Conservative legal group Judicial Watch is pushing for greater transparency around a memo targeting traditionalist Catholics, which was released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Richmond Field Office in early 2023.
The memo details an investigation into alleged ties between “radical traditionalist” Catholics and the “far-right white nationalist movement.” It recommended “trip wire or source development” in Catholic parishes that offer traditional Latin Mass and “radical traditionalist” Catholic communities online.
At a federal district court hearing on March 20, Judicial Watch lawyers complained that the FBI was not being fully compliant in releasing records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the FBI along with CatholicVote Civic Action.
Although the FBI released more than 200 documents to Judicial Watch, Meredith Diliberto, the attorney who handled the case, told EWTN News that they were heavily redacted. Although he said that some amendments may be valid, he “did not provide any justification” for any of the amendments, despite the legal requirement that each amendment must be justified.
“Without that (justification), we can’t really narrow down the issues” and determine which amendments are valid and which amendments should be challenged in court, Diliberto said. He said the judge hearing the case, Judge Amir H. Ali, was sympathetic to the concerns raised by Judicial Watch and scheduled a status report for March 27.
Judicial Watch is concerned about the cuts related to “a lot of internal communications”, about which Diliberto said “a lot is hidden.”
“If they had released the information, we would have seen how deliberate it was, (and) that it wasn’t (just) one or two agents,” he said.
The Richmond FBI memo was initially prepared under the administration of former President Joe Biden, and Diliberto said “we are not surprised (the amendment) occurred under the previous administration,” but said the FBI “continued to conceal this information” during the administration of President Donald Trump.
Diliberto said the organization was disappointed because FBI Director Kash Patel seemed “very emotionally invested” in promising greater transparency. He recalled his statements during his confirmation hearing about how he would behave.
“It hasn’t made any difference,” Diliberto said. He said that by simply following the case, “you wouldn’t know that the political climate has changed dramatically.”
The FBI’s national press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
After the memo was leaked to the public in early February 2023, the FBI retracted it and removed it from its system due to not meeting “the FBI’s exacting standards”. Over the past three years, Judicial Watch and the House Judiciary Committee have sought more information about the memo and the broader scope of the investigation into traditionalist Catholics.
It revealed FBI surveillance of a Catholic priest who refused to provide information about a parishioner suspected of planning political violence. The priest cited priest-penitent privilege. It also revealed that the FBI had sent at least one undercover agent to the church and that the investigation was discussed between several field offices.
Several bishops criticized the memo, including Richmond Bishop Barry Nestout, who called it a “threat to religious freedom” and said lawmakers “must ensure that such crimes against the constitutionally protected free exercise of religion do not happen again.”
The FBI memo focused on allegations of violent extremism that sometimes included racist or white supremacist views. It was assessing whether a subgroup of Catholics might overlap with racially motivated violent extremism.
The Catholic Church rejects racism. According to the Second Vatican Council Gaudium at Space: “Every form of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, colour, social status, language or religion, must be removed and eliminated as contrary to God’s intention.” White nationalism directly conflicts with Catholic principles of human dignity, solidarity, justice, and the common good.
In a statement before the hearing, Tom Fitton, president of Judicial Watch, expressed disappointment at the continued reduction in documents obtained.
“Why won’t the DOJ and FBI expose the full record on one of the most notorious abuses of power under Biden – the FBI’s targeting of Catholics for their Christian religious beliefs,” phaeton said. “This concerns the First Amendment, and the Biden Justice Department’s gross abuse could be criminal.”
