(LifeSiteNews) — The Wall Street Journal editorial board has joined an already large, diverse chorus of voices criticizing the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) for signaling its intent to target traditional Catholics.
A memo produced by the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia office last month titled “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities” had already brought heaps of condemnation and ridicule upon the Bureau for casting suspicion on devout Catholics as being prone to terrorism and violence.
Tongue-in-cheek, the WSJ referred to the FBI’s strange document as a “catechism” in which “traditionalist” Latin Mass Catholics were lumped in with “violent extremists,” warranting government investigation.
“The Latin Mass? Maybe that was a threat to the Roman republic, circa 50 A.D., but not to America’s in 2023,” jabbed the WSJ board.
“Some 70 million Americans are Catholic, and it’s no shock that they are a diverse church,” said the WSJ editors. “The intellectual sloppiness – and danger – of the report is its embrace of the false leftist political narrative that religiously inspired support of traditional marriage or pro-life views amount to a rising domestic terror threat.”
“The document is notable for its lack of evidence that ‘radical’ traditionalist Catholics have done anything to warrant targeting,” they continued. “This feels like a repeat of the Justice Department’s shoddy rationale for targeting parents for objecting to school shutdowns or mask mandates.”
READ: Youngkin calls for ‘full transparency’ from FBI over memo targeting Virginia Catholics
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, the memo has sparked extensive backlash, earning the condemnation of Bishop Barry Knestout of Richmond, Virginia, Bishop Joseph Strickland of Tyler, Texas, the editors of two Catholic news outlets named in the memo, The Remnant’s Michael Matt and Catholic Family News’ Brian McCall, not to mention the attorneys general of 19 states.
U.S. House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio is demanding answers from FBI Director Christopher Wray regarding the memo, citing it as a “serious misuse of federal law enforcement resources.”
The WSJ editorial concludes, “While we doubt FBI leadership is pursuing a political agenda, the bureau clearly has major issues with partisan operatives and quality control in its ranks. If Mr. Wray wants to re-establish trust in the wake of the FBI’s recent string of scandals, he will have to do more to clean house.”
READ: USCCB condemns ‘extremism’ while saying FBI memo targeting Catholics is ‘troubling and offensive’
