He noted, however, the disturbing fact that as her husband, he would have had the ability to end her life. “If her mother would have fought me on it, it wouldn't have mattered, I would have the legal right.”
“And let's face it, the sanctity of marriage in our country is not what it once was – divorce is extremely common,” he added. “So is it right that that spouse, or soon to be ex-spouse, has the right to decide whether you live or die?”
For a victim's other family members to have “zero” input, Raye said, “that to me is despicable. It's a heinous crime that makes no sense.”
Raye said that he credits his Catholic faith, which he converted to at the age of 23, as another motivation for working with the Life and Hope Network.
He remembers growing up in the “Bible belt” of northeastern Texas and said that although he had a strong Christian faith, as he grew up, he felt there was something missing.
Before Raye went on to chart 16 number-one hits and 24 top-ten hits later in his career, he recalled being 18 years-old and playing at clubs in Portland, Oregon where his dad lived at the time.
He got to know a couple who regularly attended his shows and noticed one day that the woman wore a crucifix on her necklace.
After finding out that they were Catholic, Raye asked the surprised couple if he could attend Mass with them. They happily agreed.
“I started asking questions and every answer I got made sense to me,” he said. “Next thing I knew I was in RCIA and I wanted to be a Catholic.”
Raye likens his discovery of the Catholic faith to stumbling upon “a treasure.”
“I do not know what my life would have been like since that time had I not had that to cling to, to lean on, to feed off of,” he said. “I love going to Mass, I love going to confession – it all makes beautiful sense to me.”
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
Raye recently saw the couple – who became his godparents – at one of his shows in Portland.
“I got to spend the day with them,” he said. “I just thanked them up and down and said I was so grateful that I went to Mass with them that day because my life has been so much more blessed.”
Marianne is a journalist with a background in writing and Catholic theology. When not elaborating on the cinematic arts, she enjoys spending time with people, reading thick books and traveling anywhere and everywhere.