Newly revealed files by Sen. Chuck Grassley expose FBI efforts to target 'radical traditionalist Catholics,' raising serious concerns about political bias and religious profiling.
(LifeSiteNews) – The FBI’s surveillance of traditional Catholics was far more expansive than previously acknowledged, according to new documents obtained by Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and shared with The Washington Times.
The files contradict sworn testimony from then-FBI Director Christopher Wray, who in 2023 described the infamous Richmond memo targeting “Radical Traditionalist Catholics” as an isolated incident. In reality, it was sent to over 1,000 employees and coordinated with at least four field offices.
The January 2023 memo, which cited the Southern Poverty Law Center and accused traditional Catholics of white supremacy and “violent rhetoric,” sparked national backlash when it leaked the following month. Wray claimed to be “aghast” and said he ordered its immediate removal.
But the newly released documents show that the memo received “positive feedback” within the bureau. No objections were raised, and FBI offices in Buffalo, Louisville, Portland, and Milwaukee assisted in its creation or follow-up. One internal email noted two Catholic groups – labeled “hate groups” by the SPLC – within the Buffalo office’s jurisdiction.
Grassley’s team also found 13 other FBI documents and five attachments using the term “radical traditionalist Catholic.”
More significantly, the senator uncovered a second, broader draft – intended for full bureau distribution – that omitted SPLC citations but retained claims linking traditional Catholicism with “racially and ethnically motivated violent extremism” that it claimed was likely to grow. This Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report (SPEAR) directly contradicts Wray’s claim that only a “single product” existed.
Grassley condemned the draft for repeating the “unfounded link” between Catholic belief and violence. He also revealed that then-Deputy Director Paul Abbate ordered the memo and its records permanently deleted. Another official directed the removal of a list showing who had accessed the document.
Grassley called on new FBI Director Kash Patel to identify who issued the deletions, explain the rationale, assess whether oversight was obstructed, and recover the missing files.
The revelations underscore longstanding concerns about political bias within federal law enforcement – and raise urgent questions about who the government considers a threat.
The term “radical traditionalist” may sound like harmless rhetoric to some, but it evidently fuels surveillance and suspicion of the innocent. The Roman Catechism warns against those who “cunningly foment divisions and excite quarrels,” as a grave sin against the eighth commandment.
No Catholic should use language that defames their co-religionists and invites their persecution by the civil authority.
