Diogenes at Off the Record has been posting an interesting series regarding Catholics and their charitable giving. This time, he/she posts about the head of a Marianist University and what she did with $1,500. I think it is a good time to remind readers that the Marianist community that operates Chaminade High School and Kellenberg High School here on Long Island, broke away from the New York province in 1976 and formed their own province. I believe they did this to remain focused on operating schools locally. I don't know all the details but I do know that their community has flourished since then. Vocations have been steady and they remain a young, vibrant community. They still focus on operating schools and they do this well. The schools are solidly Catholic, although the most hard core traditionalists might not appreciate them entirely. Their ability to break away from the Marianist structure and still remain Marianists helped to inspire the founders of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who attempted to do the same type of thing without luck. The Friars ended up having to form a completely separate community and today they have a good relationship with the Long Island Marianists.