A ‘Resurrective’ Moment: Remembering True Father’s Danbury Release
“If I am to get people who are in the valley of tears to repent, then I must first shed tears,” wrote True Father in his bestselling autobiography, As a Peace-Loving Global Citizen (2009). “Unless I first experience such a wretched heart, I cannot get others to submit themselves to God. Heaven really works in mysterious ways. After I was imprisoned, 7,000 ministers and other religious leaders accused the U.S. government of violating religious freedom and began an effort to save me.”
Thirteen months after wrongful imprisonment for tax evasion, on August 20, 1985 True Father was released from a Danbury Prison. On this 37th anniversary, we remember and celebrate True Father’s release, a resurrective and defining moment of the Unification movement.
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An exemplary inmate, True Father’s sentence was reduced by six months for good behavior, and he spent the last 43 days of his sentence at a halfway house in Brooklyn. On the evening of his release, 1,600 clergy and prominent figures gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, DC, to welcome True Father back at a “God and Freedom” Banquet. Twenty prominent clergy, including Rev. Jerry Falwell, head of the Moral Majority, and Rev. Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) — leaders typically at opposite ends of the religious-political spectrum — held a joint news conference earlier that day to decry government encroachment upon religion and called upon President Ronald Reagan to pardon True Father.
In his banquet speech, True Father expressed his deep appreciation to supporters, as well as his resolute determination to relieve God’s suffering. He called upon all leaders to transcend denominationalism and sincerely consider the mission of Christianity to lead a global cultural revolution. Below is an excerpt from True Father’s Aug. 20 speech as we honor this historical victory and his enduring legacy of love.
I have suffered imprisonment six times in my life. As in the past, I had moving experiences with God during this time in prison. I was not there because of my personal actions or mistakes, yet I did not brood with resentment or hatred for those who persecuted me, nor did I spend my time in prison pleading my innocence. Rather, I dedicated my time in prison to prayer and meditation to understand what America needs to do to fulfill God's Will for the world.
The determination which underlies my whole ministry and life is to relieve the great and long suffering of God. Since the world is ignorant of God's heart of suffering, my work and the work of the Unification movement have long been misunderstood and persecuted. However, I understand the urgency of my mission before God... Throughout my life I have communicated deeply with God, and through numerous spiritual experiences I have come to know His heart and His love. I have always testified to this...
America is a nation founded on the spirit and love of God... Unfortunately this country continues to ignore the monumental Will of God. America is withdrawing more and more from its global responsibilities, preferring to enjoy false comfort as if this nation were a world unto itself. This attitude, of course, merely multiplies America's problems, both within and outside its borders... Christianity must repent with great anguish, and must unite. We clergy must re-examine ourselves and also repent. We are reliving the time when Jesus came to earth and called the world to repentance. That call is being repeated now. We must fulfill the world mission which God has bestowed upon us. Without question, America must change. A new religious reformation must take place. Christianity must transcend denominationalism and ascend to a higher dimension.
You can learn more about True Father’s extraordinary life in his autobiography available here.