Inexplicable firing of Catholic school teacher

The recent  decision by the Diocese of Rockville Centre to fire Michael Califano, a popular third grade teacher at Maria Regina School in Seaford, was stunning enough to prompt pushback not only from parents at the school but also from an influential order of women who know something about teaching: the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood. On their Facebook page, the sisters said, “In line with Pope Francis we wish to express our support for Michael in his role as a Catholic educator ….”

Califano attended Maria Regina as a child and has remained associated with the parish. He and the school’s parents told Newsday that neither the parish’s pastor nor the school’s principal wanted to fire him, but Diocese of Rockville Centre Bishop John O. Barres insisted. Support for Califano as an excellent teacher was obvious two days after the firing, when 100 parents, teachers, and students gathered at St. Agnes Cathedral in Rockville Centre to protest. One parent even said he’d pull his son from the school.

The diocesan spokesman, Sean Dolan, insisted that “the school did not end Mr. Califano’s employment over his sexuality.” That seems at odds with the chronology of Califano's termination. The firing happened, Califano said, after someone alerted the diocese to a social media image of Califano kissing his longtime boyfriend.

Califano said diocesan officials told him that he wasn’t living “a Catholic lifestyle.” That also is hard to square with the facts. Califano said he attends Mass every Sunday. That makes him more Catholic than almost 80% of Catholics in America: A 2023 survey by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University found that only 21% of adult Catholics attend Mass at least once a week, despite the church’s insistence that missing Sunday Mass is a mortal sin. For context, another of the Church's mortal sins is murder.

Were there other elements of “a Catholic lifestyle” to which the diocese could have decided Califano was not adhering? Did Califano, for example, teach his third-graders that the death penalty is OK? The church now opposes capital punishment. Did he teach his students to ignore Catholic social teaching, which includes such elements as care for God’s creation, concern for the poor and vulnerable, the dignity of work, and the rights of workers? There is no evidence of any of that — although it is worth noting that Califano himself is a worker. Did the diocese disregard Catholic social teaching by violating his dignity and rights? And did the bishop’s actions contradict the spirit of openness that Pope Francis expressed in his recent decision allowing priests to bless same-sex unions?

It would be interesting to hear Barres explain how the firing of Califano fits within the bishop's long-stated goal of “dramatic missionary growth” in the church on Long Island. But first, Barres owes an explanation to Califano’s third-graders, their parents, and Califano himself. Teaching in Catholic schools, which typically pay far smaller salaries than public schools, is a ministry. For his willingness to do that, and apparently do it well, Califano deserves praise, not unemployment.

This guest essay reflects the views of Bob Keeler, a retired Newsday journalist.