day coordinator since the holiday's July 1995 debut in Arizona. Anderson has denied that there's any connection.

Recognition of the holiday gained momentum in the Chicago area because of lobbying efforts by several employees of the Unification Church. "Other apparent links between the Unification Church and National Parents Day abound," according to an August Mesa (Arizona) Tribune article posted on the site of cult foe Rick Ross, a consultant and lecturer. "Past articles in the church's Unification News, available on the Internet through various Moon-related Web sites, are rich with references to National Parents Day and 'True Parents,' with some even citing the 'True Parents' as the holiday's founders."

According to church teachings, the first true parents were Adam and Eve, the next true parent was Jesus Christ and the third true parents are Moon and his wife. However, a Moon supporter says, "The only link between Parents Day and the Unification Church is that they both support family values. ... This is a form of religious persecution."

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