Use of Grindr among priests shakes pillars of the Catholic Church

Multiple reports published by a Catholic blog in the United States have shaken the foundations of the Catholic Church, after proof of the use of Grindr, a dating app for the gay community, by priests of several hierarchy levels.

The first report, published in July, leads to the resignation of Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, former secretary general of the United States Conference of Bishops. The second, released a few days later, came across figures from the Archdiocese of Newark, in New Jersey.

Finally, the third and final report, released a week later, indicates that in 2018 at least 32 mobile devices transmitted app data signals from areas of Vatican City. not accessible to tourists.

Search coordinated by The pillar, leaves church leaders in an awkward position. The latter is because the priests took a vow of celibacy which prohibits downloading or using such dating apps.

However, it is equally contradictory that the main hierarchs conduct a review of the technological behavior of these priests to avoid “temptations” Faced with the dilemma, the Vatican met in June with the blog to corroborate the data.

After learning more about intercourse, the Holy See is reportedly refusing to comment on the matter and refusing interview requests from the Catholic blog. Over the months, other discoveries have been made.

Between them, the discovery of heterosexual applications and that they were more frequented by minors. Unlike Grindr, The Pillar decided not to name these tools.

To sustain itself, the research needed “a very large data set” derived from data signals from multiple smartphone apps which were collected over two 26-week periods, in 2018, 2019 and early 2020.

Even in the face of the “flattened evidence” of the time, there would be someone who would question the origin of the information. And it is this questioning that served as the kick-off to begin to denounce certain flaws in the reports as well.

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JD Flynn and Ed Condon, editors of The Pillar, were contacted by The New York Times and asked about obtaining this data. The two they declined to comment as well as interview requests from other outlets.

The refusal to provide statements appeared in suspicions about the real purpose of the investigation. The exempleadora of Flynn and Condon admitted having been contacted in 2018 by “A person concerned with reforming the Catholic clergy”.

This individual offered him similar cellular data and specific information about a priest, in exchange for help. The complexity and size of the dataset make it likely that the source had large sums of money.

Ultimately, the credibility of the investigation was fragmented and church officials took advantage of his weakness to ask priests not to speak to reporters. Even secular leaders were reluctant to discuss the controversy.

JFG / ED