Federal Judge Dismisses Family Fed's Lawsuit Against Sanctuary

On March 30, 2022 Judge Jennifer P. Wilson dismissed the HSAUWC lawsuit that sought to prevent Sanctuary Church from using the Tongil symbol and the term "Cheon Il Guk" in any of its events, broadcasts or publications. In effect, the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania agreed with Sanctuary's argument that "the court should abstain from resolving any of the disputes raised in this litigation on the basis of the ecclesiastical abstention doctrine because its affirmative defenses, which the court is required to resolve in order to determine whether summary judgment should be granted in this case, involve court inquiry into the operations of the Unification church—an inquiry prohibited by the First Amendment."