Irish church launches review over claims trainee Catholic priests using Grindr

Catholic church authorities in Ireland have ordered a review of social media access for trainee priests after allegations some of them used the gay dating app Grindr.

Those accusations said the seminary’s students were using Grindr, which is a problem because priests are supposed to be celibate, and that the people in charge were covering it up and even retaliating against students who tried to report it.

Now the college is making plans to review its whistle blowing procedure and rules about using the internet.

As well as reviews into internet and social media use, and the college whistleblowing policy, the trustees will also call on the Church to set up an independent audit into the running of both remaining Irish seminaries, Maynooth and St Malachy’s in Belfast.

The seminary trustees – 13 senior Irish bishops, including Archbishop Martin – said in a statement that “there is no place in a seminary community for any sort of behavior or attitude which contradicts the teaching and example of Jesus Christ”.

Earlier this month the Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said he was “somewhat unhappy” about rumours that students at St Patrick’s College in Maynooth were using the app, which he claimed “fostered promiscuous sexuality”.

Archbishop Martin first raised concerns publicly in early August when he said “there seems to an atmosphere of unusual goings-on there (Maynooth); it seems like a quarrelsome place with anonymous letters being sent around”.

‘It is essential that these are observed in order to form priests “after the heart of the Good Shepherd”.

However, the trustees added that the students should pay attention to the Pope’s recent recommendation that “spending time with women and families can benefit their studies”.

Its trustees said they were concerned about an “unhealthy atmosphere created by anonymous accusations”.

“Persons with specific concerns are encouraged to report them appropriately as soon as possible”.

The seminarians from the country’s largest Catholic diocese are instead to be sent to the Irish College in Rome.

It was built to train 500 trainee Catholic priests every year but numbers have nosedived to about 60 in recent years with a fall-off in vocations.