The FBI recently attempted to recruit informers inside Christian churches in a bid to combat domestic terrorism.
That’s according to internal documents released by the US House Judiciary Committee which indicate the FBI used at least one undercover agent to cultivate ‘sources’ in Catholic churches.
The law enforcement agency reportedly targeted mainline parishes whose clergy and diocese leadership could potentially act as ‘sources’ and spy on Americans practicing their faith as church leaders and parishioners.
The agency cited a desire to sensitise congregations to the warning signs of radicalisation.
Committee chairman Jim Jordan labelled the revelations as “outrageous’.
He told FBI Director Christopher Wray that Americans attend church to worship, and not to worry about informants planted in their midst.
Congressman Jordan issued the FBI a subpoena for all related documents.
The Catholic News Agency reports the revelations came to light after the FBI provided the House Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government with a heavily redacted 18-page document that uncovered limited information about the agency’s efforts to investigate a supposed link between traditionalist Catholics and “the far-right white nationalist movement.”
It followed the leaking of an internal memo from the FBI’s Richmond division which called for such investigations within traditionalist Catholic communities.
Titled Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities, the memo singled out Catholics who are interested in the traditional Latin Mass as potentially linked to violent extremist groups.
The FBI retracted the memo with Mr. Wray saying: “When I first learned of the piece I was aghast, and we took steps immediately to withdraw it and remove it from FBI systems. It does not reflect FBI standards. We do not conduct investigations based on religious affiliation or practices, full stop.”
Congressman Jordan said the document shows the agency intended to use local religious organisations as “new avenues for tripwire and source development.”
The Committee chairman added that a lot of information is still “unclear,” such as how many FBI employees were involved “in Catholic houses of worship across the country as a result of the FBI’s Richmond document.”
The FBI declined to comment on the new information revealed in the document but told the Catholic News Agency that it has received the subpoena and intends to cooperate with the subcommittee.
