Top U.S. Catholic Church official resigns after cellphone data used to track him on Grindr and to ga

[SunSeeker]

Source: Washington Post

The top administrator of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops resigned after a Catholic media site told the conference it had access to cellphone data that appeared to show he was a regular user of Grindr, the queer dating app, and frequented gay bars.

Some privacy experts said that they couldn’t recall other instances of phone data being de-anonymized and reported publicly, but that it’s not illegal and will likely happen more as people come to understand what data is available about others.

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill has since last fall been the general secretary of the USCCB, a position that coordinates all administrative work and planning for the conference, which is the country’s network for Catholic bishops. As a priest, he takes a vow of celibacy. Catholic teaching opposes sexual activity outside heterosexual marriage.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/07/20/bishop-misconduct-resign-burrill/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&wpisrc=nl_most&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F3433384%2F60f84b259d2fda945a1005ab%2F5bc97fa5ae7e8a50f8217d42%2F29%2F70%2F60f84b259d2fda945a1005ab

[4Q2u2]

1. But will he

Still get communion?

[twodogsbarking]

2. Can he still go to bingo?

[SunSeeker]

3. Of course. It's not like he got a divorce or supports abortion.

[SunSeeker]

5. Yeah, they must have been tipped off by someone about him.

Apparently they got the data from Grindr and were able to determine it was him by location data. They wouldn't have purchased the otherwise anonymous data from Grindr if they didn't already know what they were looking for.

Basically, a Catholic blog, the Pillar, hired experts to review the data and outed him. From the article:

“A mobile device correlated to Burrill emitted app data signals from the location-based hookup app Grindr on a near-daily basis during parts of 2018, 2019, and 2020 — at both his USCCB office and his USCCB-owned residence, as well as during USCCB meetings and events in other cities,” the Pillar reported.

“The data obtained and analyzed by The Pillar conveys mobile app date signals during two 26-week periods, the first in 2018 and the second in 2019 and 2020. The data was obtained from a data vendor and authenticated by an independent data consulting firm contracted by The Pillar,” the site reported. It did not identify who the vendor was or if the site bought the information or got it from a third party.

The Pillar story says app data “correlated” to Burrill’s phone shows the priest visited gay bars, including while traveling for the USCCB.

[twin_ghost]

7. Privacy is a myth in the 21st Century

[SunSeeker]

10. For sure.

As also noted in the article:


Privacy experts have long raised concerns about “anonymized” data collected by apps and sold to or shared with aggregators and marketing companies. While the information is typically stripped of obviously identifying fields, like a user’s name or phone number, it can contain everything from age and gender to a device ID. It’s possible for experts to de-anonymize some of this data and connect it to real people.

[apnu]

14. Reeks of a hit job.

Someone wanted him out.

[mpcamb]

19. They'll find a pedophile-protector to replace him.

[twodogsbarking]

16. He answers to a greater power.

[IronLionZion]

8. I don't care what he does with consenting adults

no abusing children. I'm more concerned about the child predators the church has kept hidden and moved around.

[marble falls]

9. And I bet most lay Catholics agree with you. I'm Lutheran and I agree with you.

[SunSeeker]

11. It's the hypocrisy. And the anti-LGBTQ message.

Just maintaining the Church's anti-homosexuality stance is so detrimental to LGBTQ kids.

[IronLionZion]

13. If he preached against LGBTQ, then his hypocrisy should be called out

I'm not familiar with his preaching history

[AngryOldDem]

17. Ex-Catholic here.

I’m most bothered by the hypocrisy, as I always am with stories like this. The man took a vow of celebacy (not going to debate that, it is what it is), he is supposedly Christ’s representative to his flock, and while I don’t know his sermons either, it’s safe to say he’s been fully on board with telling other people how to live their lives, especially if they’re gay. So if he’s in this line of work, he doesn’t engage in bullshit like this.

The Church has just about taken its holier-than-thou schtick just about as far as it will go. And it wonders why people are leaving it in droves.

[mcar]

12. Is he one of the asswipes trying to block Pres. Biden from getting communiion?

[moriah]

18. I thought the CoCB was the group that put out ....

.... the rules for Catholic hospitals that have caused so many issues with miscarriage management for non-Catholic patients.

Of course, they may talk about communion rules, too.

And I'm with others who don't give a damn so much about whether or not someone is having consensual sex w/ adults. But it IS irking when those same people say "the rules" also mean you can't treat an inevitable miscarriage by speeding up the inevitable to avoid making women suffer unnecessary complications.

[rpannier]

20. Unlikely

He was a monsignor, not a bishop
His office was General Secrtary. He didn't create, set, or vote on policy
He has about as much authority on what the Bishops say and do as you or I
He's the equivalent of a functionary

[orangecrush]

15. From "The Pillar"

The "Catholic media site" in the op...



"There is no evidence to suggest that Burrill was in contact with minors through his use of Grindr. But any use of the app by the priest could be seen to present a conflict with his role in developing and overseeing national child protection policies, as Church leaders have called in recent months for a greater emphasis on technology accountability in Church policies."


Translation - Gay = pedophile.

The people who run and subscribe to that blog are some very sick units.