美国国家公共电台 NPR--Catholic group spent millions on data tracking gay priests, 'Washington Post' reports

Catholic group spent millions on data tracking gay priests, 'Washington Post' reports

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep talk to Washington Post reporter Michelle Boorstein about the Catholic organization that bought mobile phone data to "out" priests who use gay dating apps.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A conservative Catholic organization in Denver spent at least $4 million on data from dating and hookup apps to track priests. The Washington Post says the nonprofit paid for the data with donations from philanthropists and then shared the information it purchased with Catholic bishops². The Post's Michelle Boorstein broke this story with her colleague, Heather Kelly. And Michelle Boorstein is on the line. Good morning.

MICHELLE BOORSTEIN: Good morning.

INSKEEP: I guess we should define a little more definitely what the group was looking for. Your headline in The Washington Post says "Catholic Group Spent Millions On App Data That Tracked Gay Priests." Why gay priests?

BOORSTEIN: Well, this is a group that's really prioritizing this kind of conservative view of Catholic life. So our reporting showed that their interest is really in this - you know, prioritizing priests who use these gay hookup apps. The huge data set that they have did include, in much smaller numbers, a variety of other apps, which included OkCupid, other gay apps, other straight apps and that kind of thing. But the vast majority of their data was focused on Grindr, which is an app that gay men use.

INSKEEP: I guess we should remind people, according to the rules of the Catholic Church, priests are not supposed to marry. They're supposed to remain celibate³. And I guess if you're concerned about that, you can go poking⁴ around and find out if people are following that rule. But you're saying, it seems, from the data you have, their specific concern was not people engaging in sexual activity as people who were gay. You also say you have an audio recording⁵ of the group president discussing its mission. How did they define what they were doing?

BOORSTEIN: Well, they talked about this heavy concern about celibacy⁶. And there's been - especially in the last few years in the Catholic Church, there's been a concern about bishops and people at the top not sharing information and not holding each other accountable and that kind of thing. So this is kind of reflecting this trend in the Catholic Church where laypeople are really saying, look; we can't trust the bishops to take control of things, to clean things up, whether that's the clergy⁷ sex abuse issue - which this group does connect to gay priests in particular - or just celibacy and traditional values. So we need to kind of take the reins⁸ ourselves and police this issue.

INSKEEP: As best you can tell, what have the bishops done with the information they were given?

BOORSTEIN: Well, you know, we don't have all the information about what went on everywhere, but we know that bishops who received this information had kind of complicated feelings about it. They didn't want their priests to know that they were doing this. So in some cases, we believe that there were priests who were approached in some kind of unclear manner, which is - you know, they weren't clear about where they got the information. They just said, you know, we understand that you're using these apps, or we - you know, we have some concerns about your behavior or something like that. They were torn about it 'cause some people in the project wanted to just out priests, which is what happened two years ago to a priest in Wisconsin who was - who we believe was found through this data. But I think in general, they were trying to keep the fact that they were doing this project secret. And so people who are affected⁹ by it don't realize that this is what was behind comments from their bishops.

INSKEEP: Can I just, in the few seconds we have, clarify something here? There have been horrifying¹⁰ sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church going back decades, obviously, but was this group in some way conflating simply being gay with being a pedophile?

BOORSTEIN: I think - yeah, I think that they do believe some aspect of that. I mean, the data showed through this particular period of the sex abuse crisis, you know, recent, you know, decades, starting in, like, the, you know, '50s, '60s, that the majority of victims were male. But that's a very complicated issue.

INSKEEP: To say the least. We've got to stop it there, I'm sad to say. Michelle Boorstein of The Washington Post. Thanks so much for your insights.

(SOUNDBITE OF POPPY ACKROYD'S "SUSPENDED")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 bishops   

（基督教某些教派管辖大教区的）主教( bishop的名词复数 )； （国际象棋的）象

参考例句：

• Each player has two bishops at the start of the game. 棋赛开始时，每名棋手有两只象。
• "Only sheriffs and bishops and rich people and kings, and such like. “他劫富济贫，抢的都是郡长、主教、国王之类的富人。

3 celibate   

adj.独身的，独身主义的；n.独身者

参考例句：

• He had defended the institution of a celibate priesthood.他捍卫了独身牧师制度。
• The instinct of the celibate warned him to hold back.单身汉的本能告诫他回头是岸。

4 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

5 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

6 celibacy   

n.独身(主义)

参考例句：

• People in some religious orders take a vow of celibacy. 有些宗教修会的人发誓不结婚。
• The concept of celibacy carries connotations of asceticism and religious fervor. 修道者的独身观念含有禁欲与宗教热情之意。

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

8 reins   

感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带

参考例句：

• She pulled gently on the reins. 她轻轻地拉着缰绳。
• The government has imposed strict reins on the import of luxury goods. 政府对奢侈品的进口有严格的控制手段。

9 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

10 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。