Officials of a central Pennsylvania Catholic school were forced to fire the new headmaster after less than two months when it was discovered he had previously been fired by the Archdiocese of New York for writings it deemed racist.
Erie Bishop Lawrence Persico named Frank Borzellieri headmaster of DuBois Area Catholic School, a K-12 institution about 75 miles northeast of Pittsburgh, on Dec. 3, according to the school's Facebook page - except Persico and school officials believed Borzellieri's name was Mario Bella.
Monsignor Charles Kaza, the school's interim president, told WJAC-TV and the (DuBois) Courier Express that Borzellieri was fired Friday, a day after officials learned his true identity. Kaza, who serves at one of seven parishes from which the school draws its students, did not immediately return a call for comment from The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The AP could not immediately locate a phone number for Borzellieri, or any listed under the Mario Bella alias. His New York-publisher, Cultural Studies Press, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Borzellieri or on his behalf.
A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York told the AP in August 2011 that Borzellieri was fired after two years as principal of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel School, a predominantly black and Hispanic elementary school in the Bronx, for writings church officials deemed racially offensive.
That happened shortly after the New York Daily News reported that Borzellieri had written that expanding black and Hispanic populations would create a "New Dark Age."
Borzellieri was known before that for his tenure on a Queens school board in the 1990s, about which he wrote a book, "Lynched: A Conservative's Life on a New York City School Board."
The Cultural Studies Press website said the book chronicles Borzellieri's 11 years "as the only conservative and Eurocentrist on this ultra-liberal school board. In these pages, he documents how the New York City political and educational establishments tried their best to destroy his career for daring to speak the truth about the racial, cultural and educational issues that are destroying this country."
Borzellieri made headlines in 1994 for trying to ban a biography of Martin Luther King Jr. from the school district, telling Newsday at the time that King was a "hypocritical adulterer" and "a leftist hoodlum with significant Communist ties."
The Rev. Eric Rapaglia, the pastor of the Bronx parish, told the AP in 2011 that hiring Borzellieri was "mistake in judgment." The pastor said neither he nor a search committee knew about Borzellieri's political writings when they hired him. Instead, Borzellieri had good credentials, including experience in two other mostly minority schools, and no one complained about him to the archdiocese, Rapaglia said then.
Monsignor Richard Siefer, whose rectory at St. Catherine of Siena parish housed Borzellieri while he headed the Pennsylvania school, said he was on the search committee that recommended Bella be hired. Applicants were recruited through a diocesan job posting and one on a national site for Catholic educators, Siefer said.
"But I had nothing to do with the vetting process after that," he said. "Personally, I did none of that. I'm going to assume that they did that, the school board, but you know what happens when we assume."
Siefer said the search began in about August, after Persico reassigned a priest who had been the school's headmaster.
Persico referred questions to a diocesan education official, who had no immediate comment.
What do you think?
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press.
Comments
Well, everyone has their own
Well, everyone has their own opinion about everything, but Borzellieri decided to put himself and his opinions out there, so it is his own fault, I suppose.
There must be a reason he
There must be a reason he changed his name. Maybe he didn't want to be tied down to the mistakes of his past or held accountable for them. He may have been remorseful.
Maybe so, but wouldn't he
Maybe so, but wouldn't he want to confess his wrongdoing and make his confession public while being honest about his identity? Instead, he chose to hide his identity.
well.. I think he should have
well.. I think he should have be honest on that as he is on the top and he suppose to be a good example to be followed by the ones in the grass root level.
well.. I think he should have
well.. I think he should have be honest on that as he is on the top and he suppose to be a good example to be followed by the ones in the grass root level.
I think if someone
I think if someone has done a crime and expect people to understand or realize their change, there should be no reason to hide anything. The act of changing his name allowed his past to be hidden, which makes matters worse when his past catches up to him. It can be true that he didn't want to be tied down to his mistakes but shouldn't he have came clean when he was being hired?
That would have been the
That would have been the honest thing to do, but by the looks of it, he is not an honest man.
I agree if they did the crime
I agree if they did the crime and change their name it just show how much they are hiding. What else are they hiding by changing their name besides the crime? Is there more to him besides the crime that we dont know about? but he was not a honest man.
i agree with all the comments
i agree with all the comments above. if he was remorseful about his actions he wouldnt have seen to changing his name and hiding the things that he had done. most people who are remorseful of their mistakes own up to them and share them with others so that more people dont make the same mistake.
I agree completely! If he
I agree completely! If he wanted to change his ways, and diminish his past then he should of come clean about it to the school upon being hired. Sure you can change your name, but you can only run for so long until someone figures you out. It's his own fault for making theses mistakes and he definitely should of taken care them a different way. But from seeing his ideas about race, he doesn't seem like a very honest man or responsible for his actions.
It amazes me that Borzellieri
It amazes me that Borzellieri was able to get hired, even with a background check with a false ID. Firing him immediately was the right thing to do and his comment about Martin Luther King was ridiculous. Although everyone has their own opinion, the Catholic church aims not to be racist. Borzellieri, by making racist comments, has beliefs that are against the Catholic church. The beliefs are not the problem. The problem is that he made his beliefs public, and if he is a headmaster of a Catholic school, he represents that Catholic school and all other Catholic institutions.
Opinions.
It is true that everyone has their own opinion but it should be very aware that people need to be cautious with the words they choose and to whom that are speaking to. I do not understand why he thought the things he said would be okay with the students and the administration. His opinions, especially about Martin Luther King Jr., were out of line. It also is amazing to know that schools will hire individuals without doing a complete background check. As students we spend most of our time at school so most of our knowledge of the world comes from our teachers. Wouldn't that make parents feel a little uncomfortable knowing people like Borzellieri can be easily hired to teach their children?
I agree that people should
I agree that people should watch what they say, especially if they are in a powerful, authority position. Although he can have his own opinions, he should not make them public when he has a job as a headmaster.
People should watch what they
People should watch what they say in what situation. Making racial comments and writing a book about it at a school that is mainly educating students belonging to minority groups it is scandalous to do so. If one cannot support diversity, like Borzellieri, then, he or she might not chose a working environment that involves interacting with people that are in some way not alike. This is what I don't understand: Why did Borzellieri work at a school mostly visited by minority groups? I mean he must understand that it is not acceptable to promote racial thoughts anywhere and especially not in an environment like the Bronx.
I think it is sad that there
I think it is sad that there are still people in this country, like Borzellieri, who do not support diversity and believe that people like Martin Luther King Jr. are not important historical figures. It is people like Borzellieri who poison the minds of other people into thinking that people of other races or cultures are inferior. I think the school did the best thing in firing him.
Pretty sad
I think it is pretty sad this guy was a principal of a school and influenced the lives of many children. It seems he had a backwards view about the world. It is gutsy to publish such outlandish views in a book and try to ban books on Martin Luther King Jr. I think the school made a good decision in firing this principal. I hope the school checks into the principal candidates before hiring the next one.
If they did the crime and
If they did the crime and change their name it just show how much they are hiding. What else are they hiding by changing their name besides the crime? Is there more to him besides the crime that we don't know about? He was not a honest man.
you are right
I think he changed his name not only because he didn't want to be associated with those things that he did but maybe he is hiding more. Just to change your name because you wrote racist things seems to be a bit extreme, I think their is more behind this man than people really know and he is definitely not an honest man at all.
I think you're on to
I think you're on to something here. The name change suggests that there may be more information that just hasn't been unearthed yet. I think your interpretation is closer to what may be the than others I have seen.
when a person regrets what
when a person regrets what they have done they can hide it because they are ashamed. but with someone in his position he didnt really have that option so i think thats why he changed his name. however because of his position he should have seen to teaching from his mistakes not hiding them. that teaches the students dishonesty. he should be teaching them ownership and honesty when it comes to someone's actions, good or bad.
I think they did a good thing
I think they did a good thing to fire that head master of Catholic school to be fired for false ID and racially offensive writing because its better not to tolerate racism, and any kind of bad need from the head of school. Due to the fact that he had to be a good example for people to follow and not people to use him as the point of criticism.
I think they did a good thing
I think they did a good thing to fire that head master of Catholic school to be fired for false ID and racially offensive writing because its better not to tolerate racism, and any kind of bad need from the head of school. Due to the fact that he had to be a good example for people to follow and not people to use him as the point of criticism.
I think they did a good thing
I think they did a good thing to fire that head master of Catholic school to be fired for false ID and racially offensive writing because its better not to tolerate racism, and any kind of bad need from the head of school. Due to the fact that he had to be a good example for people to follow and not people to use him as the point of criticism.
I think they did a good thing
I think they did a good thing to fire that head master of Catholic school to be fired for false ID and racially offensive writing because its better not to tolerate racism, and any kind of bad need from the head of school. Due to the fact that he had to be a good example for people to follow and not people to use him as the point of criticism.
I think they did a good thing
I think they did a good thing to fire that head master of Catholic school to be fired for false ID and racially offensive writing because its better not to tolerate racism, and any kind of bad need from the head of school. Due to the fact that he had to be a good example for people to follow and not people to use him as the point of criticism.
I am glad they fired him
I am glad that they fired him for false ID and racially offensive writing because it is good to show that racism will not be tolerated. I think he changed his name because he either did not want to be associated with what he said in his past or he knew that he said something that wouldn't be tolerated by many and didn't want to be associated with it anymore. If he was truly remorseful for the things that he did and said then he would come out publicly with an apology, not hide. I don't think he is sorry at all for the things that he wrote or the fact that he changed his name to hide those things.
Borzellieri knew that he
Borzellieri knew that he would trigger a wave when publishing his thoughts about the Black and Hispanic population here in the United States. He knew and he chose to do so. Hiding his past by changing a name is not effective because sooner or later it will come out and in this case it caused Borzellieri getting fired. I don't know why he changed his name and hid his past but if he really wanted a truthful and honest fresh start then he shouldn't have hidden what happened in NYC and lying about his identity. So I think it is only fair to fire him due to his past and dies to the fact that he didn't make any attempts to change.
I don't think he should have
I don't think he should have anything to do with a school of all things, because most every race gets some kind of educaiton
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
It is amazing what social construction will do for those who play their parts. This individual chose to promote hate and uneducated bias, further perpetuating discrimination and stereotype―and most certainly savvy enough to know that spewing overt racist ideas will not be tolerated or socially accepted as our population becomes more aware of social issues. Hence why he changed his name. One topic we are reading and discussing is frontstage and backstage ideology and behaviors regarding racism. As social awareness increases so does the knowledge that one cannot do or say things that was once deemed ok. This creates actors within social settings, creating politically correct facades in the "frontstage" all the while entrenched in archaic stereotypical thinking―which is then acted out more honestly in the "backstage"―behind closed doors. As the scripts in our social arena are written so then are we prompted to act accordingly. Who says we are not gifted and skilled actors? Our past performances just have a way of catching up to us―we are just to obtuse and absorbed with self-importance to see it coming. Interesting how this man had instant credibility, so much so that an extensive background check was not performed. I wonder...would he have been given such a pass had he been of non-"white" descent? Food for thought.
The school board should have
The school board should have done a much better job doing a background check on this guy. I believe that that was pretty careless on their part. He clearly changed his identity because he knew there would be no way he would be hired with the kind of past that he has had. This guy should have had background checks and finger printing done before he was even allowed to work. They need to really know who is going to be working around kids. Obviously he is not a morally correct person but I think that this is more the school boards fault for hiring him and having him work without knowing anything about who he really was.
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