Posted on 02/09/2023 6:59:26 PM PST by SeekAndFind
Isn’t the FBI’s reputation with much of the public already far enough in the toilet without tossing something like this onto the bonfire? A recently leaked internal FBI memo from their Richmond office warned agents about the lurking danger of “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology” (RTC ideology). The document spoke of “racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism,” suggesting that anyone who prefers to attend traditional Latin mass is somehow prone to racism or xenophobia and violence or whatever. Oh, and they allegedly also tend to be anti-Semites, so they’re probably out there attacking synagogues. Honestly… you just can’t make this stuff up. (National Review)
The FBI’s Richmond field office released an internal memo last month warning against “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology,” and claiming it “almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities,” according to a document shared by an FBI whistleblower on Wednesday.
Kyle Seraphin, who was a special agent at the bureau for six years before he was indefinitely suspended without pay in June 2022, published the document, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” on UncoverDC.com.
“In making this assessment, FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that [racially or ethnically motivated extremists] will continue to find [radical-traditionalist Catholic or RTC] ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both virtually via social media and in-person at places of worship,” the document from January 23 states.
As insane as this sounds, it starts to make a little more sense when you learn the source of the warning that led to this memo. It came from the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC, which was once a well-regarded civil rights organization, is now essentially a bought and paid-for militant arm of the progressive movement. They will condemn anyone who espouses unapproved views as a “danger” or a “threat” to preferred minority groups and most of the legacy media, unfortunately, treats their diatribes as serious news.
This particular bit of madness is made even more ironic when you look at what’s been going on around the country over the past few years. As Teri Christoph reminded us at RedState yesterday, there were 278 attacks on Catholic churches in 2020 alone. (They were a favorite target during the BLM riots.) And since the question of abortion was returned to the states last year by the Supreme Court, attacks on both churches and Catholic crisis pregnancy centers have been increasingly common, including incidents of firebombing.
As we’ve seen, the FBI has done little more than pay lip service to the arson attacks on pregnancy centers, while they attempted (and thankfully failed) to throw a pastor in prison for more than a decade for singing bible hymns in an abortion clinic. It’s no wonder that public faith in the Bureau is cratering. And incidents such as this one only further validate the need for the new House panel that will be looking into the political weaponization of law enforcement under the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, might the FBI be willing to point out a few examples of these alleged mobs of violent racists who happen to be able to speak Latin? I’m willing to bet that there have been some individuals who wound up getting into trouble and who also attended Catholic church services at some time in their life. But that’s very different than finding a church where militant activist groups are recruiting new members and meeting in the basement of St. Josephs.
On top of that, Church-goers who attempt to follow Catholic doctrine should be less prone to violence, at least in theory. You may recall some portions of the New Testament that forbid violence in nearly any circumstances, preferring to leave justice in the hands of the Lord. Yes, everyone falls victim to sin from time to time, but the types of attacks the FBI is warning against should be antithetical to the church’s followers. This entire story is yet another example of how the world feels like everything is going crazy these days.
Obsolete article; FBI memo has been withdrawn. But keep an eye on them.
Disband the entire FBI.
Kooks have been running that place, for way too long.
All because Biden and Pelosi have been denied communion, not their FBI is coming for the Catholic Church. Surely we are in the Last Days where Satan under the guise of the Democrat Party is roaming this part of the earth.
bkmk
And then they came for the Radical Traditionalist Catholics.
The “FBI” did not write the memo, a particular agent did. Who is he? Have him appear before Congress and give an account of his actions. People in government need to be held accountable.
And the latest; FBI To Retract Catholic Infiltration Memo, Conduct Internal Review
I’m starting to believe that Robert Hanssen might actually be a folk hero now.
Wonder if they were going after other religious groups. I wouldn’t be surprised.
Its like they’re begging to be shut down.
““radical traditionalist Catholic ideology... almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities""mitigation opportunities" -- better watch out for those new parishioners who go to mass wearing khakis and polos.
Such insanity
Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology
so we’re a thing now... who knew???
Nuns could hide machine guns under their habits and wear kevlar vests while they protest Francis.
“Nuns could hide machine guns under their habits and wear kevlar vests while they protest Francis.”
They also carry rulers!
“Anyone who prefers to attend traditional Latin mass”... has a better chance of getting into heaven that those who reject the traditional Latin mass. FBI will always regret placing a target on Latin mass fans. https://www.latinmassdir.org/
The FBI is now PROVEN to be anti-Christian!
They got caught. Biden’s DOJ is probably working hand in hand with Tradition Catholic-hating Francis and his goons at the Vatican.
The FBI says it is retracting a leaked document published on the internet Feb. 8 that appears to reveal that the bureau’s Richmond division launched an investigation into “radical traditionalist” Catholics and their possible ties to “the far-right white nationalist movement.”
In response to an inquiry from CNA, the FBI said it will remove the document because “it does not meet our exacting standards.”
The document, which was published on the website UncoverDC and is titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” the document singles out Catholics who are interested in the traditional Latin Mass as potentially linked to violent extremist groups.
Kyle Seraphin, who is listed by UncoverDC as the author of the document, told CNA that he received the leaked document from an FBI agent. Seraphin himself is a former FBI special agent who was reportedly suspended last year. According to an NBC News report he went on to join Truth Social, the social-media platform started by former President Donald Trump.
The FBI’s national press office confirmed to CNA that the document came from the Richmond office but stated that it will “remove the document from FBI systems” because it does not meet the “exacting standards of the FBI.”
“While our standard practice is to not comment on specific intelligence products, this particular field office product — disseminated only within the FBI — regarding racially or ethnically motivated violent extremism does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI,” the statement read.
“Upon learning of the document, FBI Headquarters quickly began taking action to remove the document from FBI systems and conduct a review of the basis for the document. The FBI is committed to sound analytic tradecraft and to investigating and preventing acts of violence and other crimes while upholding the constitutional rights of all Americans and will never conduct investigative activities or open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity,” concluded the statement from the FBI National Press Office.
Marked “UNCLASSIFIED/FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY,” the document includes a list of organizations with Catholic ties that are listed by the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) list of hate groups.
The SPLC has faced questions about its credibility from conservative and Christian organizations that have accused the group of a left-wing bias. Among the groups that made the SPLC’s 2021 list of supposed “hate groups” are the conservative and pro-family groups Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, ACT for America, the Center for Security Policy, and the American Freedom Law Center.
The organizations identified in the document as adhering to “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” include Tradition in Action, The Remnant, Culture Wars Magazine, and the Fatima Crusader. A “warning” added to the document noted that “potential criminality exhibited by certain members of a group referenced herein does not negate [the group’s or the members’] rights under the First Amendment to the Constitution.”
The document, dated Jan. 23, claims that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists will likely become more interested in “radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology” within the next 12 to 24 months “in the run-up to the next general election cycle.”
It points to potential “policy issues of mutual interest” between “radical-traditional” Catholics and violent extremists such as “abortion rights, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections.”
The document further claims that violent extremists have “sought out and attended traditionalist Catholic houses of worship,” which “presents new opportunities for threat mitigation” through “trip wire or source development” within churches that offer the Latin Mass and “radical-traditionalist” Catholic online communities.
“The current trend of [racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist] interest in [radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology] provides new opportunities to mitigate the [racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist] threat through outreach to traditionalist Catholic parishes and the development of sources with the placement and access to report on [racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists] seeking to use [radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology] social media sites or places of worship as facilitation platforms to promote violence,” the document reads.
Both the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) and the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) are listed as potential points of contact for outreach, according to the document notes. Both offer traditional Latin Masses to congregants and both have congregations within the Richmond FBI’s area of responsibility. SSPX is a canonically irregular organization ever since its founder, Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, consecrated bishops without papal approval. The FSSP broke off from SSPX over that decision and is in full communion with Rome.
However, the document claims that “much of the interaction … takes place online” and they share certain language and symbolism, such as “crusader references and anti-Semitic discourse.”
In the document, the FBI division states that it “makes this assessment with high confidence” and bases its findings on FBI investigations, local law enforcement reports, liaison reports, and “varying degrees of corroboration and access.”
It states that the FBI would revise its judgment based on whether there is an increase or decrease of violent extremist subjects “attending traditionalist Catholic places of worship,” social-media activity, or “radical-traditionalist” Catholic personalities or institutions distancing themselves from violent extremists.
Document notes claim that it defines radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology as a “rejection of the Second Vatican Council,” a “disdain for popes elected since Vatican II” and “frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology.”
It states that radical-traditionalist Catholicism is distinct from “traditionalist Catholics,” whom it defines as those who “prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions” without “more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.” However, the Richmond FBI division appears to rely on the SPLC’s analysis to determine what organizations should be classified as radical-traditionalist Catholic.
This is not the first time the FBI justified an insertion into religious communities by claiming it was looking for violent extremists. After al-Qaida orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the FBI surveilled various mosques in search of Muslim extremists.
In one example, an FBI agent named Craig Monteilh pretended to convert to Islam and “was secretly recording conversations and filming inside people’s homes, mosques, and businesses,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Even though Muslims in the Orange County, California, community ultimately reported him to law enforcement and the FBI when he began to promote terrorism, he had already “gathered names, phone numbers, and email addresses as he secretly filmed and recorded congregants.”
On Thursday, House Republicans began an investigation into the alleged “weaponization” of the federal government against pro-life activists and Christians. It will look into allegations against the FBI and the Department of Justice.
“I the next time I go to the TLM down the road I need to watch for FBI infiltrators wearing mantillas and juggling babies. “
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