Chosen By God
This week in history: July 6-12
- True Father declared his messiahship publicly for the first time.
- Kyung Yu Moon, True Father’s father, was born.
- Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo returns to his wife, Maria Sung.
July 6, 1992
True Father Publicly Declares His Messiahship
True Father publicly declared his messiahship for the first time in a speech delivered to Women’s Federation for World Peace (WFWP) and Korean civic leaders in Chungju, Korea. This was the first of four major gatherings that took place from July 6 to 9, 1992, in Korea’s Seoul region, the southeast region, the southwest region and the mid-Korea region. In his speech, “The Reappearance of True Parents and the Ideal Family,” True Father stated:
“God chose me to be the Messiah. … I have fulfilled my mission as the Lord of the Second Advent, Savior and the True Parent. I am proclaiming this in this place because the time has come to do so. Those who accept this will be blessed. If this race listens to me, how good that will be for the country. How good it would be, if the statesmen listen to me.”
True Father declared his messiahship on the worldwide level at the first World Culture and Sports Festival (WCSF) held in Seoul from August 19 to 30, 1992.
July 11, 1893
True Father’s Father Is Born
According to the inscription on his tombstone, Kyung Yu Moon, True Father’s father, was born on July 11, 1893. True Father notes in his autobiography that he could sing from memory the Christian hymnal which consisted of more than 450 pages, that he was not good at collecting debts but honored his pledge to repay debts, “even if it meant selling the family cow,” and that he was large in stature and strong. True Father stated, “The fact that at age 90 I’m still able to travel around the world and carry on my work is a result of the physical strength I inherited from my father.”
July 12, 2006
Archbishop Milingo Returns
True Parents blessed Roman Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo of Zambia to Maria Sung of South Korea in a Holy Blessing of Religious Leaders on May 27, 2001. In August 2001, Milingo announced that he would leave his wife, whom he now loved “as a sister,” and asked her to respect his wishes. He then departed on a thirteen-month penitential retreat in Argentina and receded from public view over the next four years, until resurfacing dramatically at a press conference in Washington, D.C., on July 12, 2006. Milingo said he had lived through five years of “doubts and difficulties” and said, “The shadow of Maria Sung always hung over me.” He stated that he was reuniting with his wife and embarking on an “independent charismatic ministry” to reconcile married priests with the Catholic faith.
This Week in History briefly lists significant events in the history of the Unification Church, the lives of the Founders, and world events that are momentous to Unificationists. Most items are marked according to the solar calendar. Items marked “H.C.” correspond to the Cheon-gi or Heavenly Calendar, which is based on the lunar calendar. This installment covers the week of July 6 to 12.