Ave Maria open to all, not just Catholics
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Ave Maria founder Tom Monaghan

Naples, Fla., Jul 24, 2007 / 10:08 am (CNA).- As Catholic families continue to move in, the founder and developers of Ave Maria, Florida, struggle to change the popular perception that the new town, built around Ave Maria University, is solely for Roman Catholics or controlled by Domino’s Pizza founder Thomas Monaghan.

Blake Gable, project manager for Barron Collier Cos., which is building the new town in partnership with Monaghan, told The Associated Press that the town is open to everyone.

Monaghan made headlines in 2005, when he told a Catholic group that the town would be governed by Catholic principles. He said stores wouldn't carry contraceptives or pornography, and cable TV would have no adult channels.

Following criticism from the media and civil liberties groups, Monaghan now says the town will grow uninhibited, with the exception of adult novelty stores or topless clubs, reports the AP. Developers say that any denomination can build a house of worship in Ave Maria and it will only be suggested to merchants not to sell contraceptives or porn.

Gable and Monaghan have been at pains to explain that the university and the town are two separate entities.

Ave Maria University will certainly follow strict Catholic guidelines, while the town will be allowed to grow with minimal restrictions, says Monaghan, who has invested more than $200 million in building the country’s first Catholic university in four decades.

The school, which opens next month and hopes to attract 5,500 students, will "encourage students to live a Catholic moral life," said Ave Maria University President Nicholas Healy Jr. The school will not allow binge drinking or recreational sex, he added.

Gable does not think people of other religions denominations would be uncomfortable living in a town called Ave Maria. "Do people who live in San Francisco feel offended? San Antonio?" he said.

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Subscriber comments:
Published by: AV
New Milford, CT, USA 07/25/2007 10:43 AM EST
There are numerous scholarships based on need, how about checking those out? Also, atheletics is not their focus.
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Published by: Betty
NC 07/24/2007 04:01 PM EST
Those Catholic schools that the average person could afford are now called public schools. That is why we need to encourage and support Ave Maria University not condemn it.
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Published by: Charles
Kirkland, WA 07/24/2007 01:35 PM EST
C'mon stop your whining! Private schools have always been more expensive than public schools because they don't receive public money grants. Have you ever heard of Student loans, Pell grants, Stafford Loans? My parents made well less than average money and I went to a Catholic university which cost way more than Ave Marie does!

How did I do it? Student loans, grants, scholarships and hard work.

Everyone should just stop their whining. Most of you must be democrats because many of you who have complained about Tom and this village, don't understand the value of hard work and earning something of value, rather you just want things handed to you.

If you want to live there, then either get a better job or work two jobs. They have homes as inexpensive as $200K. Please don't say that is only for Rich people or I will just laugh at you. A 200K home on average is well below the medium home price in America. Just so you know, that 200K home in Ave Maria would be worth about 800K in the Seattle area.

If you want to go to school there, and don't have the funds then do like I did; apply for loans, apply for grants, apply for scholarships, get student work jobs, etc.

There is no reason why anyone can't go to this school if you REALLY WANT TO. Read Tom's bio and you will see he went from nothing to something through hard work and faith in God.
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Published by: Richard Sullivan
Lillian, AL, USA 07/24/2007 11:21 AM EST
Wonderful - another Catholic school that only the wealthy and the athleticly gifted can afford to attend. What happened to those Catholic schools that the average person could afford?
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