AmericanPapist Comments
He's borderline fascist. He really is. His "philosophy" does not speak for me as an orthodox Catholic. It's creepy how he wants to create this town and control it, making it free of every bad thing (whatever happened to FREE WILL and ideals of democracy, Tom?) and where he would be solely the guy in control. I think he's just a creepy, creepy guy.
Personally I think his vision is great and that it is the means he uses to accomplish it which are sometimes problematic. Ave Maria College and Law School seem to be first rate institutions and if Ave Maria University succeeds it likely will be as well. I agree with what he is trying to do in Ave Maria Town. Our laws should reflect the natural law and thus banning pornography and contraception should be US law. But they aren't. I don't see a problem with him using his ownership of the property of Ave Town to see that these natural laws are respected.
I'm guessing that with a work of this magnitude he has a lot of spiritual warfare on his shoulders. Rather than name-calling we should pray for him.
While I do oppose his would-be laws on democratic principal, one must remember the complaint against libertarianism "Libertarians believe people should be free to do what they want; unless they all get together and make rules and laws."
If people want to live in a town with the rules he sets down; more power to them.
I used to live in Ann Arbor and went to the same school as his children. Ann Arbor wasn't very friendly to Mr. Monaghan. I also recall when he divested himself of a lot of material possessions, and how he brought in a lot of orthodox speakers to town. I wish him well in Florida. He is a good man who has done a lot of good...still, I can't stand Domino's pizza.
Allan: "Ave Maria College and Law School seem to be first rate institutions and if Ave Maria University succeeds it likely will be as well."
... Ave Maria College is dead and the Law School is in dire straights. If Ave Maria U. survives AT ALL it would be, by that measure, a "success."
Well put, Thomas, well put!
Allen - Why would you suggest praying for the billionaire Monaghan and not the faculty member at AMC who was just told : sign this document recanting your previous testimony to investigators from the Department of Education if you want your job and your housing next week? Get that? Ave Maria told this guy to now lie (to the DoE) if he wanted his job.
If you're going to pray for Monaghan, pray that he get's a conscious to see the despicable way he treats fellow orthodox Catholics and their families. I have no respect for the man.
" He is a good man who has done a lot of good."
Well, that's debatable...on both counts.
Miss B:
That's not debatable: we can't really judge wether or not he's a good man--but I know, from personal experience that he has done a lot of good. I've been lucky enough to benfit from it.
Mr. Peters:
While the college is, sadly, no loner in existance, and there is a lot of fuss about the Law School, I think your characterization of the impending doom of AMU is unfair. A school's sucess is judeged on the quailty of the people it produces: that is truly the thing that matters, and the thing that should be at the heart of any university. AMC is not to be judged a failure because of it's untimely demise--not at all, because it produced some outstanding individuals, a some of whom I am privlidged to know. So too AMU will be sucessful, no matter how long it lives, because of the individuals who came from it.
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