Question on Catholic Town - Ave Maria outside Naples, Fl

[Coexist]

Will they receive federal or state funds for schools and/or medicare, medicaid and the like.

Can this be denied if they discriminate on the basis of religion?

Not that I really care if the adults wish to live together, I am just concerned about the children being so sheltered, it sounds like it has the capability of becoming like those towns consisting of incestuous fake Mormons with 12 sister-wives. (Okay, this is an exaggeration, but you know what I mean, right?)

What are the legalities involved?

[ristruck]

1. Crazy Idea

My wife (right wing) and I debated this with our two daughters and I for a couple of hours. I heard they are not going to allow drug stores to sell contraceptives. So what happens when one does? Will they put them in jail? It sounds like they should name it Moralville or Stepford town.

Silly silly idea. How will they learn to deal with society if they see a bubble world? It reminds me of the Jim Carey movie that I cannot think the name of.....

[RB TexLa]

3. The Truman Show n/t

[RB TexLa]

2. I would think the church would run the schools

I have never understood why religious schools want government dollars, any time you take government money there is a string, not complaining about it, it's just a fact. If one puts their children in a religious school they are doing so based on what they feel will be taught to them, why would they want to accept any funding that might affect that? A friend of mine is on the board of the small Christian school his children go to and they voted and have reaffirmed their position that they are providing a Christian education and they will never accept any government dollars and the possibility of government input accompanying such.

As far as the legalities, if they set up a private school there are certain things they have to meet for accreditation, I don't know what all they are though.

[monktonman]

4. Dont fight it....

let them have their own town and the whole state of florida for all I care. The farther south they move from me the better. they can take florida and the rest of us can pray for hurricanes.

[Cleita]

5. I don't understand why the individuals who qualify for those

programs wouldn't be able to get them. Medicare and Medicaid do pay for hospitalization in Catholic hospitals for seniors and others who receive this aid. As far as schools, I would think that parochial schools and the Catholic university mentioned shouldn't get federal funds. Public schools should if they keep to the separation of church and state.

[phylny]

6. There's a religious community close to me (Satmar Hasidim)

and they have a separate town with a separate school system. Some of the families receive public aid, and as citizens are eligible for all government programs as other people are.

One of the difficulties they have to overcome is with "inbreeding" and birth defects, and from what I understand, many people in this religious community have a genetic profile so that when a match is about to be made, they check before things get to far to decrease the chance of birth defects.

Here are two links to the eventual court case regarding the establishment of their school district in New York State:

http://supct.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/93-517.ZS.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Board_of_Education_of_Kiry...

[SmokingJacket]

9. I also live in New York, near a different religious community...

Seems to me to be tricky legal territory. If they discriminate, they shouldn't be eligible for certain kinds of state and federal support.

I'm of mixed feelings about this. One of the great things about America is that we're able to experiment with our own Utopias -- we have a long and fascinating tradition of it. Most of them fail, and it's an important learning experience.

On the other hand... I hate to think of us all dividing up into our little gated-communities... openness is one thing that's made us great...

[Czolgosz]

7. Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things

that are God's." (Matthew, 22:19-21).

So Jesus didn't want to interfere with the state.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion." 1st Amend.

So the US doesn't want to interfere with the church.

Who are these zealots who can't even leave the Constitution alone even when the Bible agrees with the Constitution?

[_testify_]

8. The weird thing is the article I read on CNN.com

said they were planning on 11,000 homes and 20,000 people. That's only 1.8 people per home! I guess there won't be any sexually active men and women in this town, cuz without contraception, it's gonna be more 1.8 people to a home.

[RB TexLa]

10. not the sexually active part, it's the biological part

I really don't see that many of childbearing age lining up for this no matter how devout.

[_testify_]

11. I grew up Catholic and I was pretty involved in our parish

I don't really remember any of my friend's parents being the types that would move their whole family to Florida just to be near a 65 foot tall crucifix. Mine certainly wouldn't. I just don't remember the Catholics I grew up around being this close-minded. Just from my own experience, anyway...

[RB TexLa]

12. I know, I can think of maybe a handful of older people at my parish

that might think about it, and really don't think that many of the ones who would give such a thing a look would actually go.