Bronx man interrupts church Mass to rip 'racist' principal, gets kicked out and arrested

[1holycatholic]

Bronx man interrupts church Mass to rip ‘racist’ principal, gets kicked out and arrested
http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2011/08/01/alg_borzellieri.jpg
Andrew Theodorakis/News
Frank Borzellieri, who made headlines in the 90s for racist and anti-gay slurs as a school board members, is back teaching the Bronx.

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2011/08/02/amd_juan-zarella.jpg
Andrew Theodorakis/News
“I wanted them to feel my sense of outrage,” Juan Varela said.

Shock over an outspoken Catholic school principal’s ties to a white supremacist group turned ugly during Sunday Mass at a Bronx church.

Cops were called to Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Fordham after a church-goer interrupted the service to call for the removal of Frank Borzellieri as principal of the parish school.

“I wanted them to feel my sense of outrage that he was brought into the community to teach,” said Juan Varela, 54, who was arrested yesterday on disorderly conduct and weapons possession charges and spent seven hours in police custody.
…

:coffeeread:

 

[Dale_M]

The archdiocese is checking out his writings, but notes that there haven’t been complaints against him either as a principal or as a teacher.

The Archdiocese of New York says it’s looking into a Bronx Catholic School principal who has written books criticizing multiculturalism. The principal, Frank Borzellieri, also contributed articles to a controversial magazine devoted to “racial realism.”

Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the Archdiocese, said the Superintendent of Schools office is reviewing Borzellieri’s books and writings. Zwilling noted that Our Lady of Mount Carmel has a diverse population and that “any form of discrimination or bigotry is inconsistent with Catholic teaching, and will not be tolerated in our schools.” He also said there have been no complaints against Borzellieri as principal, nor were there when he taught at another Catholic school, St. Barnabus.

wnyc.org/blogs/wnyc-news-blog/2011/aug/01/archdiocese-reviewing-racial-realism-writings-bronx-principal/

Here is the New York Daily News article which has launched this current controversy:
White supremacist principal running Bronx school with majority black and Latino students

The article mentions that some students at the school where he taught claim that a complaint against him was filed, but the archdiocese says no record exists.

 

[Irishgal49]

If the man is a white supremicist (sorry I give up trying to spell it) he should NOT be teaching in a parish school.

The man who interrupted Mass was also wrong.

Sounds like a situation where more information will be forthcoming.

 

[kimmielittle]

If the man is a white supremacist (sorry I give up trying to spell it) he should NOT be teaching in a parish school.

The man who interrupted Mass was also wrong.

Sounds like a situation where more information will be forthcoming.

There ya go I spelled checked it for you See above spelling ]

 

[Ahimsa]

If the man is a white supremicist…

I thought all the members of The Supremes were African-American?

 

[SouthCatholic]

The principal was fired today…

nbcnewyork.com/news/local/White-Supremacist-Catholic-Teacher-Fired-Archdiocese-126584398.html

A Catholic school principal who is reported to have ties to a white supremacist magazine has been fired, the New York Archdiocese said Tuesday.

Frank Borzellieri was let go “following a thorough internal review of his opinions and beliefs as expressed in his books and columns, and a discussion with Mr. Borzellieri himself,” the archdiocese said in a statement.

Borzellieri, a former member of the now-defunct Board of Education, has written several books, including “The Unspoken Truth: Race, Culture and Other Taboos,” and “Don’t Take It Personally: Race, Immigration, Crime and Other Heresies.”

In “The Unspoken Truth,” he said “diversity is a weakness,” and according to the Daily News, has written for the supremacist publication American Renaissance.

 

[Dale_M]

An apology from the pastor who hired him, with an explanation, has been posted on the parish website:
Father Eric Rapaglia:

I realize that many of you are confused and, in some cases, angry with me in response to the Frank Borzellieri situation. Let me begin by stating my fundamental believe that racism is evil. We as Catholics reject racism in all of its ugly forms. I am deeply sorry for the pain that has been caused, among our faith family and beyond, by these recent events.

As your pastor, I apologize for my mistake in judgment: in hindsight, I should not have hired Mr. Borzelleri. I ask for your forgiveness. We celebrate diversity in our Church, in fact, the word Catholic means “universal”—all persons everywhere are welcome. I realize that there has been a lot of emotions expressed by many following the article, and I understand their pain. I did my best to correct the situation and now, please God, we will find a new and very qualified principal for Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, which remains an excellent place of nurture and growth for so many priceless, precious children.

Please allow me to provide a little background. Some will argue that Mr. Borzelleri should never have been working here in the first place. That point was not clear to me when I first hired him. When Mr. Borzellieri applied in 2009 to be principal here at Mount Carmel, my search committee assisted me in the decision to hire him. The search committee represented the full diversity of the school population and included teachers and parents. His credentials were quite good and so the committee recommended him as principal. Neither myself, nor any of the members of the search committee knew of Mr. Borzelleri’s political writings at the time of his hiring. I read them after he was hired as principal.

In addition, it is my understanding that Mr. Borzelleri had the support of many minorities including Roy Innis, the national chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), a black civil rights organization, who said in 2000 that Mr. Borzelleri was known for “getting into the trenches with black people and trying to help them instead of standing in a glass house and merely pontificating on the need to help black people…. I am proud to call Frank Borzelleri my friend.” My decision on whether or not to keep Mr. Borzelleri employed at our school was not such an obvious one to make. He had worked in two other minority-dominated schools before coming to Mount Carmel, and there was never any complaints from parents or students about him sent to the Archdiocese.

Regarding these views, I was quoted as saying: “Do I agree with all of it? No. But I think much of it is valuable and logical and reasonable. A lot of his ideas would actually benefit minorities.” My words were taken out of context. The question to me about whether I agree with all of it referred not to all of his racial views – which I strongly condemn – but to other views expressed in his books. Keep in mind, Mr. Borzelleri’s ideas cover a very wide range of topics like the value for children of reciting in school the pledge of allegiance and the merits of Christopher Columbus’ expeditions to the new world. The truth is that I disagree with his racial views. Racism is a sin. I have dedicated my life to living among and serving one of the most racially mixed and culturally diverse parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. Moreover, as a son of an immigrant I disagree with his views on immigration and his pessimistic attitude about the rising of population rates among certain demographic groups.

I pray for all victims of racism and unjust discrimination. I know that you do the same. In the spirit of love and forgiveness, please keep Mr. Borzelleri and his family in your prayers as well.

Thank you for your prayers and support,

Father Eric Rapaglia, Pastor

ourladymtcarmelbx.org/

A statement from the archdiocese follows it.

 

[DavidMI]

(I had started a separate thread on this topic, but the moderators apparently deleted it, and so I am instead posting this follow-up in this older thread on Mr. Borzellieri.

Here is a fascinating interview with the betrayed man, Mr. Borzellieri: youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xKSEq0oRRqk

I believe it was wrong for the Archdiocese to immediately submit to political correctness and to betray one of their own in a futile attempt to appease the media and leftists. Nevermind the fact that the church had already vetted his writings and his works, and nevermind that he was an incredibly well educated and accomplished educator…his firing was wrong because it was a sign that the Catholic Church is subordinate to the media.

They need to stop playing that game.

 

[Cojuanco]

Racism is a sin. Furthermore, as we are talking about someone who seems to let that sin cloud his judgment in imparting the Faith to young people, for their sake at least it is good he has been fired.

 

[DavidMI]

Racism is a sin. Furthermore, as we are talking about someone who seems to let that sin cloud his judgment in imparting the Faith to young people, for their sake at least it is good he has been fired.

1. Who said “racism” is a sin? More importantly, who defines “racism”? The mainstream media, of course. So, by this standard, then, the mainstream media is now dictating Catholic orthodoxy. This is evil.
2. I don’t know about “racism” being a sin…but I sure know that* lying* is a sin. To say that “all people are the same” (that Somalis are the same as Japanese) is a transparent lie. This is a sin. I will not sin and lie, as you appear to want me to do.

Somalis and Japanese are different races. So are Swedes and Egyptians, Israelis and Indonesians, Brits and Nigerians, etc., etc. I will not lie for you and say that they’re all the same.

1. You appear to be claiming that this principal imparted his discipline and judgments differently to students of different races. This is untrue. So, you are either lying, or else you are speaking from ignorance (which is nearly as bad).
2. I would expect that a lifelong, devout Catholic would have his hard work and loyalty reciprocated and receive love and support from fellow Catholics, rather than lies and slander. Subservience to political correctness is embarrassing enough (especially from men). However, this is made far worse when it is compounded by a betrayal of one of our own.

Here again is the link to the interview with the devout Catholic, betrayed by the bureaucrats: youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xKSEq0oRRqk