Reports of Grindr’s use among priests shock the Catholic Church

The reports allege use of the gay dating app and mention the names of people linked to parsonages in the Archdiocese of Newark, New Jersey. Likewise, it is pointed out that in 2018, at least 32 mobile devices in total transmitted data signals of the application from areas of Vatican City, which are not accessible to tourists, which is why they would be related to church members. .

The publication of the reports in The Pillar has created unease among church leaders as priests commit to celibacy, which is not flexible. Using an app like the one mentioned contradicts this vote.

The blog’s reports have also generated rejection within the Church because they involve breach of privacy and breach of personal information by obtaining data from priests’ cell phones, according to a memo by The New York Times.

Grindr, used almost exclusively by gay and bisexual men, is the only app mentioned in the reports. Likewise, they only refer to a specific person, Monsignor Burrill.

The Pillar publications were based on “a very large data set” from several phone applications collected over two 26-week periods, one in 2018 and one in late 2019 and early 2020.