Passphrase window freezes my DE's panel - is this a bug?

[scott092707 at aol.com]

When I installed QtPass and started using it, I had to select a GPG passphrase, which I then stored in a file.

The first time I use QtPass after booting my computer, it asks for my GPG passphrase.
It then asks for it again, either after a certain number of minutes, or after a certain number of password uses in QtPass.

I got tired of always having to bring up my file manager, and then opening the file containing the passphrase,
and copy and pasting it into the passphrase field, each time GPG wanted the passphrase.

I created a .desktop file that contained an exe field containing a terminal command to copy the passphrase string
onto the clipboard, and dragged it into my panel's QuickLaunch.
Now, when GPG wants the passphrase, I just click on the .desktop icon in the QuickLaunch, and ctrl-v into the
passphrase window text field.

All was good.  Until...

Since the installation of the 2.2.20 GnuPG packages on my LXQt Debian Testing system, I am no longer able to do this.

I try to click on the .desktop file icon in the QuickLaunch, and nothing happens.
In fact, nothing in the panel is clickable - no other icons, not the menu - nothing.
Probably nothing else on the desktop/workspace is usable - it appears the passphrase window steals all possible input.

I just (4/9) did a apt-get upgrade, and I note that several GPG packages were in the list of installed upgrades,
being raised to 2.2.20 ("(2.2.20-1) over (2.2.19-1)")

I can get around this by cancelling the passphrase window, clicking on my icon, re-selecting the QtPass line that is
supposed to bring up the password and related info, and finally pasting the clipboard into the re-appearing passphrase
window.
It is annoying to have to do this, though...

Is this a bug, or a (security?) feature?

I don't know which of the many GPG packages throws up the passphrase window, to know to which package a bug
report should be directed (if it is a bug).  I might have thought pinentry[*], but it is NOT one of the upgraded packages.
(I have pinentry-curses and pinentry-gnome3 (curiously, not pinentry-qt...), at versions 1.1.0-3+b1)

My QtPass is at version 1.3.2-1, and pass is at 1.7.3-2.
(My assumption is that QtPass is calling a GPG function that sometimes asks for the passphrase, or that QtPass calls
a pass function that is calling a GPG function that sometimes asks for the passphrase.)

I thought I had a way to make use of the passphrase easier, and now that way is removed - or at least made lots more
convoluted.

Any ideas?

-Scott