After a furious public backlash, the FBI has withdrawn an internal memorandum announcing an investigation into “traditionalist” Catholics and their possible links to “right wing nationalist movements.” The document was leaked to the press a few days ago by a former FBI agent and “whistleblower” and subsequently published. In revoking the report, an FBI spokesman said it “did not meet its standards.” One should hope so.
The memorandum was filled with wild claims about conservative Catholics that only left-wing ideologues or FBI employees could take seriously. It asserted that Catholics who prefer the traditional Latin mass might be undercover terrorists or white nationalists, and sympathetic to all kinds of anti-American causes. The FBI, according to the report, was about to embark upon an investigation of far-right Catholics, perhaps by sending out undercover agents to infiltrate churches where they might congregate. Fortunately, following public criticisms, the FBI backed off.
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James Piereson is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
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