Catholic commentators have questioned the ethics of an investigation by a Catholic website that forced the resignation of the former USCCB general secretary Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, whom it non-consensually outed as gay using data purchased from a data vendor.
The Pillar, a subscription newsletter on the Substack platform founded by canon lawyers and former Catholic News Agency editors JD Flynn and Ed Condon, purchased data that related to the gay dating app Grindr then compared geolocation data harvested by the app to information it already had acquired about Burrill’s mobile device, home address, and the addresses of members of his family, to allege that he had visited gay clubs. The Pillar published its allegations earlier this week, by which time Mgr Burrill had already resigned. He and the USCCB had been alerted to the investigation ahead of its publication.
Catholic and secular media outlets have reacted with concern to The Pillar’s acquisition and publication of online data, which is immensely controversial. Religion News Service journalist Steven P Millies, in an opinion piece that was reproduced in The Washington Post and National Catholic Reporter, described The Pillar’s investigation as “unethical, homophobic innuendo.”
In the original article The Pillar alleged that Mgr Burrill had “engaged in serial sexual misconduct”. The authors went on to say: “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.”
Jesuit priest and author Fr James Martin described The Pillar’s investigation as a witch hunt. He said: “Catholic journalism, 2021: Spying on a priest (more accurately, using data from an unnamed source who spied on him) for breaking his promise of celibacy, then conflating homosexuality with pedophilia, under the guise of a journalistic ‘investigation’…”
Fr Martin continued: “Regardless of the actions of the priest who was forced to resign today, is there any indication that an actual ‘investigation’ took place? Or did these writers simply buy data from an unscrupulous source, and one possibly breaking the law? One has to ask: ‘Cui bono?’
“And again, why not spy on everyone [who] works for the church? Why stop at priests? Why not spy on unmarried lay teachers? Perhaps they're sexually active. Why not spy on married pastoral associates? Perhaps they're using birth control. And why stop there? Why not spy on parishioners? Who, in the end, would be left in the church? As the psalmist wrote, ‘If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?’ (Psalm 130: 3).”
Fr Martin concluded, “These witch hunts, usually aimed at vulnerable people working for the church, or targeting people that the authors don't agree with or simply don't like, must end. They are not coming from God and they are in no way ‘Catholic.’”
Catholic author Dawn Eden Goldstein, who has written extensively on the misuse of data and networks within the US Catholic Church, and who is herself a survivor of sexual abuse, published a lengthy analysis of the investigation, focusing in particular on who funded the project, and how The Pillar had come into possession of the personal addresses of clergy. Her full analysis is available here.
Earlier she warned that the outlet had “set a terrible new precedent for invasion of privacy”. “The Pillar, in using mobile data to attempt to try and convict a priest, has entered into truly new territory for a Catholic media outlet claiming to do investigative journalism. Say what you will about [websites] Church Militant and LifeSiteNews; I myself don't consider their articles to be journalism. But, for all the leaks and false accusations they've shared, they've never invested in a trove of cellphone data for the purpose of going on a fishing expedition.
“The Pillar's article does more than claim a priest used a sex app or that he was in the vicinity of a place where gays assembled. It claims outright that he was ‘engaging in a pattern of high-risk sexual behavior’ – without any evidence other than the ‘confirmed’ phone data. I don't know whether this priest did anything wrong. Perhaps he did. Perhaps he's a hypocrite and should be out of ministry. What I do know is that no Catholic media outlet has ever attempted on its own to try and convict a priest using this type of data.
“And – correct me if I'm wrong – I don't think any mainstream media outlets have used such data either. That Grindr data has been on the market for some time. Why has no media outlet used it to find out which politicians may be cheating on their spouses? Something's wrong here. So, why is a purportedly Catholic media outlet, run by canon lawyers (who apparently need to reread canon 220), using cellphone data (purchased and analyzed at a cost of thousands of dollars, funded by anonymous donors) in a manner that no other media outlet has ever done? Nobody wants to see abusive priests remain in ministry. What Pillar & its anon funders are doing appeals to our natural desire to see bad people rendered harmless. But in fact, such ‘journalism’ sets a terrible precedent. It harms the judicial process – & thus harms victims.”
Other Catholic journalists have also criticised The Pillar’s investigation. Author Michael J O’Loughlin wrote: “The story published by The Pillar, which presents itself as a Catholic news site, contained 1,000+ words insinuating that a gay adult using a dating app was somehow prone to abusing minors, a disgusting suggestion.”
Papal biographer Austin Ivereigh, responding to Ms Goldstein’s analysis, warned: “What new power to destroy lives and careers is this? Who gets to use it? Who pays? Cui bono? If I understand this correctly, right-wing Catholics are paying thousands of dollars to gay-sex apps. Someone should be told.”
Mike Lewis, founder of the website Where Peter Is, wrote: “If this is a morally righteous exercise in serving the public interest, I look forward to [The Pillar’s] follow-up article revealing who made and paid for the dataset. How can it be obtained so that others can provide this public service?”
In a lengthy statement that was posted on Twitter The Pillar’s founders responded to some of the concerns raised by Catholic and other media. They said that they were aware of the seriousness of the allegations and the balance between individual privacy and public interest and accountability, and “deliberated on the question in the light of the particular issues, culture, structure, and moral and social norms of the Catholic Church, and are confident in our deliberation.”
They responded to concerns that they had alleged a link between being gay and child sex abuse by saying: “There is no indication, at all, that the leader in question was using the app for any purpose pertaining to minors, and we would not wish to insinuatie anything to the contrary.
“But law enforcement, child protection advocates and academics have warned repeatedly that location-based hookup apps pose risks of both intentional and unintentional exploitation and abuse of minors. Serial and undisclosed use of such an app for any purpose, by a person charged with aiding in technology accountability and reform, would seem to be a matter worth public consideration, especially in light of the Church’s pledges of transparency, accountability and reform.”
In a memo to bishops, USCCB President Archbishop Jose Gomez said he had accepted Msgr Burrill's resignation, effective immediately.
"What was shared with us did not include allegations of misconduct with minors. However, in order to avoid becoming a distraction to the operations and ongoing work of the conference, Monsignor has resigned," the archbishop said.
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