THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: More than 30,000 tearful mourners attend the elaborate, flower-strewn funeral in South Korea of controversial Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon.
Moon died of complications from pneumonia on September 3 aged 92.
His church, whose members were mocked as "Moonies" by the media, was renowned for its mass weddings of thousands - sometimes tens of thousands - of couples and for its multi-billion-dollar business interests.
In a ceremony that bore the trappings of a state funeral, Moon's carved, red-lacquer coffin was carried by men in military-style uniforms into a stadium at the church headquarters in Gapyeong, 35 miles east of Seoul.
The vast, covered arena, dominated by an altar where a giant portrait of Moon stood on a landscaped bank of floral tributes, was packed to capacity with church members - thousands of whom had flown in from overseas.
Many sobbed quietly as the honour guard, accompanied by members of Moon's immediate family, moved through the stadium and placed the coffin at the foot of the portrait. » | Saturday, September 15, 2012
NAHARNET: Thousands Mourn 'Messiah' at Elaborate Moon Funeral: More than 30,000 tearful mourners attended the elaborate, flower-strewn funeral in South Korea Saturday of their "messiah" and controversial Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon. » | Naharnet Newsdesk | Saturday, September 15, 2012
