Local

Virginia leaders condemn anti-Catholic internal FBI memo

Catholic Herald Staff Report

Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout, pictured last year at St. Peter’s Pro-Cathedral in Richmond, released a statement on a leaked FBI memo. (ZOEY MARAIST | CATHOLIC HERALD)

Bishop-K_Defending_Life_12-19-16-ZM_CMr_WEB

The publication of what appeared to be an internal FBI memorandum targeting Catholics for surveillance based on where they worship triggered strong reactions from Bishop Michael F. Burbidge, Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.

The memo dated Jan. 23 and entitled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” was produced by the bureau’s Richmond office. It was published online Feb. 8 by UncoverDC.com with portions redacted.

The document expressed with “high confidence” that the FBI Richmond office has “increasingly observed interest” from violent extremists in “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology. It included criteria for distinguishing “radical-traditionalist Catholics” from “ ‘traditionalist Catholics’ who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass” and from “overall Roman Catholic adherents,” and suggested that the bureau pursue “the development of sources” in Catholic parishes and social media websites to help it identify those promoting violence. The memo relied in part on articles published by Salon and The Atlantic.

“It should be troubling and offensive to all communities of faith as well as to all Americans,” said Bishop Burbidge in the Feb. 23 episode of the “Walk Humbly Podcast.” He said he was surprised by the reference to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, a religious order that celebrates the Traditional form of the Mass, and for “the faithful of the diocese who appreciate this form of the Catholic Mass. To be linked in any way because of the way you worship or live and practice your faith, and to be labeled as an extremist and a threat to society, it is … outrageous.

“It was good to see the FBI correct the error by removing the memo, but I think they should have gone much further and apologized. My hope is that this was a lone agent’s grievous error and judgment, and not evidence of what a larger group in the justice department thinks of Catholics.”

Bishop Knestout said in a statement he was “alarmed” to read reports of the internal memo.

“The leaked document should be troubling and offensive to all communities of faith, as well as all Americans,” he said. “Our faith and our church instruct us to be a people of peace and to uphold human dignity. We do not condone violence.”

“I call on all national representatives from the Commonwealth of Virginia in the House and Senate to exercise their role of oversight, to publicly condemn this threat to religious liberty, and to ensure that such offenses against the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion do not occur again,” he said.

“The memo targets Catholics as potential threats due to their religious beliefs,” the office of Attorney General Miyares said in a statement Feb. 10.

“Virginia is the birthplace of religious freedom and has a long history of protecting the inalienable right to live your faith free from government interference or intimidation,” he said. “The leaked memo from our state capital’s FBI office is unacceptable, unconstitutional and un-American.”

Miyares and 19 other state attorneys general sent a letter to Department of Justice officials “with outrage and alarm” over the “anti-Catholic” memo. 

“Anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the Bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs,” they wrote. They requested a complete, unredacted copy of the memo and a briefing about its production.

New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, chair of the U.S. bishops’ religious liberty committee, said that “anyone who espouses racism or promotes violence is rejecting Catholic teaching on the inherent dignity of each and every person.” He echoed Bishop Knestout’s concern and called out the memo’s “religious profiling.”

“We encourage federal law enforcement authorities to take appropriate measures to ensure the problematic aspects of the memo do not recur in any of their agencies’ work going forward,” Cardinal Dolan said.

In a statement, the FBI disavowed the document and pulled it from internal circulation, saying it failed to meet the agency’s standards. 

“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 said. “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.”

This story has been updated.

Related Articles