Group Affairs

Rev. Moon Marries 40,000

He's back. And he's still marrying couples en masse.

If one wedding can cause family hysteria, imagine 20,000. Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the controversial 89-year-old founder of the Unification Church, married some 40,000 people participating in dozens of cities around the world on Wednesday. More than 20,000 people showed up to be wed and to renew their vows at the Sun Moon University south of Seoul on Wednesday, with another 20,000 people joining via simultaneous ceremonies in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, and elsewhere. Moon, a self-proclaimed Messiah who claims that Jesus asked him to finish his work, held the ceremony to mark his 90th birthday and 50th wedding anniversary. Critics say the mass weddings are cultlike in practice.