Tom Monaghan

{{religion}}
'''Tom Monaghan''' is the founder of Domino's Pizza, owner of the Ave Maria Foundation, and Ave Maria University. He also somehow managed to gain full control of a plot of land, calling it… you guessed it Ave Maria. He is the [[American Taliban]]'s greatest success story.

==Viewpoints==
Monaghan is a full-blown [[Catholic]] [[fundamentalist]], which means the typical [[anti-abortion]], anti-reproductive freedom, and [[supply side]] economy viewpoint. Going further than that, he actually believes most of the [[Catholic Church]] is ''less'' orthodox than his viewpoint, which has resulted in him trying to steer the church even further to the right. His methods: Donate millions to Catholic groups that share his viewpoint. This includes groups such as Word of God, a mission that eventually came to be known as a cult, resulting in the Catholic Church investigating the group to see if they were orthodox (oh the irony).<ref>[https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-06-28-9102260886-story.html Catholic Charismatics Reverse Training Stance]. Chicago Tribune, 28 June 1991.</ref> In 1989, a coalition of 7 groups boycotted Domino's Pizza for its involvement in donations to the group and in 1990, MIT students protested Domino's for the same reason.<ref>[http://tech.mit.edu/V111/N18/birnby.18o.html Domino's CEO uses company funds to finance cult]. tech.mit.edu, 9 April 1981.</ref>

==Ave Maria 
Jesusland
  Town==
Ave Maria is an unincorporated community in Collier County, Florida, that was founded in 2005 by  Ave Maria Development Company (He really likes that name!). Originally some farmland, Monaghan set out to create his own little version of Catholic 
[[dominionism]]
 utopia. First he managed to write a law to gain control over the town forever, called the Ave Maria Stewardship Community District, a [[limited government]] law which allowed for a "special interest" group to run the town's community infrastructure, including community development systems, facilities, services, projects, and improvements without a mayor. The law was passed by the [[Florida]] State legislators and signed by then-Governor [[Jeb Bush]].

So in essence, Monaghan and a select group of individuals hold all the power over the town property, as it makes '''landowners''', not registered voters, the ultimate authority in Ave Maria. The law ensures Monaghan and Barron Collier development corporation, as the largest landowners, can control Ave Maria's government forever.<ref>[https://www.au.org/church-state/january-2015-church-state/featured/a-catholic-city A Catholic City? In Rural Florida, A Former Pizza Mogul Is Building An Entire Town Anchored In His Own Religious Vision]</ref> Small government indeed. Monaghan also gloated that he would remain the largest holder of land forever, ensuring his crazy vision won't be going away any time soon.

This also means that he can control what sort of store, hospital, or even [[church]] can set up in town, [[Freedom of religion|religious freedom]] be dammed!<ref>Okay, so if the religious aspects of his rule are ''too'' transparent, he could still be dragged into court under the religion clauses, since local governments can only derive from the state what powers it can itself exercise, buuuuut...</ref> Monaghan puts it best however: "We'll own all commercial real estate. That means we will be able to control what goes on there. You won't be able to buy a Playboy or Hustler magazine in Ave Maria Town. We're going to control the cable television that comes in the area. There is not going to be any [[Pornography|pornographic television]] in Ave Maria Town. If you go to the drug store and you want to buy the pill or the condoms or contraception, you won't be able to get that in Ave Maria Town."<ref name=DailyKosStrangle>[http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/30/1332354/-Ave-Maria-University-s-Strangle-Hold-on-Women-Goes-Way-Beyond-Suing-Obamacare# Ave Maria University's Strangle-Hold on Women Goes Way Beyond Suing Obamacare], ''[[Daily Kos]]'', September 30, 2014</ref>

You best not be talking bad about 
Pope
 "mayor" Monaghan either, (or for that matter, be a gasp! [[Liberal|Libural]]) otherwise you will be run out of town.<ref name=DailyKosStrangle/> Such heinous transgressions may also risk getting you fired if you work for Monaghan.<ref>[http://www.nealjconway.com/monaghanfinalword.html With Friends Like Tom Monaghan --The Final Word], Neil J. Conway, 4/03/07</ref><ref>[http://www.naplesnews.com/news/local-news/ave-maria-university-fires-rev-joseph-fessio-secon Ave Maria University fires Rev. Joseph Fessio a second time], ''Naples Daily News, July 20, 2009</ref>

Jeb Bush praised the town at its ground breaking, lauded the development as a new kind of town, where faith and "freedom" will merge to create a community of like-minded citizens. Yet a community of "like-minded citizens" whose rulers, like the [[American Taliban]], offer their residents no [[civil liberties]] not even the right to vote for local officials nor local laws. 

He thinks the Vatican's {{wpl|Ex Corde Ecclesiae}} is too [[liberal]], so it has been eliminated in town. That's right, even the Catholic Church is too liberal in some spots for him.

==See also==
*[[Thomas More Law Center]]

==External links==
*[https://www.avemaria.edu/ Ave Maria University]
*[http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2003/11/02/the_crusaders/ The Crusaders]
*[http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/top/features/documents/04761831.asp Talking at Boston College, to thunderous applause]
*[http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-07-03/dominos-little-caesars-pizza-founders-contrasting-legacies#p3 One's a fundamentalist, the other actually helps people!]

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monaghan, Tom}}
[[Category:Business]]
[[Category:Catholics]]
[[Category:Christians]]
[[Category:Florida]]
[[Category:Purity culture]]

Categories: Business, Catholics, Christians, Florida, Purity culture