Q&A on Shincheonji Church of Jesus
Regarding the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) II
1) Shincheonji Church of
Jesus had said the total number of their congregation is approximately 240,000.
The KCDC says they received a list of 212,000 people. Why is there a
difference?
The 240,000 is a number counting in the congregation members of churches
abroad. Shincehonji Church of Jesus had provided a list of the entire domestic
congregation counting 212,324 and followed up on the evening of 26 February by
submitting an additional list of 33,281 members overseas.
2) Shincheonji Church of
Jesus deliberately excluded their student information from the list sent to the
KCDC?
The KCDC requested the list of students on 27 February,
and the church immediately provided the list the same day. Provided that
students are not officially recognized church members, Shincheonji Church of
Jesus cannot provide personal information on its terms. Therefore, the list was
provided on the condition that the public health authority would take full
legal responsibility in case of any breach.
3) A group, titled the
National Association of Victims of Shincheonji Church, filed a suit against the
leader of Shincheonji Church charging violation of the Infectious Disease
Control and Prevention Act by refusing to submit material, submitting false
information or concealing it. Didn't the church hide its records?
Shincheonji Church of Jesus has certainly provided all materials to the
KCDC. Regarding the charges brought against Shincheonji Church of Jesus, a
member of a group that has been slandering the church brought charges for
violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act by either refusing
to submit information, or submitting wrong information, or concealing them. The
allegations are groundless since Shincheonji Church of Jesus is actively
cooperating with the public health authorities by providing information. In
addition to that, there were charges on embezzlement and misappropriation of
funds. Earlier, in 2019, an organization and its members, who have falsely
accused Shincheonji Church of Jesus, filed charges with the same accusations.
After investigation, Gwacheon Police Station concluded the accusation was not
grounded, and the case is currently pending at the Anyang City Prosecutor's
Office. Those charges are redundant.
□
On Cheongdo Daenam Hospital
Among
visitors at the funeral held at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital, no church members
were visiting from China, and a survey on the entire congregation showed that
no church member works at Cheongdo Daenam Hospital. Also, the patient referred
to as confirmed case no. 31, or the Shincheonji Volunteer Group has never
visited Cheongdo Daenam Hospital.
□
On Wuhan Church in China
It
was 2010 when a member of the church, a Chinese national who had studied the
Bible in Germany, started the work of mission in Wuhan, China.
In
China, the new Religious Affairs Regulations went into effect in early 2018,
applying stringent rules to regulate religious practices. As a result of such
regulations, all Shincheonji churches in China were closed in 2018. Equally,
Wuhan Church closed down all church spaces on 15 June 2018 and has since taken
all meetings and services online and operates them autonomously.
Shincheonji
Church of Jesus acknowledges a group as a 'church' when the number congregation
exceeds 120. Church members in Wuhan reached 120 in 2018, and the church
recognized the area as Wuhan Church on 1 January 2019, however, without any
physical church building. Church records show that there are 357 members in
Wuhan. Wuhan Church is a branch of the Tribe of James in Busan and is not
related to Daegu Church, which is under the Tribe of Thaddaeus, and according
to records, none have been to service there during January and February.
□ On
False Notices
Notices
coming from the headquarters office of Shincheonji Church of Jesus are drafted
and published in the form of a formal letter. The church clearly states that
any other format of notification is not an official notice coming from
Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Any circulation or syndicating of falsified messages
posing as a formal note from the church in chatrooms or on social media will
lead to legal charges.
1) Shincheonji Church of Jesus encourages its members to
hide that they attended service at a Shincheonji church and to continue
activities for evangelism?
Not true. On the morning of 18 February, the church was made aware of the
31st confirmed case of COVID-19, which was found to be a member of a
Shincheonji church in Daegu. The Headquarters of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
immediately sent an announcement to all branch churches in Korea prohibiting
any gathering, service, and ordered to close church spaces and all services to
be made online.
As soon as the church was made aware of the confirmed case at 9 a.m. the
same day, the Shincheonji Church in Daegu also closed the church and mission
centers and forbade any meetings, activities for evangelism, or any personal
contact among church members. Immediately after that, the church started an
epidemiological survey with the guidance of the KCDC and Daegu city government.
Meanwhile, all members of Daegu Shincheonji Church went in self-quarantine, and
those who presented symptoms tested for infection.
The church headquarters office sent text messages to all members of
Shincheonji Church to notify them of the situation. It provided strict
guidelines to self-quarantine for those who have visited Daegu church, also
guiding the entire congregation of all Shincheonji churches to try to remain at
home and contact local public health offices in case of fever.
The so-called “Deceptive Response Manual,” rumored to be a part of a
“Notice from the Ministry of Liaison of Daegu Church,” is nothing like the
actual guidelines provided by either Daegu Church or the headquarters of
Shincheonji Church of Jesus. Shincheonji Daegu Church shared the instruction
messages with the KCDC when the officials arrived at the church at 9 am, and
the church is in close cooperation with the KCDC.
The message in question was a text composed by an individual member of the
Daegu Church and sent to fellow members. The church looked into the matter,
immediately made corrections to the texted contents, and brought disciplinary
measures to the person responsible.
Additionally, on 19 February, the headquarters sent a formal notice to all
Shincheonji churches in Korea to prevent similar events from happening. The
notice instructs all members to follow the headquarters' guidelines, not to
take actions arbitrarily, and to cooperate with and accommodate the requests of
the public health department.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus has publicly announced multiple times that it
will actively follow government policies on this matter, and it is currently
bringing its full capacity to work closely with public health officials. We pray
for the swift recovery of church members and all patients struck by COVID-19.
Shincheonji Church of Jesus will put forth its utmost efforts to help resolve
the current national health threat.
2) Shincheonji church gave
out secret orders to its members not to come to service but, instead, go to
other churches so they could spread the virus and make the epidemic everybody's
problem?
It
is entirely false. The headquarters office has closed down all Shincheonji churches
from 18 February and guided members to have service online from home. The
church also currently prohibits all types of meetings, activities, and
encounters among or within the congregation. All members of the church conform
to instructions from health officials. In response to such fake news spreading
on social media, Shincheonji Church of Jesus will seek strict legal measures on
the grounds of publicly alleging false facts.
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