Hyun-jin Preston Moon, the son of Unification Church leader Rev. Sun Myung Moon who controls the Washington Times, acted without his father's blessing in firing the top leadership of the newspaper over the weekend, a Unificationist and former Times staffer who is in contact with high church officials tells TPM.

Preston's reasons for carrying out the shakeup are not clear to the source, but "one thing that is clear is that he acted alone. This is not something the Reverend Moon wanted, ever."

A newsroom source told us yesterday that Preston fired the executives, all members of the church, when they sided with his father in a feud over the doling out of Rev. Moon's religio-business empire in ways not to the liking of Preston.

Now, more details about the ongoing conflict -- which may put the future of the newspaper at risk -- are coming to light.

It's unclear how intertwined the internal family dispute, which centers on Preston's anger at the selection of his young brother Hyung-jin Moon as Rev. Moon's heir apparent, is with the paper's lack of financial sustainability. That problem was cited by the Washington Times in the press release announcing the firings over the weekend. The operations of the paper have been heavily subsidized by the church since the Times' founding as an anti-communist outlet in the early 1980s.

The Unificationist source tells us the feud dates back at least to a January birthday party for Rev. Moon at the church-owned Manhattan Center on 34th Street in New York. At that event, Rev. Moon designated Hyung-jin as the church's new leader. But Preston has "refused to acknowledge the authority of his younger brother" and "refused to comply with guidance from his father," the source says.

Both men are Harvard-educated and revered in the church. Hyung-jin, who is known for his flirtation with Buddhism years ago, has authored A Bald Head and a Strawberry, a book of essays with allegorical themes, and is known for his feat of 21,000 full bows performed in his parents' honor. Preston is an MBA who, besides chairing the Times' parent company, devotes himself to creating "One Family Under God" through harmony-promoting rallies he hosts around the world.

The New York office of the Unification Church has not responded to our requests for comment, and apparently does not have an official spokesperson.

The source tells TPM that with the weekend shakeup at the Times, "Preston took unilateral action, without consulting his siblings. [The fired executives] are all lifelong church members, who were loyal to the vision of Rev. Moon."

That vision is of, among other things, an assertively right-wing newspaper that would stand up for family values -- and remarks made in September by Rev. Moon, known simply as "Father" to church members, shows he thought the paper wasn't living up to its brief.

"The Washington Times has to take responsibility for people going to hell in America," he declared, referring to, among other sins, "homosexuality and lesbianism." And yet, at the same event at the church's East Garden estate in Westchester County, NY, Rev. Moon appeared to come back to his belief that the newspaper was a worthwhile endeavor.

The sermon, titled "Western People Are Different From Eastern People," is not entirely coherent. At one point Rev. Moon boasted that he is the "original ancestor" of the Times, asking "Did the CIA help with making the Washington Times? Did George Bush help with making the Washington Times?"

The way Rev. Moon kept coming back to the subject of the Times during the September event suggests he still has strong feelings about the newspaper. He even attempted to broker a peace between Washington Times publisher Tom McDevitt and Tom Walsh, the head of another arm of the church called the Universal Peace Foundation.

Here's an excerpt of notes taken at the event whose authenticity was confirmed by a source who attended:

The Washington Times people, are the board of directors here? Are the lawyers here? Only McDevitt? Father doesn't know the board. Where is Tom Walsh? I worry whether to keep the Washington Times alive. The Washington Times has to take responsibility for people going to hell in America. I could have been guiding the Washington Times directly but I believed in Mr. Joo. McDevitt and Walsh, are you united?

[Father has them hug each other.]

I did not come here for the Washington Times; I came to the U.S. to build a Peace Army and Peace Police, not to solve the Washington Times problem. This is much more important than the Washington Times. ...

Bring those that are causing the problems to me or I will go to them. Who is the founder of Unification Church? If you have been here over 20 years stand up! Maybe all of these who stood and are united with me should become board members of the Washington Times. McDevitt and Walsh, shake hands. Resolve all the problems yourself.

It's possible that Rev. Moon's exhortation for the two to resolve their problems was a reflection of the ongoing family feud. Walsh is a longtime ally of Preston, who was chair of UPF, an organization that describes itself as promoting world peace. McDevitt, on the other hand, was one of the Times executives fired over the weekend because of, according to the newsroom source, his loyalty to Rev. Moon and Preston's siblings.

We've reached out to Walsh, McDevitt, and Preston Moon but have not heard back.