STATEMENT – The church announced its official position that Le Parisien distorted facts about Shincheonji France in an article published last week, only quoting speculative statements from someone who left the church. On the other hand the church’s statement made up only two lines of the report, barely reflecting the actual state of the faith community.
The article was titled “They Treated Us Like Animals” and defined Shincheonji Church of Jesus as one of the “problematic evangelical groups” in France based on the personal testimony of an anonymous former member.
Shincheonji France says, “the reputation of the church and its members has been seriously damaged”, with the article mentioning training camps, severing relationships, and demands for money.
But a church official criticized, “We faithfully submitted thousands of characters of written responses to the 12 questions the reporter had sent us in advance, but only two sentences were reflected in the main text of the article,” and “This is less than 1% of the total responses, which seriously limited the opportunity to convey a balanced perspective to readers.”
They also said, “Considering that the report was published just four hours after the responses were sent to the reporter, we could tell that it was a one-sided, targeted, slanderous article.”
They continued, “If the written response was insufficient, they (the reporter) could have visited the actual church to check the religious scene and directly heard the voices of the current believers,” adding, “the church is always ready to respond to open communication with the media.”
The church also provided heart-felt testimonies from believers who are currently practicing their faith at Shincheonji Church of Jesus.
Teresa (29), who has been attending the church in Paris for six years, said, “Faith is something that is done voluntarily. Here, I came to know God properly and learned how to act as a person of God and shine in the world.”
Another believer, Axel (30), said, “Before coming to Shincheonji Church, I was looking for the meaning of my life. Since I started believing in Shincheonji Church, I was able to realize what God wants, and I love doing God’s work. While doing my mission, I was able to go on trips that I like, and I was able to meet my wife at church. I am living a truly satisfying life.”
Even the title of the article itself sparked shock and embarrassment amongst the members, stating, “no one has ever been treated like that, and we do not think that way. It was just used as a sensational article title to attract attention”.
“In reality, we do not allow threats or stigmatization of those who have left the church, and a culture has been established that respects individual choices even after leaving the church.”
The church also refuted the claim that the former member “broke up with her boyfriend because of the church’s request,” saying, “It is not true.”
“The man in question (boyfriend) was a believer who attended the church with her at the time, and I understand that he wanted to get married. However, the woman said that she had no intention of getting married right away. The breakup was a decision made based on conversation between the parties and their personal religious concerns, and the church never induced or forced any choice.”
They emphasized that “dating and marriage are personal areas based on autonomy and responsibility, and it is not true to link this to the church’s control.”
The church also took issue with the fact that the article included situations that the interviewee had not actually experienced.
There was a photo used in the report of a person putting their feet on a radiator, and it was referred to as “corporal punishment”, but the photo had nothing to do with corporal punishment and was taken before the interviewee entered the church.
“The person in the photo is a man who is still a believer in the church, and at the time, he did that pose thinking that it was okay, and someone else took the picture for fun”, the church said.
The man in the photo was shocked to see it being used and plans to file an official complaint about it being used without his consent and for misconstruing its intention.
The church stated, “It is very regrettable that the media cited and reported this statement without fact-checking, as it may give readers the biased perception that the entire Shincheonji Church of Jesus is an abnormal organization.”
Regarding the “training camp” mentioned in the article, the church explained, “the program was a short-term training program that some missionaries who hoped for religious growth participated in 100% voluntarily.”
“It consisted of morning prayers, meditation on the word and the person could stop the camp at any time. There was no physical punishment or coercion.”
“However, we are aware that there is room for misunderstanding from an outside perspective, and we are currently not operating the program.”
Regarding claims of collecting personal information, restricting internet use, and inducing severance of family relationships, the church stated, “This is completely untrue, and we do not collect anything other than the minimum information required for religious counseling.”
They emphasized, “We have never restricted internet use or external relationships, and rather, we encourage our members to live exemplary lives in their families and society.”
The report also accused Shincheonji France of using a false name, ECA Academy. But the church explained, “It was the name of a Bible education program temporarily used in 2019, and at the beginning of the class, we clearly informed that we were affiliated with Shincheonji Church of Jesus, and after that, the decision to join the church was completely up to the individual’s discretion.”
The church further requests media to;
- Carry out comprehensive coverage that reflects various perspectives and experiences, and sufficiently reflects the church’s official position and responses
- Provide fair reporting on the actual experiences and voices of currently active members
- Establish a reporting culture that respects religious freedom and the dignity of believers, and
- Refrain from promoting prejudice through provocative expressions and titles.
Church officials emphasized, “Biased reporting on a specific religion or religious community can result in imposing stigma and prejudice on good believers and undermining religious freedom and human rights,” and “the media should contain diverse voices based on balanced information and mutual respect, rather than provocative approaches that induce hatred.”
They continued, “We hope that all media, including Le Parisien, will maintain higher ethical standards and balance in religious reporting, and Shincheonji Church of Jesus will continue to do its best to help correct understanding through transparent communication and open dialogue.”
