Do we see about us an epidemic of peccatum taciturnitatis (the sin of silence)- “what Christians are guilty of in accustoming themselvess to
habitual indifference concerning the Church’s problems.” The Torn Tunic, Traditinalist, Spring 2010.

Mr. Monaghan sold his interests in the land knowing that Jackson Labs would build there.  The Law School Dean is now branding Jackson as Catholic-approved.  Why?  Mr. Monaghan’s Ave Maria Town real estate development has done terribly.  This is about land and business sales driving moral judgments.  Ave Maria is quick to judge Notre Dame for temporarily hosting the President, but then turns around and permanently hosts Jackson Labs.  I call it hypocrisy.

I’m going to go to AMU this coming year, and I want to make sure they’re 100% pro-life.  Does anyone know where I can go to “voice my comments,” so they know that this student doesn’t support their bringing something like the Jackson Lab there?

I would try going to their website and email the chancellor (Monaghan) and the president (Healy) directly. If anyone has any other ideas, please share.

If nothing changes, I would seriously look into other schools. I don’t know what you want to go into, but Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California and Christendom in Front Royal, Virginia are both pretty solid, established Catholic colleges.

Hi,

I’m a reporter with the Naples Daily News in Naples, Florida, just southwest of Ave Maria. I’d very much like to talk to anyone who has an interest in the University about how they feel about the Jackson Lab issue (particularly ex-campanologist, who identified choosing AMU as a school this fall). If anyone is comfortable with contacting me, you can e-mail (lhale@naplesnews.com) or call (263-4775).

Best,

Leslie Williams Hale

There are no “facts” that you can have “dug up” at AveWatch.com.  The site is a biased anti-Ave Maria website written by a disgruntled former employee of Ave Maria University, who did not want to move to Florida from Michigan.  Other ‘facts’ he has written about proved to be false or half-truths with a negative sprin. Please try to base future articles on actual facts.

Connor - the quote on contraceptives is directly from the Jackson Labs website.  This is an actual fact.

Pat Archbold: What is not a fact, however, is that Ave Maria University was involved in recruiting or luring Jackson Labs to SW Florida, or that the “university leadership is assisting” in this effort. The extent of the involvement of anyone associated with AMU was that Tom Monaghan sold his personal 50% interest in 50 acres of land on which the lab would be built to Barron Collier so that the developer could donate the land for the lab.

Now, many reasonable people might argue that it was wrong of Monaghan to do that—and I am not defending it. But it is innacurate to suggest that Ave Maria University was involved or that the university leadership is assisting.

I don’t see anyone accusing university leadership of recruitment.  However, keep in mind that the land was sold by Monaghan, who is AMU Chancellor, and that AMU sits on the local economic development group that is doing the recruitment.

Mr. Zartesky: What local economic development group are you referring to? And who do you think the authors meant (or maybe they could tell us) when they said that those who “built a Catholic university” did “actively recruit” the business? Even Monaghan, who sold the land, did not appear to be involved in any active recruitment.

Mr. Archbold claimed “active recruitment.”  Google does not find such claims at the USCL or Avemariawatch sites.  AMU gave its “endorsement” to “Project Innovation” within the Economic Development Council of Collier County:  http://www.projectinnovation.cc/endorser ECD’s PI is the push behind the area’s high wage non-tourism growth, particularly in health care.  Tammie Nemecek, President & CEO of the EDC was the first to contact Jackson about moving to the Ave Maria district, along with County Commissioner Fred Coyle.  Also note that the Ave Maria real estate development is a “certified site” of the EDC. http://www.enaplesflorida.com/contentother/contentothercategory.aspx?categoryid=856&m=1   Add to this: (a) the Catholic Church stamp of approval that Ave Maria School of Law’s Dean gave to the practices of Jackson Laboratory, (b) AMU President Healy’s positive remarks in the local newspaper, (c) the lack of any request by Ave Maria University/Law to refrain from certain practices, and (d) AMU Chancellor Monaghan’s land sale, and I’d say that Ave Maria University/Law is doing its part to get Jackson to build in the Ave Maria District.

To add to Art Zartesky’s list of 4 instances of Ave Maria tacitly approving Jackson Labs’s practices: 

(5) Jackson Labs states the following in its FAQ sheet:

“Would there be issues related to JAX-Florida’s location near Ave Maria?

Executives from The Jackson Laboratory have had productive discussions with the leaders of Ave Maria University about the Laboratory, and both institutions are respectful of the others’ work.”

http://genetichealth.jax.org/support-the-lab/florida/faq.html

if all this is true, what a scandal it must be to anyone who move there or sent there kids to college there anticipating a Catholic atmosphere.

Mr. Zaretsky: My initial point was directed to Mr. Archbold who has suggested that Ave Maria University was involved in active recruitment of Jackson Labs. You agree that Mr. Archbold said that. The title of the post is “Ave Maria U: What Are You Doing?”

My point is that this does not accurately characterize the university’s involvement. The fact that Ave Maria is one of about 100 Collier County for-profit and non-profit companies that are listed as “endorsers” of a local economic development council’s efforts to diversify the local economy (not just with Jackson Labs) hardly is an attempt to “actively recruit” the labs. To hold that position, you would have to agree that the Naples Orchestra and Chorus was also actively recruiting the labs.

I am not donating money to them anymore.

In the name of tolerance and friendliness, catholics sacrifice their principles and religion. We should not give a stick to the enemy to beat us with. Too much of tolerance will destroy us for ever. Muslim countries are doing the same. Even Vatican allowed a mosque in vatican !

It sounds like Monaghan pulled the plug on the idea of a Catholic town, but doesn’t want to come right out and say it.  I’ve never been comfortable with Ave Maria or Monaghan anyway.  What he did to the students and faculty when Ave Maria was in Michigan is enough to make me keep my kids away from there.

You might try Belmont Abbey near Charlotte, NC, or Benedictine in Atchison, KS.  There’s also the University of Dallas.  Those are the major ones that I can think of in the South U.S. which are faithful to their Catholic identity.  Texas A&M also has a fantastic Catholic ministry program, perhaps the best in the country.

Patrick: Did a prominent member of the Naples Orchestra and Chorus sell land to the developer in an effort to make development there more attractive?

For what it’s worth, they are no longer claiming that Ave Maria town is supposed to be a Catholic town.  (Or maybe they never did claim this, but I sure had the impression that they did—i.e., not that non-Catholics couldn’t live there, but that the town would be founded on Catholic moral principles.) 

The following is from avemaria.com, from the FAQ page:

“Q I’ve heard that Ave Maria is a Catholic town. Is this true?
A: Absolutely not. Ave Maria is open to every religion, ethnicity and age. In fact, we believe that the intermingling of people of different backgrounds, interests and life stages will be important to making Ave Maria a true community.”

Source:  http://www.avemaria.com/Default.aspx?ID=138

If AMU disagreed with the EDC’s push to recruit Jackson, then AMU should drop its endorsement of the EDC.  It has not.  Solid Catholics drop their affiliations with organizations all the time over matters of principle.  The Deans at AMU and AMSL are on record as supporting Jackson’s “Biomedical Village” (the EDC’s terminology).  At least the Naples Orchestra did not say that Jackson Laboratory engaged in practices consistent with the Catholic Church’s teaching on life matters, unlike AMSL’s Milhizer.  At least the head of the Naples Orchestra did not sell the land that Jackson Laboratory will build upon, unlike AMU Chancellor Monaghan.

Not saying there’s no warrant for questions, but shouldn’t everyone hold their condemnations until we hear why the NCBC, a very reputable Catholic institution, saw no problem with this move?

Why don’t we take a step back and ask: Would a Catholic in good conscience be able to work at Jackson Labs?  I maintain, in many if not most of its research projects: obviously yes.  (And I have known several good Catholics who have.)  If a Catholic can work there, then obviously Catholics or a Catholic institution may be situated near Jackson Labs. 

Would Jackson Labs situated next to AMU help the latter in its goal to become a first-class research university?  Yes, almost certainly, and this would be a very good thing.  Would Jackson Labs next to AMU imply challenges in some respects and for some persons, as regards not cooperating in evil, and remaining unswervingly faithful to the Church’s teachings?  Probably.  But I find it hard to see how Catholics can strive to live faithfully—and apostolically—in the world and not face such challenges.

At issue is not whether AMU “may be situated near Jackson Labs.”  AMU/Law was “situated near” the University of Michigan for years, if I recall correctly.  At issue is (a) Ave Maria’s declaration that Jackson Lab practices in a manner consistent with our Church’s teaching on life and (b) AMU Chancellor Monaghan’s sale of land for the expressed purpose of recruiting Jackson.  Jackson officials said in a local interview that nobody from Ave Maria even asked Jackson to refrain from human embryonic cell and contraceptive research activities.  Yet, I recently received a letter from Ave Maria Law asking me to donate money to help them fight federal funding of this very research.

Almost two months ago, the Ave Herald quoted a Barron Collier representative regarding Monaghan’s sale of his property to BC/Jackson Lab.  The real estate representative told the Ave Herald that Monaghan had consulted the NCBC “to verify that this sale of property for the designated purpose would be permissible according to Catholic moral teaching,” and the NCBC “advised Mr. Monaghan that, in its opinion, there was no moral impediment” to proceeding with the land transaction. http://www.aveherald.com/news/559-location-of-proposed-jackson-labs-facility-clarified.html  

As far as I know, there is no other publicly available information concerning this communication between Monaghan and the NCBC, including information regarding the specific question that Monaghan asked the NCBC or the nature of the NCBC’s response.  All that we know is that a real estate developer said that Monaghan said that the NCBC said that the land transaction was ok.  But considering that NCBC reportedly said that the land transaction was morally licit, I find it surprising that neither Monaghan nor his representatives have released the details of this communication.  I would think that a statement from Monaghan or his representatives, or from the NCBC, explaining what the NCBC was asked to consider and detailing why the NCBC concluded that the land transaction was morally licit would go far in clearing up many of the concerns that Catholics have regarding this land transaction.

Z. Hasan wrote:

At issue is (a) Ave Maria’s declaration that Jackson Lab practices in a manner consistent with our Church’s teaching on life and (b) AMU Chancellor Monaghan’s sale of land for the expressed purpose of recruiting Jackson.

Absolutely.  From where I sit, I see no reason, at all, for Ave Maria even to consider such a transaction; it seems to be a bald-faced play for political/financial advantage, perhaps under the pretext of “serving the common good by having more resources to use/give”.  (E.g. “Hey, if it helps the economy, then that’ll help the school, and it’ll help people… right?  The more wealth… ahm… ‘successful’ we are, the more good we can do, and the more people we can reach with our message!”

Mm-hmm.  If you’ll pardon the image, that reminds me a bit of the Obama-esque slogan, “Help the economy to reduce abortions (while enabling and promoting them with the other hand, mind you)!”  Pure, muddle-headed balderdash.

Ave Herald, a local blog, has done nothing but promote Jackson, branding it a “helper to millions”.  One of their articles said that Jackson “conducts no research whatsoever using human embryonic stem cells, and never has.”  That was shown to be overwhelmingly false.

” I am befuddled.  Why would those who built a Catholic University and ostensibly a Catholic town to surround it, actively recruit and assist a business that performs work antithetical to Catholic teaching to the area? ” 
    Pat Archibald ... what a succinct question you posed. It is so to the point. I have asked that same question myself. The problem applies to many “Catholic” universities I believe. In my opinion,in this modern era, it seems the name Catholic is attached to the title to entice catholic peoples for further education.The word Catholic implies truth but what they get in many cases is teachings that are far away from Catholic truth.It is a matter of “catholic self destruction” rather than catholic fufillment of Truth.So why aren’t some authorities honest and take away the name Catholic from the title and just call their university a secular name.

This appears to be yet another instance of poor due diligence by AMU.  The Golisano debacle is another example.  No one who knows Tom Managhan would call into question his pro-life committment.  The problem is that he is terrible at performing due diligence.  And then, when he makes a mistake, Nick Healy et al go into damage control mode that ends up causing even more damage.  Just admit the error, AMU, do whjat you can to correct this situation and people will understand.

Whit has it about right.  This was a big screw up.  Step up to the plate and admit this is a huge mistake.  If Frankensteins Lab won’t back off, and goes through with the plans to build the Nazi human experimentation site, then inform them they will face daily protests and a lot of bad publicity.  NOW is the time to fix this, before they spend any money on it.  To start, you must PUBLICALLY, as in GENERATE BAD PUBLICITY, admit this was a mistake and denounce this company.  Let the world know that the university, students, and towns people are adamantly opposed to this.  I doubt a research company will want to invest millions at such a place where they are opposed.

If not, it should make for interesting meetings at the AMU student Life meetings.  “Where shall we protest this month?”  “I know, how about at the place Tom helped finance that experiments on aborted babies.”

Whit/Ian:  By citing “error” as an explanation, you may be giving Mr. Monaghan more credit than he deserves, given Ave Maria’s sophisticated PR capabilities.  The Ave Maria Law officials who praised Jackson as a Catholic approved institution on WDEO radio did so long after evidence for Jackson’s stem cell and contraceptive work started appearing on the Internet.  It is hard to believe that nobody at Ave Maria was aware of the issues, given their rich resources.  Why would builders of a Catholic university and town recruit an organization offensive to Catholics?  Maybe their Catholicism was always secondary to a higher goal, namely, advancing Mr. Monaghan’s speculative real estate and business interests.

Ave Maria students (and their parents) can stop Frankenstein Labs in thirty minutes or less. Simply tell the administration that they will transfer to other schools, and mean it. Money talks. Especially to guys like Monagham.

The anonymous author of Avewatch teaches at a university that actively, and proudly, performs human embryonic stem cell research and where the administration supports a group of medical students that actively helps med students get hands-on abortion training. Seems like he’s got a lot to criticize in his own backyard (which is nowhere near Ave Maria).

Michael Pakaluk’s post is incredibly bad reasoning, and a misapplication of the idea of sanctifying the world from within preached by St. Josemaria Escriva.  Apparently he is rationalizing because he has taken a job there at AMU and wants the school to have the money to support his own projects. 
The problem with the Jackson Labs scenario is that JL’s money has come from teaching people how to manipulate HESC, and it is that same money that is going to “save” AMU from financial ruin.  AMU will probably try to say it is remote material cooperation in evil, but in fact it’s not so remote, and the gravity of the matter is extraordinarily high.
The AMU admin has a history of quietly taking care of problems over the summer, when the faculty is not around; perhaps this summer they will backtrack on JL.  Let’s hope so, for the sake of the students and families who have invested their money and futures in the school.

P.S.  Michael Pakaluk, you should correct your comment!

The Jackson Laboratory uses human cells for research, as it was made popular in 2007. This new method works even better then using embryonic stem cell research therefore No It does not use Embryos, someone needs to get their facts straight.

http://www.ncbcenter.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=155

Read the NCBC’s statement.  Then read Avewatch’s refutation, and tell me which is more convincing.

http://avewatch.com/?p=1190

Ave Maria appears to be referring to iPS cell research, in which adult stem cells are manipulated to behave like embryonic stem cells.  Although there is hope that iPS cell research might eventually make human embryonic stem cell research obsolete, that hasn’t happened yet.  Jackson Lab distinguishes these types of research and has made clear that it supports both iPS cell research AND human embryonic stem cell research.

Maybe Tom has joined the real world world of people who do think.