RICHMOND, Virginia (LifeSiteNews) — A document released by an FBI whistleblower indicates the agency plans to intensify its “assessment” and “mitigation” of “Radical Traditionalist Catholics” in the state over the next 12 to 24 months due to alleged concerns that “white nationalists” are increasingly making common cause online with attendees of the Latin Mass.
As promised, the @FBIRichmond office pushing for source recruiting in the Catholic Church in order to mitigate #WhiteSupremacy on the advice of the Leftist and out of FBI Policy @splcenter “hate watch” activists.
New piece and source docs at @UncoverDC https://t.co/4YnI557gXp
— Kyle Seraphin (@KyleSeraphin) February 8, 2023
The bombshell 8-page memo was released by former FBI agent turned whistleblower Kyle Serpahin on his website UncoveredDC Wednesday. The report, written by an FBI analyst in Richmond, Virginia, was published for internal agency use only on January 23, is titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
Seraphin describes the briefing as an “intelligence product” that, though not being exhaustive, can be used as an initial reference point for the agency to “prop up” future investigations on the subject. He says he obtained the document from an anonymous Baptist employee for the agency.
“This is the first FBI Richmond domain product to focus on the interest of racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists in the Radical Traditional Catholic movement,” the document states. “A search of FBI databases indicates this is also the first FBI finished intelligence product to specifically address this environmental variable.”
Among the most controversial aspects of the memo is that it directly cites a defamatory study conducted by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on the subject “Radical Traditional Catholicism.” The SPLC has long been rejected as a legitimate resource for the FBI, Seraphin says, but in this instance, it is being relied on as a primary source to justify its efforts. The memo also references three anti-Catholic smear articles (here, here, and here) published by leftwing websites Salon and The Atlantic to defend its monitoring.
In general, the report shows an above average understanding of the various pro-Latin Mass communities in the church, including the Fraternal Society of St. Peter, the Priestly Society of St. Pius X, the SSPX “Resistance” as well as sedevacantist groups. It says other FBI investigations, local law enforcement reports, and un-named liaisons have helped with its findings – an indication that persons familiar with these communities are already in touch with intelligence officials.
“FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists will continue to find Radical Traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both via social media and in-person at places of worship” it reads.
The report also enthusiastically says that there now exists “new opportunities for threat mitigation through the exploration of new avenues for tripwire and source development.”
The report alleges that its real motivation is a concern that “Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology” possesses an “anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, and white supremacy” outlook, and that this presents a threat to the US’s domestic well-being. The report further claims that adherents to RTC ideology “frequently share language and symbolism, such as crusader references or anti-Semitic discourses” online that pro-life white nationalists also support.
The document then compares followers of RTC ideology to ordinary “traditional Catholics” who simply “prefer the Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, but without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”
The memo identifies nine Traditional Catholic organizations allegedly guilty of promoting RTC ideology: Catholic Family News, The Remnant, The Fatima Center, Tradition in Action, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Culture Wars, In the Spirit of Chartres, Christ or Chaos, and Catholic Apologetics International. These groups were all listed in the SPLC report.
LifeSite will provide updates on reaction to this report when they become available.