A pro-choice multi-millionaire donated $4 million to Ave Maria University for a sports facility which will bear his name.
Pewsitter asks “Ave Maria, a Poor Man’s Notre Dame?” and links to a story at Angel Queen:
Tom Monaghan secured a $4 million “investment” from a pro-choice billionaire for Ave Maria University’s new “Tom Golisano Field House”. Golisano is a major donor to Democrat campaigns and the founder of a political party with a pro-choice platform…
Ave Maria University would ban pro-choice President Obama from speaking on its campus. But, AMU is happy to actively go after $4 million from pro-choice Tom Golisano. Both ran for political office on a pro-choice platform.
Firstly, for Ave Maria to accept a donation from a pro-choice person seems pretty different from Notre Dame honoring President Obama. I see a difference.
I mean, are Catholic schools really supposed to ask each donor where they are on every issue to see if they’re Catholic enough to give?
However, naming the Fieldhouse after him is a more questionable decision. CMR wants a seat at the nomenclature debate and has some suggestions for the name of Ave Maria’s new fieldhouse:
1) Sanger Stadium
2) Heresy hall
3) Apostasy Athletic Complex
4) The Sin Center
5) FOCA Fieldhouse
It’s the one facility in the country where no matter how many tickets they sell for games, they can always say they sold out!
Any suggestions, let us know.
November 18, 2009 at 4:40 am
As a graduate of the AVE LAW school in ANN ARBOR… we have seen this before. I am VERY grateful for my education and AVE, but at the same time we have seen this sort of thing before – just making bad decisions in the name of BUSINESS and not MISSION.
Ave is so close and yet so far 🙁 Prayers are need, and I will not say that it isn't a lost cause yet… but the beginnings were glorious… they need to recapture that mindset.
November 18, 2009 at 4:42 am
Poor Man's Notre Dame, seems in the end all these "institutions" are after one of two things. Power and/or Money. It appears Ave Maria is just falling for it at a faster rate than Notre Dame did.
November 18, 2009 at 6:15 am
How about the CINOplex?
November 18, 2009 at 6:26 am
The church has always taken money from questionable or ill-gotten means. Some of mother Teresa's biggest donors were men who did not live up to the Christian ideal (I'm being euphemistic here). This is nothing new. If the pro-abortion donor is using his money to build something which will champion abortion, then this is a no-no. If he is giving it freely to a church institution which will then use the money to do good, then we can all rest a bit easier that this money is indeed going to better use than had it been donated to the Democratic party or planned parenthood. This is such a no-brainer.
November 18, 2009 at 11:15 am
The billionaire that AMU is honoring gave financial support to 50 NARAL-endorsed pro-abortion politicians in New York last year.
http://avewatch.com/?p=448
How can a so-called "Catholic" university name a building after Golisano?
November 18, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Early Riser,
As Matthew specifically stated, the issue is with naming the facility after a pro-choice advocate, not the money itself.
I understand that reading an entire 238 word post can be a daunting proposition, but it is advisable if you choose to comment.
November 18, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Can we at least leave open the idea that perhaps, just perhaps, Mr Golisano is trying to make some sort of amends for his pro-abortion actions in the past? Charitable contributions have long been a traditional penetential act…
I think the Christian thing to do is say, "thank you," and offer friendship. We will never move someone to change their heart by snarky comments…especially when they are giving large sums of money.
November 18, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Mickey,
As stated, the issue is with the University for naming the building after the pro-abort. The snark is directed, properly so, at the university.
November 18, 2009 at 2:36 pm
Ave Maria did not just passively accept money from Golisano, they actively campaigned to get the $4,000,000.
I'm glad to see that you no problem with Ave taking money from "Culture of Death"'ers as long as they don't advertise the fact.
November 18, 2009 at 3:25 pm
It's a slippery slope – accepting donations from people of this ilk is not a good a start. Once we (Notre Dame) started accepting money from that crowd (especially the foundations: Rockefeller, Ford, etc) it was all down hill – fast.
Ave had better be careful about who they sell their soul to…
November 18, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Man, trying to comprehend this news is giving me the South Bends.
Suggestions:
1) Ave Maria use the moniker of a certain California school and play in: The Trojan Horse
2) Whatever its name, the address starts with 486.
3) Game locations are colloquially referred to as: "playin' the Field."
4) Policies include: Up to 2 children are allowed to attend a game with their parents, 3 if the oldest 2 are of the same gender. A single adult is not allowed to be burdened by any children.
As for your closing comment, Matthew, has Ave Maria potentially "sold out" or "soul-ed out"?
All snark aside, as for the propriety of soliciting donations from sources that are antithetical to Catholic positions: I have worked for an inner-city non-profit that based all of its work on Catholic teachings. We definitely had to ask for money from people whose lifestyles and/or political positions were not consistent with the Catholic Church or the organization. The Mother Teresa example is relevant. The source of the money is more or less irrelevant, as long as all use of the funds is spent on programs/projects that are in line with the Church. (With that said, we did once return money sent by Hugh Hefnar/Playboy- don't remember the details of that one, but know we didn't even want his name in the Annual Report of donors.)
The problem with this situation, though, is that naming of the complex after Golisano implies endorsement of him. Monaghan knows that names are important. That's why he chose Ave Maria University and created the town of Ave Maria. I think that in his desparation to gain more big pocket donors (so that the university isn't completely dependent on him), he has decided to compromise. This won't help the already shaky stature that a lot of conservative Catholics hold Ave Maria in, and liberal Catholics still won't send their limited offspring there. If Ave Maria ultimately fails, Monaghan will unfortunately/unwittingly dug most of the grave.
November 18, 2009 at 7:01 pm
Patrick – I did read Matthew's entire post. I was actually commenting on the sentiments of two previous posters. Are you saying you don't want us to comment on the other posters, but only on the text of the main post? Odd. Very odd.
November 18, 2009 at 7:52 pm
On a similar note, there is an ecclesial movement abroad that accepted donations from Big Pharma that manufactured abortifacients. The local bishop directed the ecclesial movement not to accept the compromised monies due to the misleading perception that it creates about Big Pharma.
November 18, 2009 at 8:57 pm
For the name, I suggest Field of Holy Innocents
– the silent victims of pro-choice stances.
November 19, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Here's the official statement to the students of AMU from President Healy:
My Dear Students,
I very much appreciate the concern that many of you had that the University might be impairing its commitment to the culture of life by naming the new field house after Tom Golisano. Some of our detractors have publicized comments by Mr. Golisano reported by the New York Times some fifteen years ago, that indicated he was pro-choice. They have also reported his support of certain political candidates who favor abortion rights.
We are today making the following statement:
The recent announced gift from Thomas Golisano has provoked criticism from some pro-life circles as to our commitment to the culture of life. The charge made is that Mr. Golisano is a "pro-choice politician."
Mr. Golisano advised us that the 1994 statement reported in the New York Times to the effect that he was "pro-choice" was a misrepresentation of his actual position; that he is in fact pro-life. Indeed, he volunteered that "it is precisely because you [Ave Maria University] are confronting the culture that you got my attention."
Mr. Golisano stated at the press conference that he supports the mission of Ave Maria University, which of course is unambiguously pro-life. We take him at his word.
Sincerely in Christ,
Nicholas J. Healy
President
November 19, 2009 at 9:13 pm
If ANY of these people had any class (at all) it would have been a simple, anonymous donation.
Ave Maria U jumps the shark, again.