USA TODAY ARTICLE ON RFK BLESSING

Houston a no-show at Moon event

WASHINGTON - About an hour before she was due onstage at RFK

Stadium here Saturday, Whitney Houston canceled her appearance

at the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's "Blessing '97" mass wedding

ceremony.

"It was a total surprise to me," says Howard Self, public affairs

director for the event, part of a week-long World Culture and Sports

Festival III put on by the Unification Church.

Houston, who Self says made it to Washington Friday for a

rehearsal, never appeared. Instead, she sent word to the church,

which issued a statement that she was "unable to perform due to

sudden illness." Houston's spokeswoman wasn't available for

comment Sunday.

Houston had been criticized for agreeing to accept a reported $1

million to perform at an event sponsored by a group that has been

accused of being a cult by some former members. Her publicist had

said the star wasn't aware that the Unification Church was behind

the festivities. Self said Saturday, "That publicist was completely

wrong. Our Unification movement was always upfront."

Other big names who dropped out at the last minute, according to

The Washington Post, included CNN broadcaster Lou Dobbs, who

cited a heavy workload, and Benazir Bhutto, former Pakistani prime

minister, who said there were political problems in her country that

prevented her coming. Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian

Coalition, also canceled, saying he needed to be home to help take

care of his fourth child, born two weeks ago. Camelia Anwar Sadat,

daughter of assassinated Egyptian President Anwar Sadat,

canceled, too, saying she didn't know the events were organized by

Moon.

Houston's cousin Dionne Warwick did a short job of emceeing at

the end of the evening but didn't sing. Houston's time was filled

with singer Vickie Winans and a martial arts demonstration.

The most rousing act of the day-long program was Cuban-born

singer Jon Secada, who brought the 30,000 couples (the church's

figure) who were married or renewing their vows to their feet,

swaying to his pop music. A sea of white veils and gloves swayed,

too.

Larry Moffit, a church official who emceed most of the program,

said as Secada left the stage to loud cheers, "I think a million

Oriental people just fell in love with Latin culture! What a

performer!"

While Self said he expected there might be "some sort of

remuneration" for those who bought tickets with the goal of seeing

Houston, the focus was on the mass wedding and blessing by the

77-year-old Moon.

Getachew Gudissa, who is from Ethiopia, left before the finale

fireworks, saying it didn't matter that Houston canceled at the last

minute. "It will probably disappoint a lot of people," he said. "But

the Blessing is what is vital."

Moon has said that the religious arm of the church is scaling back in

the USA, where it hasn't been flourishing, and the organization will

work instead through Moon's New York-based Family Federation for

World Peace and Unification.