Lex Cordis Caritas - The law of the heart is Love

In recent days, news reports have been filled with stories about accusations of sexual harassment involving powerful figures in the entertainment and media industries such as Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, actor Kevin Spacey, comedian Louis C.K., political journalist Mark Halperin, veteran TV talk-show host Charlie Rose, Today Show co-host Matt Lauer, and the author and radio personality Garrison Keillor. Politicians such as Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota and Congressman John Conyers of Michigan have also been accused of sexual misconduct. In light of these scandals alleging abuse of power to coerce sexual favors, some commentators have been asking questions such as: Is office romance still allowed? Are new rules needed for the workplace?

On Saturday, Nov. 4, I will run the Indianapolis Marathon, God willing. Since beginning my marathon training on July 1, I have run 535 miles, including three long training runs of 20, 21 and 21.2 miles, so I should be ready to go. If all goes well, this will be my 23rd marathon. One of the reasons why I run marathons is to raise money for worthwhile causes. In the course of my 22 marathons, I have raised more than $460,000.00 for various charities. This year, my designated fundraising cause for the Indianapolis Marathon is “Running for Priestly Vocations.” Why is this needed? From a financial perspective, those of you with children or grandchildren in college know the cost of higher education. The cost of sending seminarians to college seminary and graduate theology in the major seminary is comparable. To give you an idea of the costs for our seminarians, our budget this fiscal year for 24 seminarians is $1,029,391, which comes to approximately $42,900 per seminarian.

Earlier this year the Illinois General Assembly passed House Bill 40, an abortion bill that expands taxpayer funding of abortion to Medicaid recipients and to those receiving state health care. It also aims to preserve the legality of abortion in Illinois if the U.S. Supreme Court should strike down Roe v. Wade. Last April, Gov. Bruce Rauner promised to veto HB 40 if it reached his desk, saying, “What we should not do is take on controversial divisive issues right now when we don’t have a balanced budget, when we do not have proper school funding, when we do not have economic growth and job creation. We should not take on divisive, controversial issues, and expanding taxpayer funding [for abortion] is a controversial divisive issue.” In recent days, the governor’s spokesperson indicated that he is now undecided about whether to keep his promise to veto House Bill 40.

Living in Springfield, where Abraham Lincoln lived for over 20 years before he was elected president, we are frequently reminded of his crucial role in ending slavery as a legal institution in the United States. Although slavery officially ended on Dec. 6, 1865, the day the 13th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, racial segregation would continue under the protection of the law until the United States Supreme Court outlawed segregation in public schools with their 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended all state and local laws requiring public segregation. Although slavery and segregation are no longer legally enforced, one cannot say that all racial divisions in our country have been overcome. A very ugly manifestation of the residual racial tensions that continue to afflict our country was seen recently in the violent demonstrations that took place in Charlottesville, Va. The violence there was sparked by a member of a white nationalist group who drove a car into peaceful protesters, killing a young woman and injuring 19 others. These racist impulses and actions must be thoroughly denounced and entirely rejected as being morally unacceptable.

This past July 27-29, I attended the Napa Institute Conference in Napa, Cali. The overall theme for the conference was, “Strangers in a Strange Land: Living the Christian Faith in a Post-Christian World.” The theme was taken from the book by that title published recently by Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia.