According to Bishop Joseph Strickland, the FBI’s targeting of Catholics “sounds far more like communist Russia than the U.S.”
At CPAC 2024 in Maryland, on Thursday, Breitbart News’s Matthew Perdie spoke with Strickland on the FBI’s probe against traditional Catholic churches.
According to a leaked memo from the FBI’s Richmond office last year, which Breitbart News obtained, there was an increase in violent extremists’ “interest” within the “radical-traditionalist Catholic” ideology. As a result, the FBI saw a chance to interact with certain churches in an effort to persuade the leaders of those churches to act as FBI “tripwires,” or unofficial informants for the agency. Since then, House Republicans have learned that the memo’s drafting appeared to include many field offices and that the FBI purportedly conducted interviews with a church choir director and a priest.
Perdie questioned Strickland, a fervent opponent of Pope Francis who was “relieved” by the Vatican for “undermining the faith,” about why he believed the FBI had chosen to look into Catholic Latino mass attendees.
“I don’t pretend to know why they would do this, but I do view it as a tragic sign of a culture that sounds a lot more like Soviet Russia or Nazi Germany than it does like the United States,” Strickland said.
“It appears that this has something to do with both freedom of expression and freedom of religion. He went on, “I feel that the FBI has been weaponized to target those who merely hold a strong belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ and the truth that He has revealed. “And unfortunately, there are a lot of individuals who are unsure about this truth that God has revealed through his Son Jesus Christ in this country and truly around the world, including in the Catholic Church.”
The FBI’s activities, according to Strickland, are a “symptom” of a “country that is losing its way.”
He remarked, “She may always return, but we have to pay attention to the truth that God has revealed to us, return to those cornerstones, and not utilize government authorities to persecute individuals for following the truth.” “We have more to fear than anyone who could be standing up for the truth if we are terrified of the truth.”
