LETTER: Why I left my Parish of over 30 Years

Why I left my Parish of over 30 Years

Maybe this is a wake-up call to my Parish and the Faith in General. Will they listen? God only knows, but I have had enough.

July 14, 2024, was my last Sunday service at Holy Face Catholic Church in Great Mills, Maryland, for I had enough of the decay in this St. Mary’s County Parish and the Catholic Faith.

I have been a member of Holy Face since 1994, when I bought a house in Valley Lee, MD. My son was baptized there and was also Confirmed. I also had a funeral Mass for my Stepson at this Parish, who died in a fire in D.C.

In the last few years, I also helped with the collection at Mass and delivering the Gifts to the Altar when I saw the need for assistance.

So, what could have caused me to say “No More”? Well, it has been gradual, and Sunday was the last straw.

We had a prior Pastor, Pastor Jaroslaw “Jerry” Gamrot. Father Jerry was from Poland and helped my son get Confirmed. I had a good rapport with Father Jerry, who I thought was a nice guy with a good sense of humor.

Then, one day, Father Jerry was no longer at the Parish. The Church gave no information as to where Father Jerry went. No Transparency here.

It was not until others told me to go to an online news account that I saw the following:

Pastor Jaroslaw “Jerry” Gamrot’s article was published on September 1, 2022.

“A male victim claimed to police that he was exposed to him on a public road near the 56-mile marker. The victim claimed to state police that Gamrot targeted him, as he continued to pull up next to his vehicle multiple times to expose himself.”

(Editor’s Note: Maryland Court records show that Jaroslaw Gamrot was arrested by Maryland State Police Trooper L. German and entered a guilty plea to Indecent Exposure in Frederick County District Court on December 14, 2022, before Judge Eric Schaffer and was given Probation Before Judgement with eighteen months of supervised probation.)

So, members of the Parish had to find out the Truth about what happened to Father Jerry by reading it online. Pathetic.

The Parish then got a retired Priest from Florida to fill in for Father Jerry. The Florida Priest was “Old School” and did the right things. I was sorry to see him go.

After a year or so, they eventually got a more permanent Pastor named Father Scott Holmer, the current Pastor. I gave Father Holmer a wait-and-see on how he handled the Parish and the Faith.

Well, on July 13, 2024, we had the Trump Rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where an assassin attempted to kill President Donald Trump. Trump, by God’s Hand, survived the shot. Unfortunately, the round killed Corey Comperatore, a father who was protecting his family during the shooting. Very sad.

Others in the audience were also hit and were listed in critical condition. The shooter was also dead.

I hoped the Parish would offer some prayers for this event, for I was taught that Prayer is a “Powerful Thing.” Well, I was greatly disappointed.

Deacon Paul Bielewicz just said during the Mass that both political sides needed to stop the violence, and that was it.

Last I looked, the Republicans were not trying to assassinate Joe Biden, only the other way around when Biden just last week said, “It’s time to put Trump in the bull’s eye.”

At the end of the Mass, I approached Pastor Scott Holmer and told him that he said nothing about offering prayers to those killed and injured in this horrible event. Pastor Holmer told me he told the Deacon to say something, which was nothing. Being the Pastor and Leader of the Faith at Holy Face, he was responsible for saying the right thing, which he failed to do.

Bishop David Zubik of the Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh said the following:

“We are deeply shocked by news reports of the shooting at a political rally for former President Trump right across the street from one of our churches in Butler County,” Zubik said in a statement. 

“We are grateful for the swift actions of the Secret Service and our local first responders,” he added. “Let us join together in Prayer for the health and safety of all, for healing and peace, and an end to this climate of violence in our world. May God guide and protect us all.”

Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) said in a statement Saturday night.”

“Together with my brother bishops, we condemn political violence, and we offer our prayers for President Trump and those who were killed or injured,”

I guess Pastor Holmer didn’t get the Memo.

Now, Pastor Holmer did have time at the end of the Mass to ask for more donations to help fix the Bell Tower, which was under renovation. No Prayers for the dead and those critically injured or the families impacted. Pathetic.

The Faith is also decaying from those at the top. We have a current Pope who is a Radical Leftist and does not follow the Teachings of the Faith. The Pope is now welcoming LGBT personnel into the Faith. Now, don’t get me wrong, we do not mind the LGBT community, but once they start entering our Faith and pushing their agenda to our families, that is a line not to be crossed, and the Pope is OK with this.

The Pope excommunicates those of the Faith who are “Correctly” following the Teachings. For example, The Pope has officially excommunicated Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

“Viganò was found guilty of the canonical crime, or delict, of schism, or the refusal to submit to the Pope or the communion of the Church, at the conclusion of the Vatican’s extrajudicial penal process on July 4.”

So, if you refuse to follow this Radical Leftist Pope, you get Excommunicated. This Pope has got to go.

Add that the Catholic Ministry is also helping Illegal Aliens cross the border with our donations. For example, Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued to revoke the license to operate Annunciation House, a Catholic Organization, on the border city of El Paso. Paxton’s office said in a statement that public records have reviewed that the organization has been helping undocumented people enter the country, among other things. Illegal Aliens are killing our people, raping our women, and leaving them to die. Add the Chinese men of Military Age that are coming across the border, which is a Preemptive Military Attack in the planning, is simply Treason, and the Catholic Church is partaking in this.

Then you have Catholic Priests doing “Inappropriate” things with youth in the Church. We all know that story, but I digress.

I was raised a Catholic and went to a Catholic School. What I have observed in my 62 years is sad. It’s time to leave and find another Parish/Faith.

Rich Johnson
Valley Lee, MD