By Father Patrick Briscoe
A recent internal memo issued, and subsequently retracted, by the FBI labeled “radical traditionalist Catholics” as “potential terrorists.”
Since the memo’s release, 20 state attorneys general have objected to the memo’s premise that Catholics are an extremist threat. “Anti-Catholic bigotry appears to be festering in the FBI, and the bureau is treating Catholics as potential terrorists because of their beliefs,” the AGs wrote to FBI director Christopher Wray and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland.
Bishop Barry Knestout of the diocese of Richmond, Va., denounced the memo. In a statement released Feb. 13, he said, “The leaked document should be troubling and offensive to all communities of faith, as well as all Americans.”
Condemning the memo as “a threat to religious liberty,” Bishop Knestout argued that “Racism, religious bigotry, violence, and discrimination have no place in our Church.”
At stake is the integrity of Catholic teaching, our right to live out our faith in peace and our reputation among our fellow citizens.
Bishop Knestout was “grateful” for the letter of the 20 state attorneys general “who have called upon the government to publicly release all materials related to the production of this memo.” The bishop continued, “A preference for traditional forms of worship and holding closely to the Church’s teachings on marriage, family, human sexuality and the dignity of the human person does not equate with extremism.”
And here we are,...
This story is the second in an ongoing series on the Cost of Fraud, as Open the Books tallies the hidden fees on American tax returns. Click here to read the first story on fraudulent autism billi...