(LifeSiteNews) — Dr. Robert Malone, one of the original inventor of mRNA vaccine technology and a strong critic of the governmental COVID response, has weighed into the discussion of the FBI’s targeting of traditional Catholic groups.
In a December 7 article published on his Substack account, Malone begins by condemning the FBI’s so-called investigation into traditional Catholics as an “abhorrent” attack on the First Amendment:
Personally, I find the FBI going after tradcaths and conducting ‘domestic violent extremism investigations against Catholic Americans exercising their First Amendment rights’ so abhorrent, I can barely write about it without my blood boiling.
…
The fact that the FBI is stonewalling this House Committee and will not answer how many FBI employees accessed critical documents before their removal and
cannot(will not?) confirm whether any outreach occurred to Catholic parishes as a result of the memorandum [is shocking]. That fact that this is not headline news is also pretty shocking.
In February of this year, FBI whistleblower Kyle Seraphin had published a secret FBI document which showed that the agency planned to intensify its “assessment” and “mitigation” of “Radical Traditionalist Catholics” over the next one or two years due to alleged concerns that “white nationalists” are increasingly becoming involved with attendees of the Latin Mass.
That report, written on January 23, 2023, was entitled: “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”
Among the Catholic priestly or lay groups that were listed as being potentially “radical” were the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX), the Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), Catholic Family News, The Remnant, The Fatima Center, Tradition in Action, Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Culture Wars, In the Spirit of Chartres, Christ or Chaos, and Catholic Apologetics International.
At the time, now-cancelled Bishop Joseph Strickland had commented on the document saying:
Sadly, the experience of Mark Houck provides evidence that this type of surveillance is not beyond the realm of possibility. It underscores our societies deep ignorance of what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus Christ or as presently stated ‘radical traditional Catholic.’ Our Lord tells us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us.
Even though the FBI later retracted the document, a House Weaponization Committee report published this week revealed that FBI employees are still discussing how to disseminate a bureau-wide memo identifying so-called “Radical Traditionalist Catholic Ideology” as a magnet for “violent extremists.”
Speaking on this latest development, Malone shared the words of the Committee’s report:
While the FBI claims it ‘does not categorize investigations as domestic terrorism based on the religious beliefs—to include Catholicism—of the subject involved,’ an FBI-wide memorandum originating from the FBI’s Richmond Field Office did just that. Under the guise of tackling the threat of domestic terrorism, the memorandum painted so-called certain ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics’ (RTCs) as violent extremists and proposed opportunities for the FBI to infiltrate Catholic churches as a form of ‘threat mitigation.’ The FBI’s Richmond memorandum is a startling reminder that Americans’ civil liberties and core Constitutional rights must be vigorously guarded against government overreach, including in this case from an overzealous federal law enforcement agency.
Furthermore, the excerpts used by Malone reveal that the FBI “already interviewed a priest and choir director affiliated with a Catholic church in Richmond, Virginia for the [FBI] memorandum. Most concerning of all, without the disclosure of the whistleblower, the Richmond memorandum would still be operative in FBI systems, violating the religious liberties of millions of Catholic Americans.”
The Committee’s finding is also that two FBI employees who co-authored the memorandum admitted that “they knew the sources cited in the memorandum had a political bias—sources including the Southern Poverty Law Center, Salon, and The Atlantic.”
It is clear to the Committee that “the FBI singled out Americans who are pro-life, pro-family, and support the biological basis for sex and gender distinction as potential domestic terrorists.”
Malone, who is not himself a Catholic, honorably provided an explanation of who traditional Catholics are for his audience, writing:
‘Trad Cath’: Traditionalist Catholicism is a movement encompassing members of the Catholic Church that emphasizes beliefs, practices, customs, traditions, liturgical forms, devotions and presentations of teaching associated with the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). It is very popular among young Catholics, who believe in more traditional values.
Concluding, Malone expressed his gratitude to those in government shining a light on the issue.
Thank goodness for Rep. Jim Jordan conducting an investigation on this shocking display of corruption and raw power by the administrative state.
Many Catholic observers are still wondering whether it is a coincidence that the FBI’s persecution of traditional and conservative Catholics is taking place at the very same time that Pope Francis is doing the same within the Catholic Church, as can be seen in the current persecution of Bishop Joseph Strickland.
