Priest using Grindr was ‘outed’ and forced to step down, suit says. He sues dating app
A Catholic priest is suing Grindr after demanding $5 million from the dating app, saying he was “publicly ‘outed’ as gay” and smeared because the company shared his user data, according to a new lawsuit.
Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill’s Grindr’s use was publicized by a Catholic media outlet in July 2021, resulting in the Wisconsin priest being forced out of his position as the General Secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the lawsuit says.
Grindr, the “largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people,” is used by millions of people across the globe, according to the company.
What Grindr didn’t tell Burrill and other app users, according to the lawsuit, was that the company can sell its user’s data to third parties.
Burrill’s Grindr data was purchased and shared with “The Pillar,” which published an article about his app use, the complaint says. The outlet reported in July 2021 that it obtained Burrill’s data “from a data vendor” and verified the information with “an independent data consulting firm.”
The Pillar’s report says the Grindr data from Burrill’s phone suggested that he visited gay bars and was “engaged in serial and illicit sexual activity” while working in his high-ranking position with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
In the article, Burrill was “smeared with false and lurid claims, including a strong suggestion that Burrill, by using Grindr, was ‘only a step away from sexual predation,’ and falsely suggesting (he) might have been involved with minors,” according to the complaint.
“Consequently, Burrill’s reputation has been destroyed,” the lawsuit says.
A Grindr spokesperson told McClatchy News on July 29 that the platform “intends to respond vigorously to these allegations, which are based on mischaracterizations of practices relating to user data from more than four years ago.”
In a June letter addressed to Grindr, one of Burrill’s attorneys, James C. D. Carr, wrote Burrill would have never used Grindr if he knew his data wouldn’t be kept private.
Carr warned Burrill would take legal action against Grindr if the company didn’t provide him with $5 million in compensation and initiate “other corrective actions,” the letter shows.
“To have personal and private decisions forced out of your hands and into the public realm is reprehensible,” Carr told McClatchy News in a statement on July 29.
Priest’s data is sold
According to the lawsuit, the Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal bought Burrill’s personal data from Grindr between 2017 and 2021 and shared it with The Pillar.
“We want answers,” attorney Greg Helmer, who is also representing Burrill, told McClatchy News in a statement.
“We want to place the responsible individuals under oath and find out exactly how it is that Mr. Burrill’s personal information was bought and sold, who was involved in the transactions, and how it ended up in the hands of Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal,” Helmer said.
The private organization’s president, Jayd Henricks, told The Washington Post on July 27 that CLCR obtained Grindr data to “help Catholic bishops ‘assist their priests and seminarians in living their priestly vows.’”
However, Henricks said his organization never provided data to The Pillar, the newspaper reported.
His resignation
In July 2021, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops President Archbishop Jose Gomez shared that Burrill resigned from the organization in a memo to every bishop in the U.S., Catholic News Agency reported.
Gomez wrote Burrill stepped down “to avoid becoming a distraction to the operations and ongoing work of the Conference,” according to the outlet.
According to Burrill’s legal counsel, it was made clear to Burrill that he had no other option but to resign.
Since Burrill’s resignation from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, he returned to serving as a priest in La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he’s from, in 2022, according to the Catholic News Agency.
In June 2022, the diocese’s former bishop, Rev. William Callahan, said in a statement that Burrill returned following an “extended leave from active ministry” and “engaged in a sincere and prayerful effort to strengthen his priestly vows.”
Jury trial demanded
Burrill is suing Grindr on a few causes of action, including fraud and deceit, the complaint shows.
“Grindr simply does not disclose to its users that their information will be made ‘commercially available,” Helmer told McClatchy News.
Burrill is seeking an unspecified amount in damages and restitution with his lawsuit, which demands a trial by jury.
“Grindr must accept some responsibility,” Helmer said. “What happened to Mr. Burrill is an abomination and it should serve as a stark warning to consumers and users of dating or other subscription services: Your information will be sold and will be made public.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2024 at 10:22 AM with the headline "Priest using Grindr was ‘outed’ and forced to step down, suit says. He sues dating app."
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