The best thing the Catholic Church did for Tom Monaghan was to
take him in as an orphan. The next best thing it did was to boot
him out of seminary school. The former Domino's Pizza founder has
been trying to repay that debt ever since. With an estimated
fortune of $900 million, that shouldn't be a problem.
Monaghan's latest philanthropic cause is Ave Maria, Florida, a
college town based not on the decadent values of spring break-bound
sophomores, but on traditional Catholic principles. Liberals,
naturally, have been apoplectic, calling Monaghan's proposal
"unconstitutional," and racing to the courthouse to see who could
be first to file suit.
While newspapers across the country ran derogatory headlines
about "Catholic Town, USA," the Today Show's Katie Couric
was apparently all that stood between honest Americans and the
papist menace. "I think people will see this community as eschewing
diversity and promoting intolerance," she told Monaghan during a
March 3 interview. "...[Isn't this] really infringing on civil
liberties and freedom of speech and right to privacy and all sorts
of basic tenets this country was founded on?" And "[D]o you think
the tenets of the community might result in de facto segregation as
a result of some of the beliefs that are being espoused by the
majority of the residents there?"
America's Sweetheart quite naturally assumes that Catholicism is
synonymous with "intolerance" (read homophobia), "eschewing
diversity" and "segregation," (read racism) and that Catholics will
naturally use the Bill of Rights to rekindle the bonfire of the
vanities. Mind you, that wasn't quite Monaghan's intention.
SET ON 5,000 ACRES in the swamplands of southwestern Florida, Ave
Maria is lauded as a place where people of all ages can safely walk
the streets at night without fear of being raped ("except by
priests!" one lapsed Catholic told the Miami Herald).
Plans call for 11,000 homes and 20,000 residents. The town's
centerpiece will be a European-inspired town center with a mammoth
cathedral. Press reports, however, have focused on plans to build
the largest crucifix in the nation, at nearly 65 feet tall. Not to
keep vampires away, but, the media seemed to suggest,
non-Catholics.
A year ago Monaghan could brag that Ave Maria would ban abortion
clinics, strip clubs, contraception, and porn. But once the media
got wind of his intentions they went after him like a pack of
starving jackals.
Since then, Monaghan has hired a PR flack to redefine his image
and the image of his proposed town. Today he sounds more like a
Greenpeace activist than the Catholic philanthropist. A recent
press release touted "a new 'rural stewardship' land planning
process that has enabled the protection of 17,000 acres of
environmentally sensitive land in Eastern Collier County." The more
ecumenical and inclusive "traditional family values" have replaced
"Catholic principles." And Monaghan is telling everyone who will
listen that homosexuals will be warmly welcomed, as will Muslims,
Buddhists, Zoroastrians, and atheists. And Monaghan promises he
will only suggest local stores refrain from peddling condoms and
smut.
Why the change of heart? Certainly there is nothing inherently
un-American or undemocratic about religiously oriented communities.
At its founding America was largely populated by communities of
Puritans, Shakers, Quakers, et al. Many exist to this day (not the
Shakers, obviously). Mormons largely run the state of Utah. "Utah
is a theocracy," Janelle Eurick, staff attorney for the Utah branch
of the American Civil Liberties Union told the Guardian
newspaper. Today the U.S. has dozens of Mennonite settlements that
largely do their own thing. Maharishi Vedic City, Iowa, is a newly
chartered town based on the principles and teachings of Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi. Yet incredibly these folks all pay their taxes and
obey state and federal law. To the best of my knowledge they
haven't roasted any heretics in years.
Is this another instance of anti-Catholic bias? That may be a
bit of an exaggeration, but until we see Katie Couric playing
hardball with some dour bearded gentleman in a straw hat, demanding
to know what the Amish have against the Playboy channel, I wouldn't
rule it out.
topics:
Taxes, Catholicism, Abortion, Environment, Constitution, Law
