The FBI Declares Catholicism A Threat
Somewhere in the bowels of the FBI must be an office of acronym creation, and it must be working overtime. We have barely had time to assimilate the new DVE term (Domestic Violent Extremist for those of you playing along at home) and now we have Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE) and freshly minted, Radical Traditional Catholics (RTC’s).
What are RTC’s? They are otherwise known as Catholic Apologists. That doesn’t mean apologists in the sense of saying “sorry” for the actions of the Catholic Church. It means apologists in the sense that they defend traditional Catholic teachings and oppose what they see as modern, unjustified deviations from those traditional teachings.
Maybe that sounds like the kind of internal theological debate that is no concern of the FBI. Maybe you thought that arguments within a religion about the proper interpretation of Christ’s teachings would be covered by that whole “freedom of religion” thing in the First Amendment. Not anymore. This is now the concern of the FBI, which still has no time to find Antifa or counter radical Marxist groups in our streets but has seemingly endless resources to fight anybody who stands in the way of the prescribed progressive orthodoxy.
The FBI has identified RTC’s as a threat. A recent report from the Richmond field office specifically notes that RTC’s may cooperate with white supremacists and domestic violent extremists and pose a threat to homeland security. Interestingly, the only evidence presented to support this claim in the report consists of direct references to a publication produced by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). In fact, the list of dangerous Catholic Apologetic groups provided in the FBI report is literally a copy of a page from an SPLC publication.
The SPLC is not a law enforcement organization. It is a leftist organization that regularly accuses its political opponents of being violent extremists. In particular, it charges pretty much anyone who wants any kind of restrictions placed on abortion as being dangerous and a threat to society. The SPLC has been dogged by controversy about its funding sources and funding practices. For reasons that remain unclear, the SPLC keeps a whole bunch of its cash in places like the Cayman Islands. No credible law enforcement agency would rely upon the SPLC and consider it an objective source.
In response to the revelations in the FBI report, Catholic Family News Editor-in-Chief Brian McCall shared with LifeSite the following statement:
“The release by a courageous whistleblower of this internal FBI memorandum confirms the dystopian state of the country in which we sadly live. This memo, combined with the targeting and persecution of those working to protect the lives of unborn children, proves beyond any doubt the evil people who control the levers of power in the US government are using that power to persecute any who dissent from their godless ideology. The FBI is spying on and infiltrating traditional Roman Catholic groups and even parishes for simply exercising their First Amendment Rights. The absurdity of the outrageous allegations of the FBI memo are blatant. Although the author acknowledges that white supremacists are and have always been violently anti-Catholic (the KKK burn crosses specifically to show their hostility to Catholics),the author believes these white supremacist groups are now deeply attracted to strongly Catholic parishes and groups that they despise. Traditional Catholicism has never had anything to do with racial bigotry or hatred. In fact the White Supremacist groups that have been active throughout US history (such as the Know Nothing Party) have targeted Catholics because Catholics have always sought the salvation and improvement in this world of the lot of those races and ethnicities despised by the white Protestant elitists. Ironically every traditional Latin Mass parish I have ever attended is more ethnically diverse than liberal Catholic parishes that segregate attendees by linguistic, and hence ethnic, lines (i.e., Spanish Masses, Vietnamese Masses, etc.). Traditional Catholics seek the conversion of everyone regardless of race, color, ethnicity, or any other attribute, to the Kingship of Christ. They seek to bring the love of Christ and His Church to all races and ethnicities. The memo’s prominent reliance on the utterly discredited and bigoted Southern Poverty Law Center, which is not a law center at all but merely a radical political leftist front, further discredits this memo and its author. The Department of Justice in its continued persecution of pro-life advocates and now simple Traditional Catholics should be renamed from its Orwellian title to the more accurate Department of Injustice.”
An online explanation of Catholic apologetics describes it this way.
“What is Apologetics? Are we apologizing for being Catholic? Are we sorry about the Faith? No way! Apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia meaning a “defense.” In his first letter, Peter says, “… Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you a reason for your hope (1 Pt 3:15).” Apologetics is not about being defensive or apologizing, it is about breathing hope into the world through solid reasoning and Faith.
Apologetics is a theological science that explains and defends the Christian religion. Catholic Apologetics, specifically, is the defense and explanation of the teachings, beliefs, and practices of the Catholic Church. It seeks to remove objects, shed light on difficult matters, and help plant the seeds to win hearts and minds for Jesus. It is about answering the question: “why am I Catholic? Or “why should I become Catholic?”
Apologetics is at the service of Christ who is the Truth and it is aimed at the conversion of hearts to Him. It is partially catechesis, teaching, evangelization, sharing of hope, witnessing, illumination, and tearing down the obstacles in people’s minds and hearts.”
That certainly sounds terrifying.
We are now years into a witch hunt for white supremacists and domestic violent extremists who supposedly pose a mortal danger to the republic. The evidence that any such danger exists is scant. There is, however, overwhelming evidence of something much more sinister, the weaponization of federal law enforcement against anyone who opposes the leftist ideology being forced on the American people from Washington.
Those being targeted now include America’s Catholics. The FBI has declared Catholicism a threat.
The FBI either has some extremely lazy or incompetent analysts. Or far worse... People who have bought in to this kind of garbage. With a 36 year career in law enforcement behind me, when the SPLC initially showed up on the scene and started sending their "intelligence" bulletins out, it sounded like it might be a good thing. They very quickly showed their true colors, however, as what they were putting out didn't jive with reality and what we were actually seeing in the field. Their political agenda was painfully clear. Every chance I got to debunk the the SPLC with other cops or citizen groups, I took.
Keep up the good fight Sam! Thank you.