Reverend Moon dies at age 92

September 3, 2012
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The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, the self-proclaimed messiah of the Unification Church, died on Monday at age 92 of pneumonia.

According to the spokesman Ahn Ho-Yeul of the Unification Church, “His death came two weeks after being hospitalized with pneumonia. The wife and children were at his side. “

Moon preached the new interpretations of the teachings of the Bible and made headlines in 1970 and 1980 for the mass wedding of thousands of followers.

The ceremonies often include partners from different countries, which Moon fit in an attempt to build a multicultural religious world.

He was accused of using deceptive recruiting tactics and misleading supporters with money, while parents of followers in the U.S. expressed concern for brainwash to recruit their children.

The church responded by saying that many other religious movements faced similar accusations in the early stages.

In later years, the church adopted a lower profile and focused on building a business empire that includes the Washington Times, the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan, Bridgeport University in Connecticut, as well as a hotel and a car manufacturer in North Korea.

The Unification Church claims millions of members worldwide, although defectors from churches and other critics say the figure is more than 100,000.