Monsignor resigns after allegations in Catholic news site about Grindr

 

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, General secretary  for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) top resigned after the organization became aware of allegations reported by The Pillar,a Catholic news site. The Pillar alleges the priest had visited gay bars and used the hook-up app Grindr. 

The USCCB statement did not address the specifics.

The Pillar article claims Burrill, a priest from the La Crosse, Wisconsin diocese, “visited gay bars and private residences while using a location-based hookup app in numerous cities from 2018 to 2020, even while traveling on assignment for the U.S. bishops’ conference.” 

A spokesperson for Grindr told the Washington Post that The Pillar’s story was “homophobic,” and that its data could not be publicly accessed.

“The alleged activities listed in that unattributed blog post are infeasible from a technical standpoint and incredibly unlikely to occur.There is absolutely no evidence supporting the allegations of improper data collection or usage related to the Grindr app as purported.”

Is the Pillar just as vigilant in exposing improper behavior by heterosexual priests? Based on my own experience and observation, no.