Pastor to sue dating site over release of rude comments

A Christian dating website which released details about a Swedish pastor’s offensive comments has been accused of violated the country’s data privacy laws.

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The pastor, who is retired, claimed he was drunk when he posted the lewd comments on the 7EHimlen ('Seventh Heaven') website, and has since apologized.

Nevertheless, he is still in danger of losing his position within the church, pending a ruling due to come later in the week.

"You look like a bearded lady," the pastor about one woman with whom he was chatting on the site, according to the Smålandsposten newspaper.

"You look really drab and dreary. You probably have to pay for sex," the elderly pastor reportedly wrote to another woman.

But in passing along the information to the pastor’s superiors, the operators of 7EHimlen broke Sweden’s data privacy laws, according to the Swedish Data Inspection Board (Datainspektionen).

In a response to an inquiry from the pastor, the agency said he would be justified in seeking damages from the site’s operators.

The pastor confirmed for Smålandsposten that he plans to proceed with a damages claim against 7EHimlen.

Simon Widén, a part owner of the site, explained that he chose to report the matter because he was so upset by the pastor’s comments.

“Maybe I’ve broken the law, but from a moral standpoint, it feels justified,” he told the newspaper.