A Wisconsin priest who lost his job after being exposed for using Grindr is now suing the gay dating app, alleging that his data was sold without his knowledge or consent.
Bishop Jeffrey Barile, who served as the top administrator for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) until his resignation in 2021, claims that Grindr failed to inform him that his personal information was being sold to vendors and allowed people outside the app to know that he was using the app.
In his lawsuit, Baril said the release of the data had caused “significant damage” to his reputation. Obtained by The Washington Post Especially given that he had taken a vow of celibacy as a priest and the Catholic Church’s long-standing opposition to homosexuality.
Baril was fired from his position at the church after Christian news site The Pillar published an article revealing his visits to gay bars and use of dating apps, and reported that the site had used online data to track and verify his movements.
In his lawsuit, the former priests allege that The Pillar received the data from Catholic Lay and Clergy Renewal (CLCR), a Christian nonprofit that bought data from gay dating apps and tracked church leaders who were using them in violation of their vows — implying that Grindr sold the data to the group.
“We want answers so we can use them as a warning to other Grindr users,” said Barile’s lawyer, Gregory Helmer.
According to the lawsuit, Baril said he would never have joined the app if he had known his data would be made public.
“To force that decision out of his hands and into the public sphere is reprehensible,” James Carr, another lawyer representing Barrile, told The Washington Post.
Helmer said Barile is still “recovering” from the “shame and embarrassment” of coming out, but in June he sued The Grindr for $5 million in damages.
The company denied his demands, and he filed a lawsuit on July 18, seeking damages and the implementation of policies to prevent user data from being made public without users’ knowledge.
Grindr told The Washington Post that it “robustly responds to these allegations, which are based on a misinterpretation of our user data practices,” and has previously denied publishing user data.
CLCR acknowledged that it had obtained data from Grindr in the past for the purpose of prosecuting clergy, but denied providing any data to The Pillar.
Baril’s ouster sparked widespread criticism at the time, with many saying Pillars’ use of data was dangerously homophobic.
