Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, who resigned from his position as general secretary for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops after the gay dating app Grindr allegedly provided data to third parties, has filed a lawsuit accusing the app of privacy violations and deception.
According to legal news outlet the Daily Journal, Msgr. Burrill’s lawyers filed the lawsuit on his behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court on July 18.
The lawsuit alleges that Grindr sold Msgr. Burrill’s personal data, including information about Msgr. Burrill’s location, after misleadingly advertising that the app would not do so. The lawsuit also alleges that Grindr concealed from Msgr. Burrill that the personal data could be used to identify him.
Andrew Friedman and Gregory Helmer of Friedman LLP, and James Carr are representing Msgr. Burrill in the suit.
According to the Daily Journal, Grindr issued a statement expressing that the company intends to “vigorously” respond to the lawsuit’s allegations.
In July 2021, the Pillar published an investigative report allegedly using Grindr data to accuse Msgr. Burrill of sexual misconduct in 2021. The Pillar did not state where it received the data from.
Before publishing the report, The Pillar claims it presented the data to the USCCB. Just a day before the report was published, Msgr. Burrill resigned from his position as general secretary of the USCCB, which he had held since November 2020, and withdrew from public ministry. He was reinstated to ministry in the diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin, in June 2022.
The Pillar’s 2021 publication on the scandal sparked a debate not only within the Catholic Church but also in secular media circles about the use of private data.
The Atlantic ran an article on the issue in August 2021, highlighting questions around invasions of privacy and journalistic ethics. The Washington Post published an article in July 2021 highlighting various responses to the story, with one accusing The Pillar of “McCarthyism,” and others more understanding of the Pillar’s decision to publish the story.
According to the Post, Grindr has previously faced penalties over sharing private information. In January 2021, Norwegian officials fined Grindr more than $11 million for sharing user information with advertising companies.
After the Pillar’s report was published, the Post also reported that “Grindr… initially denied it was even possible for such data to become public, saying in a statement that the incident [regarding Msgr. Burrill] was ‘infeasible from a technical standpoint and incredibly unlikely to occur.’”
According to the Post, Grindr later updated its statement regarding the Pillar’s publication about Msgr. Burrill, stating: “We do not believe Grindr is the source of the data,” and the Post noted that Grindr also “claimed the ‘pieces simply do not add up.’”
— Survivors of clergy sex abuse react to ruling in favor of Seattle Archdiocese
by Natalie Swaby
On Friday, a judge decided to not force the Seattle Archdiocese to turn over records that the Attorney General’s Office has been asking for since last July.
Ahead of the hearing, survivors of clergy sexual abuse made a point to be at the courthouse.
“For me personally I have been working hard for this day for 31 or 32 years, since I faced my abuse by a priest when I was seven,” said Mary Dispenza.
Wearing a pin with a picture of her at that age, Dispenza is now on a mission to expose what she said the Catholic Church has kept hidden.
The Seattle Archdiocese has released its official record of clergy credibly accused. There are more than 80 names on the list.
“I don’t believe that 80 is the accurate number at all,” said Dispenza, who believes it is much higher.
That’s why she was at the courthouse on Friday afternoon.
“Release the records to the public domain. By records I mean the stories how they happened, who was responsible so we can make a better future,” Dispenza said.
In court, the state made its case first.
“We ask for a ruling that the church is not immune from this investigation,” said First Assistant Attorney General Kristin Beneski.
The Attorney General’s Office launched an investigation into whether the Catholic Church used charitable funds to cover up child sex abuse.
“When you hide that fact that a member of the clergy is abusing children or other vulnerable people, but then you allow them to keep doing their job but in different locations, you are exposing people in those different location to that abuser,” said Beneski.
>“The Attorney General was not given the authority pursuant to a charitable trust act to supervise and to enforce a religious corporation that is tax exempt,” argued Theresa DeMonte, the attorney for the Seattle Archdiocese.
The judge’s decision was to deny the state’s application.
After the hearing, Attorney General Bob Ferguson talked about the remarks made by the attorneys for the Seattle Archdiocese.
“What I heard in there was wildly inconsistent with what I understand Catholicism to be. What I saw in there was shameful,” said Ferguson. “We can go all the way to the state supreme court.”
“When it comes to crimes i just don’t believe anyone should be exempt, and we are not going to give up.” Said Dispenza.
The Seattle Archdiocese released the following statement after Friday’s ruling, saying “sexual abuse in the Church is a heart-wrenching part of our history, and I am deeply sorry for the pain caused to victim survivors, their families and all Catholics.
“We remain focused on the need for healing and proper governance in these matters,” said Archbishop Paul D. Etienne. “While ironing out the legalities is important, I take no pleasure in today’s outcome. Because we are committed to preventing abuse, promoting transparency and continuously improving our processes, my offer to collaborate with the attorney general still stands.”
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego announced Thursday that it plans to return to U.S. bankruptcy court to help manage its response to hundreds of lawsuits filed by people who say they were sexually assaulted by Catholic priests when they were young.
It is the second time San Diego church officials have gone to bankruptcy court to limit damage from claims from child sex-abuse victims.
Cardinal Robert McElroy, who serves as bishop to the 1.4 million Catholics in San Diego and Imperial counties, alerted parishioners to the decision in an open letter that was publicly released by the diocese on Thursday.
The legal action, which is expected to be filed Monday, comes after church officials acknowledged last year that they were considering a return to bankruptcy court and began mediation with survivors.
“For the past year, the Diocese has held substantive and helpful negotiations with the attorneys representing the victims of abuse, and I, in collaboration with the leadership of the Diocese, have come to the conclusion that this is the moment to enter formally into bankruptcy and continue negotiations as part of the bankruptcy process,” McElroy wrote.
Lawyers representing the 400-plus plaintiffs in San Diego Superior Court lawsuits said the decision shows the diocese is more interested in protecting its assets than protecting the people who attended its schools and services.
“After nearly a year of mediation, we were hoping that child sexual abuse survivors, the Diocese and its insurer would have been able to reach a settlement and an agreed-to plan for compensating victims through the inevitable bankruptcy announced by the Diocese about a year ago,” plaintiffs’ attorney Irwin Zalkin said.
“Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened.”
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said the Catholic Diocese of San Diego is the 13th diocese across the country to seek bankruptcy protection from sexual-abuse survivors.
“It has become very clear that these Catholic Diocese and their insurers have adopted a national strategy to use Chapter 11 bankruptcies to resolve child sexual abuse cases in a way that reduces the compensation paid to survivors,” said attorney Devin Storey, a Zalkin law partner who also represents victims.
McElroy said the Diocese was facing two moral claims: the need for just compensation for victims and the need to further the church’s mission of education, service and outreach to the poor and neglected.
“Bankruptcy offers the best pathway to achieve both,” he said.
In 2007, the Diocese of San Diego agreed to pay almost $200 million to 144 people who reported sexual abuse by priests — a settlement that was reached after the church filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Chapter 11 proceeding more than 15 years ago was marred by accusations from victims’ lawyers that church officials deliberately hid assets from the bankruptcy court in order to limit damages.
Zalkin on Thursday circulated quotes from the judge who oversaw the 2007 case.
“The term ‘disingenuous’ as applied to the Diocese description of assets available to fund the settlement is completely accurate,” then-U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Louise De Carl Adler said in a ruling.
“The church needs to look within itself,” she added. “Chapter 11 is not supposed to be a vehicle or a method to hammer down on the claims of the abused.”
A state law passed in 2019 opened a new window for victims of clergy sex abuse to file claims against the church for three years ending in 2022 — and ultimately resulted in 457 new claims against the San Diego diocese.
That same year, in the weeks leading up to the bill being signed into law, the diocese systematically transferred ownership of hundreds of its properties.
According to an analysis by The San Diego Union-Tribune published last year, the diocese owned 376 properties at the start of 2019 but just 76 by that year’s end — an 80 percent drop. None of the property transfers involved money changing hands or other monetary consideration.
Church officials said the changes were not aimed at reducing assets in response to the 2019 legislation. Rather, a spokesperson told the Union-Tribune that process of transferring church assets had begun in 2010 and simply took years to complete.
The bankruptcy filing expected to be filed Monday will involve only the diocese itself, church officials said — not the 96 individual parishes, 49 elementary and secondary schools or the charitable or other programs that operate under the church’s guidance.
Even so, schools and parishes may have to help pay off any eventual settlement, McElroy said.
“It is clear that as part of providing appropriate compensation to past victims of the sexual abuse of minors, both the parishes and high schools will have to contribute substantially to the ultimate settlement in order to bring finality to the liability they face,” he wrote.
In his message to parishioners, McElroy said almost 60 percent of the allegations brought forward in the current litigation are more than 50 years old. He also said the church has taken steps to prevent such abuse but that those reforms do not excuse past behavior.
“The tremendous strides we have made in the past 20 years to protect minors in the church and beyond cannot begin to mitigate the enormous moral responsibility that I, as your bishop, and the entire Catholic community continue to bear,” he wrote.
“May God never let this shame pass from our sight, and may God’s tenderness envelop the innocent children and teenagers who were victimized.”
Another Catholic diocese in California has filed for bankruptcy as it seeks to adjudicate several claims of sexual abuse committed at the hands of clergy members.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno announced in a statement Tuesday that “the Diocese will file a petition for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy with the United States Bankruptcy Court in 2024.”
Bishop Joseph Brennan noted in an open letter to parishioners that a California state law “opened a three-year window for individuals to bring forward otherwise barred or expired claims for sexual abuse suffered as a child.”
“Since the closing of the filing window on December 31, 2022, we have been informed of 154 cases filed against our Diocese,” he stated.
Brennan outlined his two “definitive goals” of how to “continue to atone for the sin of clergy abuse” as “to make sure we are handling claims of abuse with equitable compassion and resolving those claims as fairly as possible” as well as “to ensure the continuation of ministry within our Diocese.”
Brennan cited a declaration of bankruptcy, which he expects to file in August, as a way to “address the substantial number of claims brought forth by victims collectively” that “will allow us to address those claims honestly, compassionately, and equitably.”
“Requesting a court-supervised reorganization is the only path that allows us to meet the goals stated above,” he said.
“The reorganization ensures all victims are compensated fairly and funds are not depleted by the first few cases addressed,” he added. “The process also allows the operation of our schools, parishes, and organizations to continue uninterrupted, since the only entity filing for bankruptcy protection is the corporate sole, known legally as The Roman Catholic Bishop of Fresno.”
Brennan insisted that “Catholic Charities and the Fresno Diocese Education Corporation, which operates the schools are separate legal or ecclesial entities and will not be filing for bankruptcy protection.”
A frequently-asked-questions page elaborating on the impacts of the bankruptcy declaration indicates that “it will pay for the claims from funds that are available to be used for such purposes,” adding “there is some insurance to cover abuse that occurred in past decades.”
The Diocese of Fresno is not the first diocese in California to file for bankruptcy amid a wave of sexual misconduct allegations directed at priests.
Earlier this year, the Diocese of Sacramento filed for bankruptcy as it seeks to resolve an even larger number of claims of sexual abuse committed by clergy.
The California state law that led to an increased volume of sexual assault allegations directed at clergy, Assembly Bill 118, declares: “In an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault, the time for commencement of the action shall be within 22 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within five years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever period expires later.”
The legislation, passed in 2019, allows “action for liability against any person or entity who owed a duty of care to the plaintiff if a wrongful or negligent act by that person or entity was a legal cause of the childhood sexual assault that resulted in the injury to the plaintiff.”
Frank Schindler, a member of the Maryland chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, speaks to reporters on Monday outside the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse in Baltimore following a hearing in the Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy case.
From the witness stand in a small, packed courtroom, Cathy Roland held up two photos, one of herself and one of her late twin sister, Terri, as children.
Inside the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse in Baltimore, Roland then showed a picture of the two of them together, which she said was taken after the Rev. Eugene Ambrose McGuire had sexually abused them at St. Joseph’s Monastery Parish.
“It’s just different,” she said Monday. “It’s just sadness.”
After presenting her statement, Roland told other survivors in the courtroom that her heart goes out to them. “We will get through it,” she added.
For a second time, survivors of childhood sexual abuse presented statements during a hearing in the Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy case. Eight people shared their stories. Many spoke about how being sexually abusedstole their childhood, drove them to alcoholism and drug addiction, and ruined their ability to develop relationships and trust others.
“I hate God,” one woman testified. “Because he let this happen to me. And all these other people here.”
Archbishop William Lori said he was moved by the powerful testimony of the eight survivors who spoke on Monday during a hearing in the Archdiocese of Baltimore bankruptcy.
Archbishop William Lori again attended the court proceedings and listened to their statements. He later said the testimony moved him and commented about the courage of the survivors.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Michelle M. Harner set aside time for the statements at the request of the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, which represents survivors in the case. The Archdiocese of Baltimore supported the effort. Six people spoke on April 8 during the first specially set hearing, which was designed to increase transparency and understanding in the process.
“From the court’s perspective, this is a listening session: an opportunity for individuals to be heard,” said Harner, who largely echoed her remarks at the first hearing. “Today, the court will provide time and space for listening.”
As a lifelong Baltimorean, Mark Easley said he went to church every Sunday at St. Vincent de Paul.
His family members, he said, were devout Catholics. He said he trusted everyone in that environment. It seemed like a haven during the political and racial turmoil of the 1960s.
The Rev. Edmund Stroup, he said, would have some people stay with him overnight, which was considered an honor. Easley said he was excited for his opportunity to do the same.
“I viewed this man as one of God’s messengers,” Easley said.
Stroup, he said, sexually abused him during that visit as well as a subsequent overnight stay.
Easley said he was mortified and kept what happened to himself, sinking into music as a coping mechanism. The abuse, he said, “turned me and my life upside down.”
Joe Martin spoke about the sexual abuse that he experienced at the hands of the Rev. Francis LeFevre, whom he met in fifth grade as an altar boy at St. Anthony of Padua.
LeFevre, he said, was outgoing, energetic and likeable. In retrospect, Martin said, the priest “ingratiated himself in all aspects of my life.”
Martin said LeFevre abused him during trips to places including Sea Isle City, New Jersey, and stated that the victimization continued after he started attending Calvert Hall.
He said he felt ashamed and embarrassed. Martin said he hated everyone and everything, withdestructive thoughts turning into destructive behaviors.
Eventually, Martin said, he moved back home and returned to church. Elders prayed over him and stated that Jesus loved him, an instance he described as the most peaceful moment in his life. Finally, Martin said, he knew that somebody loved him.
Often, Martin said, he has anger. But he said he has also learned to let go and noted that he joined the creditors’ committee.
Following the hearing, Frank Schindler, a member of the Maryland chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, and Teresa Lancaster, a survivor, activist and attorney in Maryland who testified at the first hearing, criticized the Archdiocese of Baltimore for filing for bankruptcy. They also spoke out against the Catholic Church for challenging the Child Victims Act of 2023, which eliminated the statute of limitations for survivors to file lawsuits and allowed more people to sue institutions that enabled their victimization.
Right before the law was set to take effect on Oct. 1, 2023, and open up the church to a flood of lawsuits, the Archdiocese of Baltimore filed for bankruptcy.
Teresa Lancaster, a survivor, activist, and attorney in Maryland, criticizes the Archdiocese of Baltimore for filing for bankruptcy as well as the Catholic Church for challenging the Child Victims Act of 2023 during a news conference outside the Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse in Baltimore.
The chair of the creditors’ committee, Paul Jan Zdunek, said it was gut-wrenching listening to survivors recount what happened to them.
Zduneksaid the deadline to submit a claim in the case is May 31 and emphasized that survivors can do so anonymously. The committee also has a website that contains up-to-date information about the court proceedings as well as resources.
He said the committee has been meeting with the archbishop and his team.
“They’re saying the right things. Now, we just hope they will continue to do the right things as we move forward,” Zdunek said. “We’re all stuck in this together — and are trying to do what we can for those who have been abused.”
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