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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
 Posted - 10/02/2014 : 13:07:46
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Ave Maria University: A Catholic project gone wrong is a bizarre story about Tom Monaghan (head of Domino's Pizza) and his attempt to build a Catholics-only town, university and basketball program in the swamps of Florida, with a touch of feudal barony from a land developer given the keys to the kingdom.Tony moved to Ave Maria in August. Two weeks later, [his mother]'s phone rang.
"Mom, these people are crazy," Tony said. "Put me on the first flight home."
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"It was a horrible experience," his mother says. "Those people weren't Catholic. They were weirdos."
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- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Kil
Evil Skeptic
USA
13476 Posts |
Posted - 10/02/2014 : 14:36:31 [Permalink]
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Originally posted by Dave W.
Ave Maria University: A Catholic project gone wrong is a bizarre story about Tom Monaghan (head of Domino's Pizza) and his attempt to build a Catholics-only town, university and basketball program in the swamps of Florida, with a touch of feudal barony from a land developer given the keys to the kingdom.Tony moved to Ave Maria in August. Two weeks later, [his mother]'s phone rang.
"Mom, these people are crazy," Tony said. "Put me on the first flight home."
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"It was a horrible experience," his mother says. "Those people weren't Catholic. They were weirdos."
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Wow! Talk about a clusterfuck.
But Marielena quickly began to feel out of place. She soon realized that as many as half of the roughly 2,000 residents had followed Monaghan or the university from Michigan. Some seemed to consider the man a saint.
Stuart wasn't so sure. On her first Sunday in Ave Maria, she tried taking her preschooler son and teenage daughter to mass at the church in the center of town. It was locked — the result of a battle between Monaghan and the bishop of the Diocese of Venice, Frank Dewane. Monaghan had built himself a church; now he wanted to name his own pastor. The bishop refused to let him. The building had been largely unused for a year. "The only times they would open it was for tours or concerts," Stuart says. "And that was so people could donate money." The church now has a priest, but to this day retains its ignominious title as the world's only "quasi oratory" — privately owned Catholic church.
In the spring, Stuart received another shock, this time in the mail. It was a $1,287 bill to be paid to something called the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District. Like many of her neighbors, Stuart had no idea what that was. |
Amazing. Apparently Tom Monaghan built a living hell.
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Uncertainty may make you uncomfortable. Certainty makes you ridiculous.
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
Posted - 10/03/2014 : 19:17:50 [Permalink]
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At least these people tried to build a Catholic town from the ground up. The Christian Exodus, some white supremacists, Maharishi followers and the Scientologists are all trying to take over already-existing towns.
Of course, probably the most successful group has been the Kingdom of God people out in Oregon, who have declared themselves a sovereign state from the USA, and are so firmly entrenched that they issue their own license plates, their own money, etc.. The whole place should be busted for tax evasion... |
- Dave W. (Private Msg, EMail)
Evidently, I rock!
Why not question something for a change?
Visit Dave's Psoriasis Info, too. |
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Dave W.
Info Junkie
USA
26020 Posts |
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Domino-ville
