'Catholic Town', Heaven on Earth?

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Wow, I didn’t know he was a devout Catholic. That will make Domino pizza much more testier now. 😃

Regarding the town, I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s a great place for new families to raise their children. I hope it will work out well. 🙂
 
I knew he was Catholic but not THAT Catholic! :rolleyes: Sounds a like a very interesting idea! That story was from a while ago; I wonder how things are coming along.
 
Small feature on the Today Show this morning on NBC.
It may be available on their website.

www.avemaria.com is for the community with links to the University.
Tom Monaghan has done a lot of stuff here in MI. 2 colleges and a school with a very successful and traditional order of nuns. They actually wear habits! 👍
 
Funny…if this were “Baptist Town”, Moslem Town" or “Seventh Day Adventist Town”, a lot of folks here would be howling that it should be shut down, was unfair to Catholics, was unconstitutional, etc.:rolleyes:
 
Sweeney said:
Funny…if this were “Baptist Town”, Moslem Town" or “Seventh Day Adventist Town”, a lot of folks here would be howling that it should be shut down, was unfair to Catholics, was unconstitutional, etc.:rolleyes:
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Not true. I don’t think you can even make a comparison. :tsktsk:
 
Sweeney said:
Funny…if this were “Baptist Town”, Moslem Town" or “Seventh Day Adventist Town”, a lot of folks here would be howling that it should be shut down, was unfair to Catholics, was unconstitutional, etc.:rolleyes:
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:confused: Where did you pull that notion from? Nevermind.
 
Sweeney said:
Reading the Non-Catholic Religions Board here on a regular basis.
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Yes, the different forums here attract different personalities. I avoid the Non-Catholic Religions forum… it simply is too distressing.

That said, I am not sure that Ave Maria is such a good idea. Rather than isolating ourselves from the world, shouldn’t we be out in it, setting a better example than what occurs?
 
The only reason I would complain about a Muslim town with Sharia law is because I think that parts of Sharia are inconsistent with human dignity and the US Constitution (Muslims, I’m not interested in a debate on the merits of Sharia, this is a thread about Ave Maria). Any other religion I’d be just fine with having their own town.

People interested in Ave Maria: I go to the college based in the town. I’ll be on study abroad this semester, but when I come back to Florida in January I’ll update you all if you might really want to live there or not. 🙂 I do tell you, though, housing is kinda expensive.
 
Dale_M said:
Yes, the different forums here attract different personalities. I avoid the Non-Catholic Religions forum… it simply is too distressing.

That said, I am not sure that Ave Maria is such a good idea. Rather than isolating ourselves from the world, shouldn’t we be out in it, setting a better example than what occurs?
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I agrtee completely that we don’t need to seperate and isolate ourselves from the world.
 
Sweeney said:
I agrtee completely that we don’t need to seperate and isolate ourselves from the world.
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I think it really depends on who you are – there is no one rule for this. I think both are good. Yes, especially in today’s world we need to show that there are still those who believe and follow the Church.

However, are not isolated communities very similar to what a monastery is all about? I guess one big difference is that in a monastery you, at least most of the time, give up all worldly possessions and have a pretty good schedule of prayer and worship. But I think if there are some that want to separate from the world, I don’t think it is a bad thing.

Additionally, the United States was more or less founded by groups of religions wanting to start their own communities in isolation from others.

And let’s not forget the communities of the Early Church (they had everything in common for the good of the community).
 
Sweeney said:
I agrtee completely that we don’t need to seperate and isolate ourselves from the world.
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Lots and lots of us grew up in de facto “Catholic ghettoes”; the old Irish, Italian, Polish, Slovak, etc, etc, etc neighborhoods. Some of those still exist. Some entire small towns were and still are like that. And, before Henry VIII, every town and city in Europe was a “Catholic town”. I’m not sure what good things a place like AMT would be isolated from, and if residents want to see things and hear things contrary to their faith, all they will have to do is turn on their tv sets.
 
Abortions, pornography and contraceptives will be banned in the new Florida town of Ave Maria, which has begun to take shape on former vegetable farms 90 miles northwest of Miami.
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Just wanted to point out this little tidbit from the foxnews article.

I saw the developer interviewed on the Today Show today and he specifically said that pharmacists will NOT be banned from selling contraceptives. But they are asked to refrain from selling them out of respect for where they are at (across the street from the oratory). But they will not be denied a lease if they choose to sell ABC.

But of course, I guess it’s more fun to report that “The pill will be banned, Oh MY!”…:rolleyes: :mad:
 
Dale_M said:
…That said, I am not sure that Ave Maria is such a good idea. Rather than isolating ourselves from the world, shouldn’t we be out in it, setting a better example than what occurs?
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It’s not like they’re building the town on an island. Naples, Florida, is right next door. Naples is a cosmopolitan city with all the interaction you’d ever need. This area of Florida has many huge “gated” communities that are also “isolated” (usually isolated from families with young children.) Two of my sisters each had a home in gated communities there a couple of years ago before they moved out of state.

I sure wish I could live in AMT!

Tom Monaghan is a great Catholic philanthropist, although he is a little over zealous at times. He puts all his money in one venture, then finds another and sort of leaves the former venture to fend for itself. AMT is his current venture – and I pray this one succeeds.

We’ve benefitted from two of his financial ventures: both my son’s grade school and the move/rebuilding of his high school were financed in great part by Mr. Monaghan.

'thann
 
I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I think it’s a great idea. It would offer something that simply does not exist for most Catholics, a place and an opportunity to just BE Catholic all the time, associate with only Catholic people, and even sit on a park bench and say a rosary if you want to without fear of reprisal. That is not always the case in most places, and something that even Saint Michael’s Media tries to promote, in our own little corner of the world. Just a place to be with other Catholics, outside of Mass.

However…

I’m concerned that such a place could have the potential to morph into something that it shouldn’t be. A cult like atmosphere, almost like the Stepford Wives, but with Catholics. I’m not sure how he would stop that from happening, or prevent it from starting. It could become very exclusionary, and just plain scary.

Or it could just be a nice place to be Catholic and raise a family.

🤷

It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how it all works out for him. I know that I was very sad when Michigan didn’t get its act together and try to keep him here - another loss for Gov. Granholm…no surprise there.

~Liza
 
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