Tyranny and Targeting

Recent news about the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) investigative approach towards a multitude of Catholic churches has shocked the nation, leading many to believe the FBI has fallen prey to governmental weaponization.

On Tuesday, April 11, the House Select Committee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, a select committee within the House Judiciary Committee, officially presented FBI Director Christopher Wray with a subpoena. 

Ever since Special Agent Kyle Seraphin exposed the FBI’s infiltration of Catholic churches, the House of Representatives has sought the FBI’s motives and strategies for the investigation, especially since the Bureau’s intentions seemed very anti-Christian. 

When Seraphin was asked to expand on the subject, he explained, “‘The FBI’s Richmond Division would like to protect Virginians from the threat of ‘white supremacy,’ which it believes has found a home within Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass,’” according to The Federalist.

However, the recent subpoena from the House Judiciary Committee, approved by House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, has brought the controversial situation back into spotlight.

The subpoena stemmed from the memo the FBI released, then rescinded, which found the Bureau was concerned about “‘radical-traditionalist Catholic ideology,’” according to Axios, and linked the Catholic parishes who were “radical-traditionalists” with possibly developing supposed white supremacy.

“Seraphin published leaked documents dated Jan. 23, 2023, on ‘Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE) and their interests in ‘Radical-Traditionalist Catholics’ or RTCs,’”

“The document assesses with ‘high confidence’ the FBI can mitigate the threat of Radical-Traditionalist Catholics by recruiting sources within the Catholic Church,’ Seraphin reported,” according to The Federalist.

Knowing now of the leaked information from Special Agent Kyle Seraphin, Jim Jordan was rightly concerned when information about the Bureau’s outreach to Catholic parishes was presented in order to build their sources and use an undercover agent to achieve their ends:

“Jordan claims in the subpoena that based on ‘limited information’ provided to the committee, the FBI ‘relied on at least one undercover agent to produce its analysis’ and ‘proposed that its agents engage in outreach to Catholic parishes to develop sources among the clergy and church leadership to inform on Americans practicing their faith,’” according to Axios.

All the information provided, many Americans, including officials in Congress, have become duly concerned about the precedent the FBI has set for governmental overreach into Christian institutions, and in this specific situation, Catholic institutions.

Some have claimed the FBI’s actions to be unsettling violations of the First Amendment, while others see the government seeking to set precedent as the world grows increasingly secular and Christianity declines in the U.S., according to the Cato Institute and the Pew Research Center, respectively. 

In 2022, crime was very high throughout the U.S., and even though crime has lessened since mid-2022, crime rates are still high for big American cities. 

In addition, the drug and fentanyl crisis threatens America’s safety, but the FBI remains seemingly unresponsive to either.

While the nation faces crime and drug calamities, the Federal Bureau of Investigation seems preoccupied with witch hunts of white supremacy within traditional Catholic parishes. Even though the House Judiciary Committee intends to investigate, American citizens, especially Christians, can only hope the federal government will abandon its radical acts of tyranny.