Whitney Houston a no-show at Moon's mass wedding ceremony

CNN Interactive ^ | November 29, 1997 | Kyoko Altman and Reuters

[Sparticle]

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Some 2,500 traditionally dressed brides from all over the world stood next to their blue-suited grooms in a packed stadium Saturday morning, as the Rev. Sun Myung Moon blessed their marriages, many of which he arranged himself. But singer Whitney Houston, who was to be a headliner at Moon's "Blessing '97" event, was a no-show, ... Promoters of the event released a statement saying Houston was "unable to perform due to a sudden illness." [...] Many other well-known people also canceled appearances they were to make ... after it became widely known the events were tied to the church. The festival culminated with Saturday's wedding ceremony. CNNfn's Lou Dobbs, former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and the daughter of the late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat all canceled, most attributing their decision to scheduling conflicts. [....] Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan spoke. .... Many of the couples joined Saturday did not know each other previously, although many of them expressed enthusiasm for their arranged match, a common practice for members of the Unification Church. Fifteen years ago, Moon, a Korean evangelist, conducted a similar mass ceremony at Madison Square Garden in New York City. He married 360,000 couples in South Korea in 1995. ... Satellite hookups allowed more than 3.6 million other couples in 55 countries to witness the ceremony and take part in the day's festivities. The controversial Moon, whose critics liken the Unification Church to a cult, served a federal prison term in the United States for tax evasion. [.........]"

[mabelkitty]

Why are you asking me?
My beef was in taking a swipe at people who have arranged marriages. Amish folks practice this, and there really is no reason to mock the practice - it's disrespectful.

I'll let the followers of Moon defend him, cuz I don't even know who he is or what he does - it isn't worth my time.

[Doctor Stochastic]

All the Democrats that I know consider the Moonies to be one of the major influences on the GOP. They point out the Washington Times and UPI connection. Helen Thomas left the UPI, claiming that Moon interferred with the reporting process there and at the Washington Times.

[TEXOKIE]

Why are you posting a 1997 article? Are you objecting to the fact of a mass ceremony, or the fact that the marriages were arranged? In principle I'm not seeing how either one should necessarily be outlawed.

A mass ceremony is just one officiator uniting many one man and one woman pairs into the institution of marriage. We have a history in this country and culture of people having double or triple wedding ceremonies. While the article describes an extreme of this, at the end of the day, it doesnt violate the principle of marriage being between one man and one woman.

Arranged marriages have a very ancient and respected history. In the history of the world, the notion of the two lovers being the sole deciders of whether they would marry is only a fairly recent aberration. I'm not saying arranged marriage is either a good thing or a bad thing, but I think it would be very difficult to outright outlaw it. If people wish to accept an arranged marriage, especially as in this case where it is most certainly by their own free will and not by blind custom, then it is hard for me to see how or why it should be outlawed.

If your objection is to Moon's religion and teaching, IMHO it is not a good precedent to outlaw a religion. Quite a number of years ago I was active in a conservative and prolife circles of a large city and there were some "Moonies" active in our group. I was amazed to find that these particular people shared many of the values of many Americans. They never tried to convert me. They were there to work on pro-life and conservative issues. I never looked further into Moon's teachings. My feeling was if there were some good citizens like this who loved America and her fundamental values, then they had a right to follow those teachings, however much I might disagree with them. All according to the Constitution that we revere.

[bk1000]

"Why are you asking me?"

Just a general reply to the post. Not asking you, per se. Also, I really have no issue with arranged marriges, as long as they are arranged by a man and a woman. The two couples I have met that have arranged marriages have been together longer than many other couples I know. I was just slamming Moonies in general.