By Bonner Joy and Robert Anderson
The Islander
“I’m banished.”
John Di Masi of Holmes Beach was seated in the next to last row at St. Bernard Catholic Church on March 14 as he had been most Saturdays since November, flanked by friends, awaiting the 4 p.m. Mass.
Di Masi said he looked over to see the church accountant, Robert Gase, in the aisle, who signaled that a police officer wanted to see him.
Di Masi said he went outside with the officer and received a trespass warning.
The HBPD report states Di Masi was told to leave the church property at 248 S. Harbor Drive, Holmes Beach, and not return for one year.
The March 14 warning listed Gase as the complainant.
The police report states that church staff told HBPD officers that Di Masi had been “causing problems with staff at the church.”
The report also states that the church advised HBPD that Di Masi had been “very aggressive and has demonstrated verbal threats, aggressive gestures, admitted stalking, intense anger and obsession with harassing communication.”
Under Florida law, private property owners and their authorized representatives may issue trespass warnings barring individuals from entering or remaining on the premises.
Di Masi, in a March 18 interview with The Islander, said Gase pointed him out to the officer shortly before Mass began, and that he was escorted from the church without incident.
Di Masi denied the allegations in the police report and said the trespass warning was issued as a result of questions he raised about the church’s finances.
He also said his removal from the Mass wasn’t unexpected.
He was aware that the pastor at St. Bernard, the Rev. Phillip Schweda, had circulated a Sarasota Herald-Tribune report from June 16, 2014, regarding an incident that resulted in him shooting a man.
The Tribune account appeared to have been downloaded Nov. 14, 2025, based on the print-out, and preceded a Nov. 25, 2025, letter from Schweda to Di Masi limiting his presence at the church to the 4 p.m. Saturday Mass.
The Nov. 25 letter stated, in part, “I reluctantly write this letter to inform you that I welcome you to attend the 4 p.m. Mass on Saturday … and to promptly leave the campus.… If you fail to adhere … the parish will have no alternative but to contact law enforcement.”
Di Masi told The Islander on March 18 that he complied with Schweda’s terms in the letter without incident.
He also told The Islander that the article about the shooting was not the entire story.
Di Masi said he was defending a man who was known to him from Sacred Heart Church in Bradenton while at a convenience store on U.S. 41 near the airport. The man was being attacked by a group of four-five men, who also came after him with a baseball bat and a sickle, and he shot in self-defense.
Di Masi said he called out for someone to call 911 and, after law enforcement arrived, he was neither arrested nor charged with a crime.
He said that he and the man he defended was unharmed.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer, asked by The Islander to verify the shooting incident, told the newspaper March 20 that the “HBPD found nothing in the criminal database to indicate Di Masi was arrested.” He added that the only record is the Tribune article.
The attack on Di Masi in 2014 came at a time when he said he was working through some personal struggles.
He moved to Holmes Beach in 2020, found St. Bernard Catholic Church and set about “seeking forgiveness.”
He became an active member after the COVID-19 pandemic and became president of the St. Bernard Holy Name Society, a men’s group. He helped out where he could, including serving Mass, and was trusted with keys to the church.
Di Masi said he helped secure the church in advance of the 2024 hurricanes and helped relocate valuables after the storms.
He said a new accountant, Gase, arrived early in 2025 and often called him to his office, where he shared an array of church files on a computer — spreadsheets, invoices, receipts and checks — demonstrating what Di Masi described as Gase’s claims of exorbitant costs and misuse of funds.
According to Di Masi, Gase told him in November and again in January that Gase had two sets of books for St. Bernard.
Di Masi told The Islander that he took his concerns to select members of the parish financial committee. He said they told him later that they had verified his claims and they resigned from the board.
Soon after, on Feb. 13, Di Masi was ousted from a financial meeting by the chancellor of the diocese, the Rev. Volodymyr Smeryk, although Di Masi said he had asked in advance and received permission to attend.
Di Masi said he also sent complaints alleging abuse of funds to Smeryk and they went unanswered.
Di Masi said that since January, some people employed by the church were fired, including a maintenance person and an office secretary. The accountant, he said, declined to acknowledge his calls and messages after March 6.
In questioning the church funds, Di Masi said the sanctuary has been without air conditioning for several months. The Islander verified on March 21 the sanctuary was being cooled by portable AC units.
Di Masi said the church should be able to afford to replace the AC system.
But a collection from Dec. 20 to Jan. 10, according to the church bulletin, totaled $67,000, plus there was a gift to the parish of $100,000 from a trust, according to Di Masi.
Since Jan. 10, no collections have been listed in the bulletins.
The Islander contacted the church office and the Diocese of Venice office, which oversees the parish, for their comments by email on March 18.
The Islander reached Gase on March 20 by phone and he declined to comment. He referred inquiries to the diocese.
The newspaper also received no response from Smeryk as of March 20.
However, Karen Barry Schwarz, director of communications for the diocese, responded March 20 with a statement:
“St. Bernard Parish, like every parish in the Diocese of Venice, is open to all. However, it is the responsibility of the parish, and the diocese, to foster a community of peace and safety. As such, disruptive, aggressive or threatening behavior cannot be tolerated at Mass, events, meetings or elsewhere on Parish property, and the proper protocol will be followed. When individuals have expressed fear, we must act. The sanctity of the church, the sacred nature of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the safety of our parishioners is of utmost concern. All people have a right to worship in peace.”
On March 21, an email blast from the church announced that Schweda would retire, effective March 24, and a priest from within the diocese had been appointed to serve St. Bernard beginning March 24.
Schweda’s retirement was also announced in a March 21 diocese bulletin.
On March 22, Schweda made an appeal during Mass for some 700 worshippers at St. Bernard for a collection to pay for his “moving expenses.”
Di Masi said March 22 he attended Mass in Bradenton and told The Islander he still plans to get to the bottom of his claims about misuse of funds at St. Bernard.
Bishop announces change at St. Bernard church
A communication notice from St. Bernard Catholic Church announced a leadership change at the Holmes Beach parish.
The change in administration at St. Bernard also was distributed through the Mustard Seed, an internal communication for parish bulletins. The Rev. Frank J. Dewane, bishop of the Venice Diocese, wrote that the Rev. Phillip Schweda would retire and be relieved of his duties as administrator of the parish effective March 24.
The announcement also stated that the Rev. Gerard Critch would become pastor of St. Bernard, effective the same date.
— Robert Anderson