Chris Lee

In 1972 Jim Croce recorded the song, “Time in a Bottle.” The lyrics of the song that especially spoke to me were, “But there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do, once you find them.” These words seemed prophetic. Jim Croce was killed in a plane accident on September 20, 1973.

Jim Croce’s death or any death reminds us of the fragility of life. Death reminds us Catholics that we are pilgrims on a journey through time to Eternity. Earth is our temporary home. Heaven is our Eternal Home. St. Paul urges us to run the race of life for the prize of Eternal Glory.

Artículos en Español

On October 30, 2008

Chris Lee

Preguntas que hacer antes de votar

Nota del redactor: Esta columna se basa en homilía del obispo Morlino en la Misa roja del 26 de octubre.

Estimados amigos,

Es muy interesante que, cuando se pregunta cual de los mandamientos es el más grande, Jesús no ofrece algo nuevo. Cuando preguntan a Nuestro Señor cual de los mandamientos es el más grande, Jesús no dice que necesitamos un “cambio” – que es, por supuesto, el santo y seña de ambos partidos políticos hoy en día. Sino, Jesús regresa al Antiguo Testamento, básicamente al libro del Éxodo, y Jesús ofrece el resumen que era muy común en las primeras comunidades judías sobre lo que ahora llamamos el derecho natural. Jesús señala esos dos grandes mandamientos: “amar a Dios sobre todas las cosas, y amar al vecino como a uno mismo.” Y al obrar así Jesús es profesor del derecho natural que fue escrito en los corazones de la gente de su tiempo, así como fue escrito en los corazones de la comunidad judía anterior, así como se escribe en cada corazón humano.

Around the Diocese

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Campaign grant used for juvenile justice issues

BELOIT — A $5,000 grant received this past summer from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development is being used for the youth justice project of Justice Overcoming Borders (JOB) in Beloit and the state-line area.

The grant’s purpose is to organize youth and adults to address the needs and aspirations of at-risk and disadvantaged youth in the state-line area, according to Tom Boswell, Evansville, JOB community organizer.

Around the Diocese

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Helping to find healing after abortion

MADISON — Theresa and Kevin Burke, the founders of Rachel’s Vineyard, were in Madison recently to offer training for priests, therapists, and other pro-life workers on the trauma of abortion and healing after abortion, and to train teams for Rachel’s Vineyard retreats.

Letters to the editor

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Barack Obama is opposed to teachings of the Church

To the editor:

I cannot understand how any practicing Catholic, in good conscience, could possible vote for Barack Obama for president. Let me count the ways he is diametrically opposed to the teachings of the Church:

Respect Life

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Conscience, Scripture, and loving life

This Sunday’s readings are so direct and to the point. They also bear directly on how we form our conscience in today’s complicated world.

What was said and written so long ago from the Book of Exodus is powerful and true. “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.”

Guest column

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Human lives are on the line

During his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention, presidential nominee Barack Obama made a comment in which he attempted to appeal to both pro-life and pro-abortion voters.

“We may not agree on abortion,” Obama said. “But surely we can agree on reducing the number of unwanted pregnancies in this country.”

While this sound byte may sound like a good faith effort to unite Americans, it revealed a fundamental flaw in the candidate’s understanding of the sanctity of life. We can agree on reducing the number of malaria cases in Africa or the number of car accidents on our highways because malaria and car accidents are by their very nature bad. But human beings are created in the image and likeness of God — whether they are wanted or unwanted.

Guest column

On October 23, 2008

Chris Lee

Election is not an easy choice

As Catholics we face many complex questions and challenges in regards to being involved in public and political life. We face similar questions and challenges in selecting a candidate.

I had the pleasure of attending a Theology On Tap in which Thomas Peters, an extremely articulate and funny Internet-journalist, worked hard to sell that McCain is the best choice for Catholics. His argument was that the abortion issue encapsulates and trumps all other life issues. If you get the abortion issue wrong, how can you be an advocate for life in its later stages? This seems on the onset like a salient point.

What are these other “life issues” that might motivate a Catholic voter to either pick Barack Obama or perhaps trouble a Catholic enough not to vote for John McCain? A few mentioned but not adequately discussed were the evils of “preventive war,” the death penalty, embryonic stem cell research, and the social sins of poverty and oppression in its many forms.

Letters to the editor

On October 16, 2008

Chris Lee

Obama said he would sign Freedom of Choice Act

To the editor:

We must respond to a recent letter citing a question from Professor Douglas Kmiec: “How could a Catholic not support Barack Obama?”

Letters to the editor

On October 16, 2008

Chris Lee

Obama has liberal record

To the editor:

Barack Obama has one of the most liberal voting records in the U.S. Senate. He rejects free market vision of government. His first federal Senate bill was in August 2007 about Pell grants and he cast 130 “present” votes while in the Illinos Senate. Obama said he reveres the American flag: “I don’t refuse to wear flag pins” but “fact check” said he refused to wear a flag pin in 2007 and that he voted for a non-binding tax increase on $42K income.