HT to Amy Welborn:
From the moment Tom Monaghan, the founder of Domino's Pizza and a very conservative Roman Catholic, announced he was building a whole new town east of Naples, Florida called Ave Maria -- complete with an oratory and its own university, Ave Maria University -- people were wondering what his real agenda was. (Monaghan, some may recall, wanted a town where sales of birth control and erotic materials would be banned but was forced to back down when the ACLU threatened to sue.) I'm still trying to figure it out and a number of Catholic bloggers who are more to the right than I am are wondering what's the real story. (There's also an unrelated side business called "Ave Maria Mutual Funds" -- I'll let you figure that one out.)
Especially with today's news that the Rev. Joseph Fessio, the provost of AMU was suddenly "asked" to resign today -- by whom was he fired, no one knows for sure. Fessio, it should be pointed out, was once a student of Joe Ratzinger (a.k.a. Pope Benedict XVI). AMU's curriculum is focused on the philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas and all students there are required to take courses in such subjects as Latin, political science, history, and theology -- in addition to their major. Nothing to complain about there, to be frank. According to one insider, however, Fessio may have had a beef with the executives about very modernistic Masses, including Masses that smacked of faith healing "services," the exact opposite of what was sold to investors as a traditional Catholic university.
The president of the university, one Nick Healy, is described as a "praise and worship" Catholic. Now I don't necessarily have an issue with that -- many Catholics have an evangelical bent, after all. The problem is that the Mass is supposed to be the most sacred and solemn time of the week. Using Gospel music is one thing -- if the music fits in with Scriptures and brings one closer to God that's fine. Showboating or deviating from carefully formulated prayers is something completely different. And faith healings? Come on. I'm not that gullible. I believe in miracles, but by their nature they're rare -- otherwise they wouldn't be miracles anymore.
The manner in which communion is given out is rather unorthodox to say the least. What I find the most repulsive, if the accusations of the students are correct, is how the healing services make a mockery of the Sacrament of the Sick (formerly known as the Last Rites). This anointing is no longer reserved for those who are literally at death's door but it is nonetheless limited to those who are dangerously ill. Under the purview of AMU, an invitation was given to everyone attending to receive it, including the perfectly healthy (as if it's supposed to protect someone from getting sick!) I take this personally, as my father received it not just once but twice while he was in intensive care. (He's now awake and has been for a couple of weeks, thank God, although long term his prognosis is still very iffy.)
To be clear, I would not want a return to a compulsory Latin Mass, although if any Catholic wishes to worship at one where it is available he or she should be able to without question. Nor do I want a regression to the "Last Rites." What is called for here is clarity. If a university has a conservative philosophy (or is supposed to) it should stick to that and if it is a liberal one (and there are liberal Catholic universities out there) it should pursue that. In that vein, Fessio is in the right here. I would never send my kids to AMU but parents who have forked out thousands or even tens of thousands to send their kids must be wondering what they bought themselves into. When one has a President that wants to go in one direction and a Provost in the other, one's bound to have a mess on their hands.
Which is exactly what Monaghan has now.
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