Catholic school principal fired for racial views

NEW YORK (RNS) The principal of a Catholic grade school in the Bronx
that serves mainly black and Latino students has been fired after his
racially charged views about minorities made headlines, and the priest
who hired him apologized for a "mistake in judgment."

The Archdiocese of New York announced Tuesday that the pastor, the
Rev. Eric Rapaglia, had dismissed the principal, Frank Borzellieri, 48,
two days after The Daily News published a story about Borzellieri's ties
to a white supremacist group and his voluminous writings on racial
issues.

Those writings included efforts to ban a biography on the Rev.
Martin Luther King Jr. and a 2004 book in which he says growing black
and Hispanic populations in America will lead to a "New Dark Age."

Borzellieri is shown on the cover with a baseball bat in his hands.

"Many of the opinions expressed by Mr. Borzellieri in his writings
were found to be incompatible with the philosophy and practices of Our
Lady of Mount Carmel School, and with Catholic schools throughout the
Archdiocese," Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for New York Archbishop
Timothy Dolan, said in a statement explaining Borzellieri's firing.

Zwilling said the decision to fire Borzellieri was taken by Rapaglia
"in consultation" with the archdiocese's schools office. Rapaglia hired
Borzellieri two years ago to head the 200-student school and told The
News that he knew of his views but didn't "see any cause for concern."

"I knew of him from my last parish," the priest said. "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," he added.

Rapaglia said Borzellieri was hired in 2009 and that there were no
complaints about Borzellieri's views and he did not know of
Borzellieri's "political writings" until after the principal was hired.