The Trouble at St. Saviour

A couple of weeks ago parents at St. Saviour Elementary School in Park Slope were shocked to learn that their principal, Mr. James Flanagan, was being fired. Principal Flanigan has successfully led St. Saviour for 26 years, and the pastor who fired him -- Father Daniel S. Murphy -- is a relative newcomer, arriving in 2004.

The scene: Crying teachers, confused kids, devastated parents, and questions, questions, questions, which, up til now, Father Murphy has not answered.

Only the Blog Knows Brooklyn has been following this story, and now the Brooklyn Eagle has published remarks by the Diocese and Father Murphy which seem to have them pointing fingers at each other. Father Murphy told the Brooklyn Eagle Wednesday that he was "carrying out Bishop DiMarzio’s long-term vision for the Diocese, called Preserving the Vision."

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Diocese told the Eagle that the person who makes the decisions is Father Murphy. "He hires, he fires. He signs all the contracts for the parish. We don’t even set salaries.”

With all the chaos in the Catholic Church, you would think that Bishop DiMarzio would want to keep such a successful principal. Here's how one mom described him to the Eagle:

“He keeps order and he’s pretty strict. It’s a strong position and maybe some people don’t like it, but that’s a part of the reason we’re here. He runs a tight ship; everybody’s safe and they do the right thing . . . In a weird way, we feel like he’s our dad. He keeps everything classy and right. There’s no messing around, no mystery; he’s just solid."

Isn't that what you want in a Catholic school?

Catholic Parents Protest Firing of Beloved Principal

UPDATE here.

Top photo courtesy of St. Saviour Church
Bottom photo of Principal Flanagan courtesy of St. Saviour Preservation Society

Go to McBrooklyn's HOME PAGE.