Since his arrival to SSPJ in 2013, Father Thomas Haggerty has gone out of his way to alienate loyal parishioners and long-term ministries. Many of his employees have been made so miserable by his actions that they have retired, quit or transferred to other parishes just to get away from him.
The list of ministries/groups harmed includes, but is not limited to:
- Youth Ministry
- Children's Liturgy
- Camp SSPJ (closed the 20-year faith based camp program which drew children and families to Christ and replaced it with a secular camp program)
- Pro Life
- Stained Glass
- Ushers
- Religious Education
- Pastoral Council
- Church Decorating Committee
- Christmas Tree Sale
He has said inappropriate things during homilies, he has refused to read letters from your office as directed by Bishop Murphy in 2016, he has ignored requests for meetings to discuss issues facing the parish, and he blames most unpopular decisions on "The Diocese" or you directly. He frequently makes statements in writing that seem positive but then doesn't fulfill on them, such as one in our first bulletin of 2019, in which he professed his support for the youth ministry, but then backed that up with nothing but either inaction or actions that were detrimental to the youth ministry. His actions are self-interested rather than in the interest of the parishioners.
Our parish membership is down and our weekly collections are down due to his absentee leadership style and horrible administration skills. As our weekly collections have decreased, he has forced out staff and shorten the hours of operation for our rectory to lower expenses - making ministry more challenging and less available to our parishioners. Since he became our pastor, there is only one remaining rectory employee who is still there, our music minister.
We need you to intercede and transfer Father Haggerty before even more damage is done and our parish slowly dies.
Sincerely,
The Faithful of Ss. Philip and James
