Newly released documents have confirmed that the FBI’s surveillance of traditionalist Catholic communities was more extensive than previously acknowledged. The <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fbi-anti-catholic-memo.pdf?">2023 memo</a> issued by the Richmond field office, initially described as an isolated misjudgement, was circulated among multiple FBI divisions and viewed by over 1,000 Bureau employees. It was partly based on designations from the Southern Poverty Law Centre (SPLC) and included proposals to investigate Catholic groups through online forums and parish-level contact.
The memo, dated 23 January 2023, <a href="https://oig.justice.gov/sites/default/files/2024-04/4-18-2024.pdf">alleged</a> that so-called “radical-traditionalist Catholics” could serve as recruitment pools for racially motivated extremists. The leaked document suggested using informants within Latin Mass congregations and monitoring online Catholic content. Internal records confirm that the memo was reviewed and endorsed by at least four other FBI field offices—Buffalo, Milwaukee, Louisville and Portland. A second, wider intelligence product titled <em>Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report</em> was drafted but never released. Although it omitted the SPLC references, it retained the memo’s core themes.
After the memo became public in February 2023, the FBI announced its withdrawal, claiming it did not reflect Bureau standards. However, <a href="https://www.young.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/imo/media/doc/fbi_memo_letter.pdf?">emails obtained </a>since show that then-Deputy Director Paul Abbate ordered the memo’s deletion from FBI systems. Another official deleted access logs identifying who had viewed the document. Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley has accused the Bureau’s former leadership of obstructing oversight and attempting to conceal internal responses to the incident.
The episode began with the FBI’s categorisation of traditional Catholic observance as a potential domestic extremism indicator. The leaked Richmond memo suggested that interest in the Traditional Latin Mass and adherence to pre-Vatican II liturgical forms could be warning signs. Though publicly disavowed by FBI Director Christopher Wray, internal files show the same terminology appeared in over a dozen intelligence reports. Other field offices began tracking Catholic communities on the basis of the Richmond memo.
In December 2023, a report from the House Judiciary Committee disclosed that FBI agents had questioned a local priest and choir director in Virginia. The report stated that the Richmond analysis stemmed from a single self-described Catholic extremist and relied heavily on politically biased online sources. The Department of Justice Inspector General found that the FBI’s process lacked proper oversight and failed to follow analytical standards.<br>
<a href="https://www.myspiritfm.com/News?articleid=286016&blogid=Catholic-News&view=post&utm">Internal emails </a>reveal that some FBI agents voiced concern about the use of SPLC data to profile religious groups. Despite these warnings, the memo was distributed widely, and some personnel requested updates on the Catholic organisations it flagged.
In the aftermath, the Bureau initiated further training for analysts and imposed new controls on sensitive intelligence documents.
FBI officials continue to state that investigations are not launched on the basis of religious affiliation alone whilst Members of Congress have called for the full release of all FBI records on the matter and a detailed explanation of how practising Catholics were identified as potential threats.
<em>Photo: FBI Director Christopher Wray (L) and Chairman Senator Dick Durbin, D-IL, tap elbows after Wray testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on the January 6th insurrection, in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 2, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)</em>
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