FBI To Retract Catholic 'White Supremacist' Memo, Launch Internal Investigation

[Stone]

FBI To Retract Catholic 'White Supremacist' Memo, Launch Internal Investigation



Father Alessandro da Luz elevates the chalice as he celebrates a traditional Latin Mass on Aug. 11, 2020, at Our Holy Redeemer Church in Freeport, N.Y. (CNS photo/Gregory A. Shemitz)

ZH [emphasis mine] | FEB 09, 2023

The FBI has vowed to launch an internal investigation to look into a now-retracted, leaked document which advised the agency to infiltrate groups of Roman Catholics which were 'at risk of committing acts of extremist violence,' the Daily Caller reports.

According to the document, Catholics "characterized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council" are prone to embracing "anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ and white supremacist ideology."

The Second Vatican Council, which concluded in 1965, supplanted the 16th-century Latin mass with the vernacular Novus Ordo form - which some groups have rejected while attempting to preserve the old Latin liturgy while continuing communion with Rome.

The FBI document cites the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), including the group's list of "Radical Traditional Catholicism Hate Groups."

The document showed that the FBI’s field office in Richmond was considering infiltrating groups of traditionalist Roman Catholics who prefer the Latin mass, a whistleblower revealed Wednesday.

Former FBI agent and whistleblower Kyle Seraphin published the alleged document, which he wrote is “dated January 23, 2023” and originated with an “intelligence analyst within the Richmond Field Office.” Seraphin, who describes himself as a “confirmed Catholic” in his bio, did not say how he obtained the document. -Daily Caller

According to the agency, the document, which originated from the Richmond field office, "does not meet the exacting standards of the FBI" (lol), and the Bureau will probe how it came to be, reads the report.

"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 told the Caller. "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."

According to the FBI report, the agency assessed with "high confidence" that threats from so-called 'radical traditional Catholics' (RTCs) can be dealt with via "source development," among other strategies.

The document expresses the FBI’s concern that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists (RMVEs) will use traditionalist Catholic social media groups and parishes as “facilitation platforms to promote violence.” It also connects RTCs to an “increase in hostility toward abortion-rights advocates on social media in the run-up to and aftermath of” the Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade.

Among the Catholic or Catholic-adjacent groups mentioned in the document are the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX), the right-wing Catholic news outlet Church Militant and “groypers,” the nickname for followers of traditionalist Catholic political commentator and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes. -Daily Caller

According to the memo, there is a "growing collaboration" between Church Militant and Fuentes' America First group, which shows evidence of increasing ties between traditional Catholics and extremist groups.

"The FBI report is based on ‘reporting’ by far-left extremists group and media outlets which clearly demonstrate zero understanding of Catholic theology. Those voluminous errors then found their way into this FBI report where flat out false conclusions are drawn," Church Militant told the Caller, adding that they have "zero connection" to Fuentes.

"Church Militant (and all faithful Catholics) in no way hates women, blacks, jews, immigrants or anyone else we may be accused of hating. To disagree with social or political points of view does not signify ‘hate’. It signifies disagreement."

"Likewise, to bolster its fear-mongering, the FBI report goes on to try and draw an imaginary link between Catholics and ‘white supremacy’ yet never defines what that ubiquitous term actually means," the statement continues. "Church Militant does not believe that ‘whites are superior’ or non-white races are somehow inferior. We are faithful catholics and Catholic teaching abhors such a notion. CM has zero connection to any person or outfit who espouses these anti-Catholic ideologies and condemns such beliefs. The FBI report falsely suggests that all of this is bound up in potential violence aimed at abortion supporters. For the record, Church Militant in no way shape or form supports physical violence against those with whom we disagree on moral/political issues of the day."