□ Regarding
the founding anniversary of Shincheonji Church of Jesus
This year, Shincheonji Church of Jesus will not hold an event for its founding anniversary.
In addition, all worship services are being held online, and gatherings and meetings are suspended entirely until the new coronavirus epidemic is over. We also notified our congregation that those who have not been tested for the virus will not be allowed to attend service even after the epidemic subsides. If a church is compared to parents, its congregants would be like children. For the church, nothing is more important than the health and safety of its members. In situations where many congregants are suffering from the virus and feeling anxious, we make it clear that the church has no reason at all to resume services and gatherings. (Since 18 February, when the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in the Daegu Church, all services and gatherings have been suspended entirely.)
Before congregants in Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do region were released from self-quarantine on 11 March, the Thaddeus Tribe of Shincheonji announced the following: △all meetings and gatherings are banned even after self-quarantine is lifted, △mass facilities should not be used, and △residents in specially controlled areas should fully cooperate with the Daegu city, Nam-gu Office, and the police.
Also, the announcement stated that personal contact with congregants who are waiting at home for in-patient admission is strictly forbidden, these congregants should isolate themselves completely, and entry to closed-down churches and related facilities is prohibited. The church made clear that it will take disciplinary measures against members acting contrary to the instructions.
To relieve local residents’ anxiety over those released from self-quarantine, we will not only ban all meetings and but also practice hygiene and social distancing. This is to protect the communities as well as our congregants. We reiterate our intention to cooperate with the public health authorities until the COVID-19 pandemic comes to an end.
□ About
the claim that footage of the 31st patient attending service at the Daegu
Church has been deleted
On 18
February, the Daegu city took a copy of surveillance footage from inside the
Daegu Church of Shincheonji on a USB drive. At the site, officials from the
Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Daegu City, and Nam-gu Public
Health Center confirmed the footage of the 31st patient wearing a mask and
using hand sanitizer in the lobby on the first floor. The copy includes the
footage of two elevators on the first floor, the lobby of an educational hall
on the fourth floor, and inside the church building taken from 7 to 10 A.M. on
9 February and from 7 to 10 A.M. on 16 February. Consequently, the allegation
that the surveillance footage of the 31st patient was found missing or
intentionally deleted during the administrative investigation on 13 March is
not true.
The South Korean government is facing immense pressure to implicate Shincheonji in this coronavirus crisis. Various religious freedom groups such as CESNUR and USCIRF have already spoken out in concern for the treatment of Shincheonji believers. Those who are interested in preserving freedom of religion must also speak out against the discrimination, violence, and scapegoating being faced by this group of people because of their religious practices.
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https://www.npr.org/2020/03/02/811133716/megachurch-in-south-korea-accused-of-spreading-coronavirus?
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