Bill Donohue commends school officials in Scottsdale, Arizona:
Yesterday, we expressed our concerns over two related anti-Catholic incidents that took place in Scottsdale, Arizona last weekend, letting school officials know of our interest in this matter. Today, we are happy to report that this issue is being handled in a responsible manner.
Our cause for concern was twofold: prior to a football game between Notre Dame Prep and Desert Mountain High School, a statue of Our Blessed Mother was vandalized on the campus of the Catholic school; during the game at Desert Mountain, a student dressed as Jesus paraded up and down the sidelines, mocking Catholics.
We are happy to report that in response to our concerns, we received a very professional letter from Dr. A. Denise Birdwell, the Scottsdale Unified School District Interim Superintendent. “On behalf of the Scottsdale Unified School District and Desert Mountain High School,” she wrote, “I want to apologize to you and the entire Catholic community.” She emphasized that she found the behavior “disgraceful, disrespectful and unacceptable.” She commenced an investigation and promises to get to the bottom of this issue.
Dr. Birdwell also thanked the Catholic League “for the role you play in educating all people to recognize the difference between right and wrong and, above all else, to respect one another.” She added, “We aim to do the same.”
This is a textbook case of the way incidents such as this should be handled by school officials. We commend Dr. Birdwell and all the administrators at Desert Mountain and Notre Dame Prep for their attention to these offensive actions.
