Sun Myung Moon It was described by "The New York Times" as the top ballet company in Asia. In 1989, Moon founded Universal Ballet Academy which changed its name later to Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, D.C. Moon held honorary degrees from more than ten universities and colleges worldwide; at least one of which, the University of Bridgeport, received significant funding from his organizations. He was a member of the Honorary Committee of the Unification Ministry of the Republic of Korea. In 1985, he and his wife received Doctor of Divinity degrees from Shaw University. In 2004, at event in the Dirksen
Sun Myung Moon stance. In the 1990s when Moon began to offer the Unification Church marriage blessing ceremony to members of other churches and religions he was criticized for creating possible confusion. In 1998, journalist Peter Maass reported that some Unification Church members were dismayed and grumbled when Moon extended the Blessing to non-members because they had not gone through the same course that members had. In 2001, the Unification Church came into conflict with the Roman Catholic Church when Catholic archbishop Emmanuel Milingo and Maria Sung, a 43-year-old Korean acupuncturist, married in a Unification Church Blessing ceremony, presided over by Rev. and