Quick Conservative

FBI Targets Catholics in Leaked Memo

March 02, 2023 Jessica Walters Season 1 Episode 4
Quick Conservative
FBI Targets Catholics in Leaked Memo
Show Notes Transcript

In a leaked memo, the FBI suggests that Catholics are potential violent extremists.

Sources for every claim are always linked on QuickConservative.com.

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In a leaked memo, the FBI suggests that “radical-traditionalist” Catholics who oppose abortion and think homosexuality is a sin are potential violent extremists and that the FBI should develop sources within Catholic churches to keep an eye on things. Now, I’ve turned the entire memo - which the FBI has since pulled down following intense backlash - into a free PDF that you can download on QuickConservative.com, but before we get into the details, let’s just address the elephant in the room.

My name is Jessica, and you’re listening to Quick Conservative.

Maybe your gut reaction when you hear a group of people oppose abortion or same-sex marriage is that they’re hateful, bigoted people. And maybe they are. Maybe they’re not - and that’s where I’m casting my vote - but worst case scenario: They are. So what? 

There’s a huge jump between believing someone’s a mean person, and believing the FBI should spy on them because they’re a potential terrorist.

And things get real dicey, real fast when we start labeling anyone who disagrees with us as dangerous.

You know how easy it would be for the FBI to call you a potential violent extremist for holding that belief? Watch, this takes less than thirty seconds. Historically, violent extremists have made mass generalizations against different religious groups - facts - and used their suspicion of radicalized elements within those faiths to justify preemptive behavior against those groups - big facts. 

Since you made a mass generalization against Catholics and think the radical elements of their faith justifies preemptive behavior against them - just a little spying to make sure they don’t get out of line - by your own logic, you are a potential violent extremist. Because you share some of the same views as people who have committed extreme acts of violence in the past. 

If that seems like a stretch, now you can understand why suggesting an FBI policy initiative be built around that same logic is so outrageous. And if you think the specific example I gave is out of left field, just look at China’s treatment of the Uyghurs - a minority Muslim population. As we speak, the Chinese government is essentially imprisoning people in re-education camps - we won’t even get into the reports of mass murder and torture - all in the name of combating potential terrorism and religious extremism. And those aren’t my words - I’m citing directly from the United Nations.

But the point being: You either accept that individuals have the right to possess strongly held controversial beliefs without warranting government interference or you don’t. You don’t get to say well I can hate bigots but bigots can’t hate me. Their hate is potentially violent, my hate is righteous. That’s not how the Constitution works, that’s not how logic works - heck, that’s not even how hate works.

So with that in mind, let’s dive into the details:

On February 8, 2023, Kyle Seraphin published a leaked memo from the FBI's Richmond Division - dated January 23, 2023 - on "radical-traditionalist Catholics,” referred to as “RTCs.” The heading on page one reads: “Interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists in radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology almost certainly presents new mitigation opportunities.”

So who are these radical Catholics? Well, according to the FBI, radical-traditionalist Catholics are typically characterized by disdain for recent popes, “particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II.” They frequently adhere to “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology.” And, in case you’re wondering, according to the FBI, radical-traditionalist Catholics also prefer traditional Latin Mass - who knew! - and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions. The FBI notes that traditionalist Catholics also prefer Latin Mass, but they lack the “more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric” of radical-traditionalist Catholics.

The government memo also notes an “increase in hostility toward abortion-rights advocates on social media sites in the run-up to and aftermath” of the decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Interestingly, it also predicts that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists are likely to increase interest in radical-traditionalist Catholics in the next 12 to 24 months leading up to the presidential election. The FBI lists “policy issues of mutual interest” to both violent extremists and radical-traditionalist Catholics, including: abortion rights, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections.

Now, my favorite part: They actually added a little disclaimer about “potential criminality” not negating the First Amendment rights of Catholics and that the FBI doesn’t collect information on people “solely” for the purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment. And of course they have to say “potential criminality,” because again, this memo isn’t saying that Catholics committed any crimes, just that their faith may not support abortion or LGTBQ protections and so, therefore, they’re potential violent extremists. 

But if you think that’s crazy - and a little ironic - wait til you hear the plan. The FBI wants to mitigate the threat of violent extremism through - and I quote - “outreach to traditionalists Catholic parishes and the development of sources with the placement and access to report on racially and ethnically-motivated violent extremists seeking to use radical-traditionalist Catholic social media sites or places of worship as facilitation platforms to promote violence.” 

Translation? The FBI wants to develop informants within the Catholic church - literally within their “places of worship.” 

As if it couldn’t get any better, in an apparent disregard for thorough source-vetting, the FBI memo cites the Southern Poverty Law Center - which doesn’t provide substantiated evidence to support its claims, and exercises, in one former FBI agent’s words, “blatant partisan blindness.” Oh! And it also cites left-leaning online publications The Atlantic and Salon. Mind you, these aren’t casual references. One of the foremost intelligence agencies in the country is basing policy recommendations off of this reporting. 

As the same former FBI Special Agent, explains:

“When the FBI generates an intelligence product, it is important to note the analyzed sources. Typically, strict source vetting removes partisanship and bias, so a product is both consistent with federal law and can add value to the FBI’s overall mission. Of note, this document was reviewed and approved for release by the FBI Richmond Chief Division Counsel, who is the office’s top lawyer.”

Now, the capstone to all of this is the memo leaked, the FBI freaked out because of public backlash - they took the document down and said they’re conducting a review - but the Attorney General of Virginia wasn’t having it and wrote a super angry letter to the U.S. Attorney General and the FBI Director. Nineteen other State Attorney Generals signed it - and, you’ve gotta read it. I included it in the free PDF on QuickConservative.com and it’s intense. I’ll just read you one paragraph, and then we’ll wrap this up. 

“We are particularly alarmed by the memorandum’s suggestion that FBI operatives should be developing “sources with access,” including in “places of worship,” to identify the bad Catholics. The FBI has been down this road before, having infiltrated countless mosques throughout the country in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The FBI disavowed this ignominious practice in 2008, and revised its internal guidelines in 2010 and 2013 to prevent its operatives from callously disregarding the religious liberty of American citizens. It would be very concerning indeed if the FBI had revived this practice against American Catholics or, worse, if it had never shut down the program in the first place.”

Now, I’m a Christian. I love Jesus Christ with my entire heart. The peace and the comfort and the protection that He provides far surpasses anything you could ever hope to get from this world. However, I also understand that if you don’t share those views, this whole report could seem super biased. Which, again, is why I encourage you to download the memo for yourself from QuickConservative.com. 

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