A Catholic Political Action Committee (PAC)

Led up by, who else, Tom Monaghan.



From Naples Daily News: News:



The Ave Maria PAC bills itself as "a Catholic response" to the pro-choice EMILY's List PAC. The nascent interest group models itself on the "heavy presence and many successes" of both The Christian Coalition and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, said Cella, 35, a former Senate staffer and Michigan campaign organizer.



The group's donors include political heavyweights such as Monaghan and his wife, Marjorie, who in each of the past three years donated $5,000 apiece, the maximum allowed individual contribution. Wellington Mara, owner of pro football's New York Giants, also donated the maximum amount in 2002 and 2003.



Chris Brennan, a 35-year-old New Jersey attorney, estimates he's donated several thousand dollars to Ave Maria List in recent years. The Seton Hall University Law School graduate said he became politically active primarily because of his strong anti-abortion views.



Yet he chose to contribute to Monaghan's group because while other PACs espouse similar views, Ave Maria List is both savvy and selective in how it spends, Brennan said.