I had a terrible experience with Fr. Tom Fanta, who is the priest of this Church. Initially, he…read moreseemed like a very nice guy. When I first moved to the area I found out about St. Dominic's and asked for a private appointment with Fr. Tom. I explained to him that I have a gastrointestinal condition that makes it difficult for me to sit through a mass, but that I wanted to receive the Eucharist, and asked if he would be able to give it to me at his office on a bi-weekly basis because I believe receiving the Eucharist is very important, and he agreed.
I've investigated and practiced many religions and faith traditions in my life. A little bit after this initial meeting, I felt drawn to Hinduism, a faith tradition I've practiced in the past, specifically Gaudiya-Vaishnavism. After a time, I felt called home to Catholicism, and wanted to talk to Fr. Tom about my conflicting beliefs, so that I could work them out in my head and receive guidance from him about how to unify my thoughts and theological understanding of god to focus on the Trinity. As someone who is autistic, my mind goes from thing, to thing, to thing, and I was hoping he could help me come back to Christ in a strong and positive way, instead of continuing to stray.
After explaining how I personally view the Trinity - which is a bit unconventional - I was hoping he could reorient my brain toward the correct view. Instead he gave me a borderline disgusted look and said, "I'm not a Hindu priest. It's not my job to sit here and philosophize with you," and I was in complete and total shock. I have never in my entire life had a priest speak to me that way, or look at me, a seeker, with such disdain.
He then told me I had to go to three in-person Masses - which I'm not able to do very often because of my condition - and told me to call three people and do nothing but listen to how they are doing, and what is going on in their life, without talking about myself. That's insane to me because if he knew me in real life he'd know that's exactly what I do nearly every day. I live in a group home and most of my days are spent talking on the phone with friends, asking about their lives, and helping them with whatever issues they may have that I feel qualified to assist with.
I wrote him an e-mail following this encounter expressing my hurt in a polite way, and he never responded. I decided to call the Archdiocese and file a formal complaint. I believe that the priest I spoke to was named Fr. John, but I can't remember. He told me he would look into it, and got back to me a few weeks later and said Fr. Tom Fanta stated he did not feel the need to respond to the e-mail, and furthermore, Fr. Tom said he had seen me out at Van Aiken with friends several times, so clearly if I'm able to go out to Van Aiken and hang out, I am not as impaired and unable to go to Mass as I said.
Again, I was shocked. This was an outright, boldfaced lie. I don't ever go to Van Aiken. I loathe crowds and shopping centers. I don't even have any in-person friends to go to Van Aiken with if I wanted to! All my friends are virtual, I'm a very reclusive person. Fr. Tom may have seen someone who looks similar to me at Van Aiken, and mistook them for me, or he was literally lying through his teeth to justify not giving me private communion, when I could easily have my gastroenterologist at Cleveland Clinic write an official doctors note confirming my medical claim. Fr. Tom was either mistaken, or blatantly lied. I have no clue.
This man is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Is he charismatic? Can he deliver a good homily? Absolutely - I've been to their Mass on one of my "good days" regarding the GI stuff and seen him speak. Then again, Satan is also charismatic and eloquent, so I'd be curious to see what Fr. Tom Fanta is like in his private life, or what skeletons may be in his closet if he feels the need to degrade someone coming to him for guidance, proceed to ignore an e-mail expressing hurt from someone who wanted to be a part of his flock, and then go on to blatantly, disgustingly lie about seeing me in a shopping district that I've only been to once many years ago.
My whole experience with Fr. Tom wounded me deeply and I still think about it sometimes. I wish him well, but I wish that he be well far, far away from me, because in no way did he act in a Christlike way with me. It was one of the biggest rejections I've experienced in the past decade.
