EscucharSAN JOSE - San José Archbishop and leading Catholic authority in Costa Rica Monsignor Román Arrieta yesterday questioned the presence of Asian women who recruit citizens for the Unification Church, as he requested that civil authorities take proper measures to repair this situation.
``The parks have been taken over by a few fanatics who speak nonsense,'' the Archbishop said. ``People cannot remain calm when assaulted by foolish new ideas. Authorities must do something about it.''
He made specific mention of young Korean and Japanese missionaries who accost people on the streets and invite them to fill out forms to obtain a ``blessing,'' and to partake next November 29 in a ``collective wedding'' to be officiated by Unification Church leader Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
According to the Costa Rican prelate, this recruitment is also going on in several Latin American countries, including other Central American nations.
When asked for comments in response to Monsignor Arrieta, San José Governor Jorge Luis Vargas proclaimed support for the prelate.
``Any call from the Archbishop must be heeded by the citizens and authorities alike,'' Arrieta told La Nación. ``What I will do (today) is make an inspection to learn about the situation first-hand and if we must take measures, we will do so according to current legislation.''
The polemic sect, whose members are known as ``Moonies,'' has followers throughout the world. In Costa Rica, the Unification Movement operates under two names: Association of Families for World Peace and Federation of Families for World Peace.
La Nación made efforts to learn the position of the Unification Church, but its officials refused to answer.
``Print anything you like on the paper,'' said Francisco Moreno, an angered sect follower. ``I am going to profit nothing by saying how things actually are. At the end, you print whatever pleases you.''
The Unification Church has been in Costa Rica since 1975, when the first missionaries from Japan, the United States and Germany arrived, according to data from the Center for Evangelization and Social Reality.
Currently, the Moonies have five centers which are located in Guadalupe de Goicoechea, San Francisco de Dos Ríos, Getsemaní de Heredia, Orosí de Cartago, and San Ramón de Tres Ríos.
However, the growing and unexpected presence of young Asian women who recruit citizens on the streets of the capital city worries both the Catholic Church and civil authorities.
A similar issue has been raised in nations such as Honduras and Venezuela, where Catholic authorities have defined the presence of the sect as ``dangerous,'' according to wire reports from those countries.
``I am going to ask priests in churches throughout the country to warn their parishioners,'' Archbishop Arrieta asserted. ``These sort of actions (the Moonies') must be rejected.''
