A conservative catholic philanthropist finds it hard to do the right thing:

His boldest charitable venture by far, however, is Ave Maria University, a four-year liberal arts campus under construction 30 miles northeast of Naples, Fla., to which Mr. Monaghan has donated or pledged $285 million so far. Along with the university, which enrolled its first students three years ago on a temporary campus, he and a local developer are building an adjoining new town called Ave Maria.

The bar for the school has been set high, with plans to eventually attract up to 6,000 students to what supporters, including Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, predict will be a top-tier academic institution devoted to the Catholic faith.

Mr. Monaghan, who has called the Florida campus and town “God’s will,” has even loftier intentions. He has said that he sees the university, which says it adheres to a strict interpretation of Catholic doctrine, as a chance to save souls. “I’m a businessman. I get to the bottom line,” Mr. Monaghan, who declined to be interviewed for this article, told The Orlando Sentinel in 2004. “And the bottom line is to help people get to heaven.”

Yet as he aims for the divine, Mr. Monaghan has been facing some unexpected earthly trials, including a revolt at his law school in Ann Arbor and sharp criticism by many of the conservative Catholics who once supported his foundation’s projects.

In many ways, Mr. Monaghan’s troubles illustrate how difficult it can be for wealthy, driven entrepreneurs to make the transition to full-time philanthropy, particularly when they have single-minded ideas about how they want their money spent. Traits that make successful business leaders — ego, ambition, determination, even a touch of imperiousness — do not necessarily go over well in charitable work, causing even the most well-intentioned projects to founder.

As the legendary investor Warren E. Buffett recently noted when he donated most of his $40 billion fortune to an established foundation rather than create one of his own, making a mint — as difficult as that is — can be easier than giving it away.

As he tries to build a new university and town in his own image, Mr. Monaghan has been experiencing some of those difficulties firsthand. Faculty members, students and parents tied to his Detroit-area schools have complained that he runs his charitable foundation like a sole proprietorship, starting and abandoning projects as whim strikes him. And they characterize his new Florida university as a vanity venture that could well prove to be a colossal waste of cash.

When your philanthropic mission is to save souls before the apocalype hits, you might encounter some difficulty trying to come up with consistent, well-thought-out giving strategies. With apologies to the Beatles, maybe money can't buy me salvation.