(LifeSiteNews) — A new House Judiciary Committee report found that the FBI investigated a Catholic priest for not divulging information about a parishioner who inspired the infamous Richmond memo targeting so-called “Radical Traditionalist Catholics.”
A Richmond, Virginia area priest, who is a member of the traditional Priestly Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), had his travel plans and credit card information monitored, the Judiciary Committee found, because he would not disclose information about one of his parishioners, who was in the process of converting to Catholicism and was then under investigation by the Richmond FBI office.
Not only was the investigation of the priest found to have no “legitimate law-enforcement purpose,” but the FBI “attempted to violate the priest-penitent privilege” in its questioning of the cleric, the Tuesday report concluded.
The report also found that the FBI had been using the term “Radical-Traditionalist Catholic” as far back as 2009.
The findings are the result of a subpoena reissued by the Judiciary Committee to the FBI on February 24 under the leadership of new Director Kash Patel after former FBI Director Christopher Wray failed to share all internal documents related to the bombshell Richmond memo.
The memo in question had called for “tripwire and source development” – in other words, spying and infiltration – in traditional Roman Catholic churches, particularly those served by priests of the SSPX due to alleged concerns that “white nationalists” are increasingly making common cause online with attendees of the Latin Mass.
The document sparked a widespread outcry from Catholics and even Protestants across the country who lambasted its creation for violating the First Amendment by targeting Americans as “threats” due to particular religious beliefs. It was later retracted after scathing public backlash.
One of the FBI documents brought to light by the new subpoena was an account by one FBI employee of his attempt to interview the Richmond priest “regarding his interactions with” the subject under investigation. It showed that the FBI employee claimed that the subject’s communications with the priest were “not considered privileged” since the subject had “not completed his catechism or been baptized in the church.”
However, the committee report noted that “The priest-penitent privilege rightly protects communications between a clergy member and an individual seeking spiritual guidance,” and “is not dependent on the individual achieving certain milestones in his or her spiritual life.”
The FBI employee had written that upon asking the priest questions about the subject’s “desires and plans to commit violence,” the priest “requested to speak with the church(’)s leadership and attorneys before continu(ing) to provide any more information.”
The Richmond FBI office then reached out to the Louisville FBI office, resulting in the opening of a “formal investigative assessment on the Richmond-area priest.” The Richmond FBI employees began by looking into the priest’s ordination history, the documents show.
“This new information suggests that the FBI’s religious liberty abuses were more widespread than the FBI initially admitted and led the public to believe,” the House Committee report assessed.
The newly revealed files also showed that “Contrary to assertions that the Richmond memorandum was an isolated incident, internal FBI documents used derogatory terms like ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic’ between 2009 and 2023.” In fact, “an FBI internal database contained at least 13 documents, including the Richmond memorandum, that used these terms—all of which cited the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).”
These findings all further repudiate Wray’s sworn testimony in 2023 that the Richmond memo was an isolated incident. This testimony was earlier contradicted when documents were found indicating that the FBI Richmond office coordinated with two other offices across the country in a conspiracy to spy on traditional Catholics.