A scorned priest is suing Grindr after he says the company failed to protect his personal data, which resulted in him being outed by a Catholic watchdog group and having to step down from his cushy post at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill resigned from his position as the general secretary of the USCCB shortly after a story broke in July 2021 alleging he engaged in “possible improper behavior” on the popular gay hookup app.

The Pillar reported “commercially available records” from Grindr showed he visited numerous gay bars, private residences, and at least one bathhouse in cities around the country throughout 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Ironically, he did all this while preaching about how homosexuality is a sin and how gay people are destined to spend eternity in hell, and blah, blah, blah.

Now, Burrill is suing Grindr, claiming the company “destroyed” his reputation by allowing his data to be sold to a third-party.

The suit, filed this week in the Superior Court of California, alleges the ​​group Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal was able to purchase his personal information, which it then sent it to The Pillar, which then published it, which then led to him being forced out of the USCCB.

The priest, who has taken a vow of poverty, said he was “subjected to significant financial damages” and is demanding Grindr pay him damages, lawyer’s fees, and “injunctive relief.”

He’s also asking court to forbid the app “from committing such unlawful, unfair, and fraudulent business practices.”

Now, here’s the thing: Grindr didn’t do anything illegal.

The app states very clearly in its privacy policy that it collects data and shares it with third-parties. And there’s no way around it either. By signing up for the app, a user is giving their consent to have their personal information shared.

Burrill, who has since returned to active ministry after engaging in a “sincere and prayerful effort to strengthen his priestly vows,” might not like that his personal information was sold to a third-party, but he maybe should’ve considered that before he signed up for a gay sex app after taking a vow of celibacy.

One of his responsibilities as general secretary of the USCCB was to help manage the church’s response to sex scandals and clerical cover-ups. Ironically, when it came to managing his own cover-up, Burrill forgot to read the fine print.

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