FBI Struggled to Define ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology’ in Memo on Extremism: Report

The FBI did not have a working definition of “Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology” (RTC) when its agents crafted a memo targeting supposed American Catholic extremists, a new report issued by the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government argues.

In January, the FBI’s Richmond field office warned about the rising domestic threat posed by “radical traditionalist Catholic ideology” and claimed it “certainly presents new mitigation opportunities,” according to a document shared by an FBI whistleblower at the time. The revelation led House Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) to demand FBI director Christopher Wray testify before Congress about the report’s origin and impact. Wray initially argued that the memorandum came from a single FBI field office in Virginia, though Jordan has disputed the claim, citing internal bureau communications which suggest multiple offices were involved.

According to Tuesday’s report, the Richmond field office lacked a cohesive definition of radical-traditionalist catholic ideology when it issued the memo and, instead, relied on a single individual’s self description. “The basis for the Richmond memorandum relied on a single investigation in the Richmond Field Office’s area of responsibility in which the subject ‘self-described’ as a ‘radical-traditionalist Catholic,'” the report reads. “However, FBI employees could not define the meaning of an RTC when preparing, editing, or reviewing the memorandum. Even so, this single investigation became the basis for an FBI-wide memorandum warning about the dangers of ‘radical’ Catholics.”

The findings were hailed as a “major wake-up call” by Ashley McGuire, a senior fellow with the Catholic Association and popular radio broadcaster. “While Catholic Churches as well as pro-life pregnancy care centers are under constant attack from actual violent extremists, the FBI had the audacity to investigate and spy on those targeted by these crimes,” McGuire told National Review in a statement. “The notion that traditional Catholics pose some kind of national threat is so absurd it exceeds even Hollywood’s imagination. And yet the FBI, an agency designed to protect Americans and their rights, was spying on Catholics everywhere from their choir lofts to their rectories.”

The House Select Subcommittee report also doubled down on its allegation that, contrary to FBI director Wray’s earlier comments, the memo was the product of several field offices across the country, including in Los Angeles, Milwaukee, and Portland.

“The latest revelations only raise more questions about the illegitimate targeting of Catholics by the FBI,” CatholicVote president Brian Burch told NR in a statement. “We now know that the FBI effort involved at least four field offices, authorized the use of undercover agents to infiltrate Catholic parishes, and used a Catholic priest and a choir director to inform on one of their parishioners.

“Director Wray blatantly misled Congress when he testified that the operation was limited to one office,” Burch concluded.

In August, after Jordan shared information with the Wall Street Journal alleging that multiple FBI field offices were involved in the memo, the bureau told NR that Wray’s original testimony was accurate. “Director Wray’s testimony on this matter has been accurate and consistent. While the document referred to information from other field office investigations of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) subjects, that does not change the fact the product was produced by a single office,” the FBI told NR in a statement at the time.

The FBI memo, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities,” was originally leaked in January and was heavily criticized by Republicans. Kyle Seraphin, a special agent with the bureau for six years who was suspended without pay in June 2022, published the document originally on UncoverDC.com.

“In making this assessment, FBI Richmond relied on the key assumption that [racially or ethnically motivated extremists] will continue to find [radical-traditionalist Catholic or RTC] ideology attractive and will continue to attempt to connect with RTC adherents, both virtually via social media and in-person at places of worship,” the document reads. Moreover, “RTCs are typically categorized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) as a valid church council; disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II, particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II; and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology. Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from ‘traditionalist Catholics’ who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric.”

The report drew upon the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), an activist group, that has been criticized for including conservative organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom and the American College of Pediatricians on its “hate groups” list alongside the Ku Klux Klan and the Nation of Islam.