Newly released documents have confirmed that the FBI’s surveillance of traditionalist Catholic communities was more extensive than previously acknowledged. The 2023 memo 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.