Champion of Catholic Education
What kind of employees give awards to their own bosses?
Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski will receive the St. John Neumann Award at the 2015 Catholic School Education Dinner April 14 at the Hyatt Regency in New Brunswick.
The award, which is named for the “Father of the Parochial School System,” is given to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, commitment and dedication to promoting Catholic school education in the Diocese of Metuchen.
“Bishop Bootkoski has made Catholic schools a priority in the diocese and continues to be a strong proponent,” said Msgr. Michael J. Corona, executive director of the diocesan Department of Education. “Our bishop is deserving of this honor, which also is an expression of our gratitude for his ongoing support for the teachers, administrators, and most importantly the children attending our Catholic schools.”
Bootkoski is the Bishop who publicly condemned and fired a tenured teacher for honestly defending marriage on Facebook. He said she broke Catholic principles by doing so, so now she can’t teach in a Catholic school – not tolerant of gay marriage enough.
The proceeds from the Catholic School Education Dinner benefit the Foundation for Catholic Education Scholarship Fund, which provides tuition assistance for low-income families whose children attend diocesan Catholic schools.
In 2002, during his first year as the bishop of Metuchen, Bishop Bootkoski dedicated the diocese’s first Catholic elementary school in Hunterdon County, Immaculate Conception School, Annandale. The school continues to thrive and in 2013 earned a prestigious Blue Ribbon award from United States Department of Education.
The awarded Bishop doesn’t exhibit the tiniest smidgen of the Catholic Faith or even loyalty, kindness, or decency – but , credit where credit is due, at least he makes the U.S. Department of Education happy.