USCCB general secretary resigns amid allegations of improper behavior

Just heard this on Al Kresta.

Msgr. Jeffrey Burrill, the general secretary of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, resigned from his post on Tuesday ahead of a media report alleging that he frequented gay bars and private residences while using a popular “hookup” app on his mobile device.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...resigns-amid-allegations-of-improper-behavior

Keep in mind, this was the bishop in charge of dealing with the sexual scandals in the US Church.

 

It just doesn't end does it? On and on....a blow upon a bruise. Over and over. A kind of scourging of the people of God.

 

Incredible. I don't know if anyone is familiar with the "apps" in the article but they are about the worst imaginable. Even people in the gay community have called them out as a perversion of masculinity. This reminds me of the gay cults within the Nazi party before the night of the long knives when Hitler targeted many of them to distance himself and destroy anyone who might be a threat to his seizing of power.

Here is the article Fr Martin is referencing. Sounds like he is trying to relate it to the revelation today.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/...using-surveillance-technology-to-track-clergy

 

From the sound of that article I don't think this is the last of it.

 

Totally aghast.

 

I think nowadays around here, they have the Priests sharing quarters, a house or something so they can kind of keep an eye on each other. Just my opinion.

 

Wow!

 

I think The Pillar is who initially broke the story if anyone wishes to read more.

https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/pillar-investigates-usccb-gen-sec

 

Father Altman's diocese (or former diocese, I'm not sure which), could someone have pointed the Pillar in a certain direction? I wonder some. Just a coincidence.

 

horrific

 

Using Grindr? Is that the extent of his inappropriate behavior? That's enough but I hope that is the extent of it. Using an app.

 

And “father” Martins response is to blame the messenger.

Buckle up

 

So Msgr. Burrill is a priest of the La Crosse diocese? Really? I love God’s perfect timing here, it will all come to light

Pray tell, will Bishop Callahan remove his faculties like he did to Father Altman?

 

They went into a little more detail of this on "Kresta in the Afternoon". Grinder is more than "just an app". It is an application designed to allow homosexual and transsexual men to connect with others. When you sign up for a Grindr account, in the service rules that you must agree to in order to use the app, you explicitly give them permission to track your movements, track who you connect with, whose profiles you're viewing, etc. They know when you're going to certain places at certain times (a house, for example) because the GPS in your phone gives precise tracking data. The level of information collected and the conclusions one can draw from them are eye-opening. Plus (at least in the USA) they can sell that data to 3rd parties to be used for advertising. In Norway, they had to pay about $17 million in fines because of all the personal data they sold to four different advertising groups.

Although I haven't read the article in Pillar, I imagine they were able to purchase the data on Msgr. Burrill. Thus, they can prove that he used the Grindr app in his office at the USCCB and at his house which is owned by the USCCB. They can also use the data to prove that when he was travelling on USCCB business, he made trips to gay bathhouses and gay bars. The amount of such data collected would indicate that he is a homosexual who was engaging in homosexual behavior after having taken vows BEFORE GOD of celibacy and chastity.

 

I know what Grindr is, it was involved in another famous case. Still, using it is not as bad as some of the abuse cases that have been out there, say with underage males. It's not okay but if consenting adults were involved, this probably is not as bad.

Brighton hairdresser 'infected Grindr dates with HIV' - BBC News This case is probably one of the reasons they decided to try to know the whereabouts of users.

The story of the USCCB was earlier posted here: https://motheofgod.com/threads/the-vatican-has-fallen.10058/page-855#post-345430

 

My initial reaction to this was how horrific it is. And tbh, I was thinking more in terms of another black mark on Church. But, after reflecting more, I actually see two things. First, my inner reaction if wow this guy is a bad sinner- glad I’m not that bad. Thanks be To God that Holy Spirit reminded me that I’m a huge sinner myself. The poor priest needs my prayers - God and I suppose his superiors will judge him. I pray for him today that he repents and converts- his soul is at stake. Second, God is in charge. For His reasons, the Church continues to suffer these very public sins. There is a reason- I don’t know what it is. But God has a plan. I need to trust.

 

I have said repeatedly, I think Priests should basically start their vocation in their mid-30s, maybe these weak and horrible traits could be ironed out by the time someone is 35, 36 years old. That's not ideal I know but it may be better than the alternative.