The Words of the Famularo Family
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The Words of the Famularo Family |
Black Heung Jin Nim's [Cleophas / Cleopas Kundioni] fall from favor was discussed in hush tones at the time (summer 1988), but it was very obvious to me during my month long stay in Seoul for the 1988 Olympics that something was up.
Like most UC members I first heard of Clophas in Sept/Oct. 1987. Canadian members were to attend a meeting in New York that was cancelled. For some strange reason, Canada became part of Europe in March 88 and 3 couples from Canada were asked to attend a 7 day workshop in Germany.
The workshop, which I attended with my spouse, was not a confession but a time to hear Clophas' lectures and study Divine Principle and Father's words. We also spent 1 whole day swimming and visiting the Frankfurt Zoo.
In early May 88 European national leaders and business members (including Canada) were invited to attend a Business conference in Austria. Each country gave presentations about their business activities. I found it to be a rather enlightening session since it provided a forum to actually exchange business ideas. Such meetings, had they continued, might have led to something constructive.
Shortly after the Austrian conference Clophas spent some time in Continental Europe and then returned to Britain. He went fishing on the North Sea for 3 weeks. (A friend of mine was on the boat with him). It was during this time that I believe Won Pil Kim, who traveled everywhere with Clophas during his time in Europe, reported to True Father that Clophas' teaching were off track. (This was around June 88 and at the latest July)
I heard there was some resistance on his part, however, he did return to Africa. (There was even some talk about him emigrating to Canada at the time. More on this later.)
By September 88 (at the time of the Olympics in Seoul), word was definitely out that Clophas was causing trouble for the regional directors (at that time all westerners) of the southern half of Africa. I recall some reported to Chung Hwan Kwak about their concerns.
It is not unusual for leaders in our movement to try to save face in a difficult situation and the Clophas incident was no exception.
By 1989, I'm quite sure that some members in Europe were being told quite directly that they should disregard the Clophas teachings.
I think various explanations were given in different parts of the world and not unlike other situations the explanations differed according to the circumstances. The explanation you provide below was only one of the versions that circulated. HJN had left his body. He had succeeded and no longer needed to remain in Clophas' body etc...
In some countries the teachings of HJN lingered for a lot longer than in others.