I suspect I’m probably on an FBI watch list. Why do I think that? Nobody told me I’m on one. I haven’t seen FBI agents following me around and photographing me doing things. I haven’t been stopped at an airport and told I can’t fly (yet). I know I’m being watch though. How do I know? Because it’s been in the news. The FBI is engaging in espionage against Traditional Catholics, spying on them, setting up informants, and apparently running sting operations too. The homes of Traditional Catholic families have been raided, families have been terrorized, arrests have been made, but in all cases (to my knowledge) either the charges were eventually dropped or else the accused was fully acquitted in a court of law.
I am a Traditional Catholic. I have identified myself as one for years, and I maintain a fairly high profile on the blogosphere and social media. Therefore I am being watched. I am being watched because of my religious beliefs, and for no other reason. Somewhere, there is an FBI file with my name on it. Of course there is. It doesn’t take a genius to do the math. I suppose I haven’t been deemed too big of a threat, because to date, my home hasn’t been raided (yet).
Some of you might be wondering what this is all about. I recognize that while I am a Catholic blogger (and author), that doesn’t mean that all of my reading audience is Catholic. Some of you are Protestant. Some of you are unaffiliated. Some of you may not even be Christian at all. So, allow me to explain…
What is a Traditional Catholic?
A Traditional Catholic is exactly what it sounds like. A Traditional Catholic is just a regular, run-of-the-mill Catholic who really isn’t into all the new-fangled and liberal innovations that have become common in Catholic parishes throughout the West in the last half-century. Traditional Catholics just prefer that old-time religion that was common to Catholics sixty to seventy years ago, and for the last thousand years in general. Traditional Catholics come in many different forms, and they’re not a monolith, because Catholicism itself has never been a monolith. The Catholic Church has always had different rites and forms of liturgy. Consequently, Traditional Catholics may find themselves attached to different rites and forms of liturgy as well.
For example, the most common form of this is the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) also known as the 1962 Roman Missal, sometimes called the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In the United States, most Traditional Catholics fall under this category. Within this group are different types as well. Some go to approved TLM masses provided by the local diocese or an approved clerical association, such as the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), or the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICKSP). Others go to non-approved TLMs provided by associations still hammering out canonical relations with Rome, such as the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX). Rome does allow Catholics to visit TLMs provided by this particular association, because it’s not technically in schism with Rome, but discourages regular attendance due to their irregular canonical relationship with Rome. However, most Catholics who attend these masses just ignore that, and regularly go anyway.
Some Traditional Catholics prefer the Divine Worship Missal, which is based on Old Medieval English Catholicism, also called the English Patrimony, originally called the Sarum Use, or Sarum Rite, or Use of Salisbury. These Catholics are part of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter (OCSP), or the Anglo-Ordinariate (Anglo is Latin for “English”), a special jurisdiction in the Catholic Church which accommodates Catholics like this in both the United States and Canada. There are similar ordinariates like this for the UK and Oceania. Celebration of this Mass is very similar to the TLM, but specifically geared toward those attached to the English Patrimony, many of whom are former Anglicans and Methodist who converted to the Catholic Church. So one gets all the pomp and circumstance of a Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), but in Sacral English instead of Latin, with some additional English prayers and customs. This is the form of Traditional Catholicism that I favor and practice, though I have been known to visit a TLM from time to time.
Some Traditional Catholics are Eastern, following the traditional Eastern rites. They are virtually indistinguishable from Eastern Orthodox Christians, except they are in full-communion with Rome. This type of Traditional Catholicism is very steeped in ethnic customs from the East.
Some Traditional Catholics simply go to a very reverent and formal Novus Ordo Mass (NOM), meaning “New Order Mass,” which just uses the 1970 Roman Missal, the same as almost all Catholic parishes in the West, that just happens to be celebrated in the most traditional way possible, almost indistinguishable from the TLM in some cases. Some celebrations are even done in Latin.
While not all Traditional Catholics are the same in their liturgical celebration of the Mass, they do all have some things in common…
The first thing they have in common is a rejection of any new teaching or practice that directly contradicts previous Catholic teaching and practice. They also hate religious ambiguity, preferring a more precise and clear explanation of the Catholic Faith. This means they’re more likely to use older catechisms, like the Baltimore Catechism or the Catechism of Trent or St. Pius X Catechism, or a newer one that appeals to Traditional Catholic sensibilities, such as, for example Credo: Compendium of the Catholic Faith by Bishop Athanasius Schneider. This is not to say that Traditional Catholics reject the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II. Rather, they just prefer the simplicity and clarity of these other catechisms, all of which are approved by the Catholic Church in some way.
The second thing they have in common is a rigorous devotional life, which often involves recitation of the rosary, as well as other types of devotions and prayers.
The third thing they have in common is a Traditionally Catholic worldview. They tend to be politically conservative, but that can mean different things in different places. Don’t expect them to be run-of-the-mill Republicans or MAGA-Trumpers. They might be, but not usually. They tend to resist materialistic tendencies, and often dress rather conservatively as well. Many of them are homeschoolers. They’re often very involved in their churches and charitable organizations. Their families are often large, on average, though that’s not always the case. All of this is keeping in line with Catholic beliefs and ethics, which come from Traditional (old fashioned) Catholic Church teaching prior to 1970. Technically speaking, the Catholic Church still teaches all these things on paper. It’s just not as emphasized as it once was fifty years ago, and that’s why Catholics who refused to change with the times are called “Traditional.”
So do Traditional Catholics reject the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965)? Most of them do not reject it. I certainly don’t. Most Traditional Catholics follow the rule of Pope Benedict XVI in regard to Vatican II. Which is to say that it is always to be interpreted in the most traditional way possible, and in continuity with previous Catholic teaching. There are some Traditional Catholics who do reject all (or part) of the Second Vatican Council. Most of these can be found attending SSPX chapels, or the chapels of other obscure groups.
Now that you know what a Traditional Catholic is, let’s move on to what has been happening to them.
America is a Protestant Nation
When we say that America is a Protestant Nation, we don’t mean that in an official or confessional way. For example, the United Kingdom (UK) is a Protestant Confessional State. That means it has an official state religion, called the Church of England, which is technically a Protestant organization because it claims to be Christian, is not in communion with Rome, and adheres to some common Protestant teachings. Historically, the UK had a rocky relationship with the Catholic Church, and English Catholics paid for it dearly. After the Church of England broke with Rome in 1534, a series of persecutions against English Catholics began, which resulted in Catholicism being made illegal in the UK up until 1829. These were called the Penal Laws. Some of these Penal Laws made their way to North America during the colonial period. As a result of this, lingering anti-Catholicism from the UK became a normal part of early American life in the colonies, and continued long after the revolution that formed the United States of America.
Anti-Catholicism was a normal part of American politics in the 19th century, as well as social life, resulting in many Catholic families forced into poverty. Some were broken up by the early death of the father, usually to black-lung disease or factory accidents, with the children adopted out to Protestant families to be raised as Protestants. This is an ugly part of American history that is generally not taught in public schools. It was these dire circumstances, of Catholic families in 19th-century America, that resulted in the formation of the Knights of Columbus in an effort to protect Catholic families after the untimely, but sadly typical, death of the father.
Anti-Catholicism persisted in American politics well into the 20th century, culminating in Congressional hearings over suspicions of Catholics secretly plotting a revolution to overthrow the United States government. This was precipitated by a bogus oath, allegedly from the Knights of Columbus, which was likely spread by the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). In this bogus oath, the Knights were accused of swearing to murder all Protestants as soon as the pope gave the command. The Congressional hearings found the oath to be bogus, likely spread by the Klan and other anti-Catholic groups, clearing the Knights of all wrongdoing. The 1924 and 1928 presidential campaigns of Catholic, New York Governor Al Smith, saw the last gasp of overt (obvious) anti-Catholicism in American politics. Smith lost both elections mainly due to campaigning against him specifically because he was Catholic. Once again, the Klan was deeply involved, and at that time the Klan was considered a “patriotic” organization.
It was from the 1930s through 1960s that Americans started having a conscience about Catholics in this nation. There was a concentrated effort to remove anti-Catholicism from the American establishment. Hollywood began producing movies that painted Catholics in a positive light. It was almost as if America had grown up, and put all this sectarian nonsense behind her. This culminated in the election of the first openly Catholic, President John F. Kennedy, in 1960.
Then, starting in the 1970s, the entire Western world, including the United States, became increasingly anti-religious. Because the Catholic Church was seen as the most religious type of Christianity, with all of its rules and rituals, it slowly became the most hated everywhere. To be clear, all Christianity came to be frowned upon, especially conservative Christianity, but Catholicism came to be frowned upon the most. This became especially evident in the media: film, television, radio and eventually the internet.
Simultaneously, starting in the 1970s, the Catholic Church underwent many changes in an attempt to “become more relevant to the modern world.” This is when the liturgy was changed from the exclusively Latin 1962 Roman Missal, to the 1970 Roman Missal which was translated into the vernacular. Many dioceses within the Catholic Church began experimenting with new liturgical innovations, along with new ways of doing theology. All of this caused a great deal of confusion among most Catholics, which resulted in the rise of the Traditional Catholic movement, as explained above.
Somewhere between 1970 and 2023, the New Catholicism came to be considered “good” and Old Traditional Catholicism came to be considered “bad.” It’s unsure how this connection came to be made, who made it or why. Nevertheless, it happened. It’s wrong, but it happened.
Some speculate that it goes back to identity politics, which started in the 1970s but didn’t really go mainstream in America until the 1990s. Within the identity politics spectrum is feminism and the LGBTQ movement. Traditional Catholics hold to traditionally Catholic beliefs, which are socially conservative, and so Traditional Catholics would naturally align against these things. This is contrasted with New Catholicism, which can at times be more ambiguous about moral issues, and as a result New Catholics (or NeoCatholics) might be more open and receptive to these things. So perhaps the “good/bad” paradigm between New Catholicism and Traditional Catholicism came about this way. We may never know. What we do know is that sometime over the last fifty years, Traditional Catholics came to be demonized by social liberals both within and outside the Catholic Church.
The SPLC Meets the FBI
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a politically Leftist organization that frequently ties politically and/or socially conservative groups to extremist and/or hate groups, whether that connection exists in reality or not. The SPLC is known for making such connections with conservative Evangelical ministries, and more recently, Traditional Catholic organizations. Sometime in the last decade, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) apparently began using the SPLC’s material to formulate its own policies. This resulted in a policy memo leaked to the press, stating that the FBI is investigating Traditional Catholics as domestic threats and potential terrorists. The following are two videos of recent Congressional hearings elaborating on this development…
Once the original memo was leaked to the public, Americans were assured by the Department of Justice (DOJ) that this was an isolated event, contained to one field office of the FBI, and that it was not department-wide. That turned out to be completely untrue as later evidence came forward. Apparently, the FBI’s suspicion of Traditional Catholics was systemic and investigations were well underway nationwide for some time before the memo was leaked.
We Traditional Catholics are not, and should not be, surprised by any of this. The FBI is simply keeping American tradition. Catholics have always been held in suspicion in the United States, and this latest episode of FBI espionage against our churches, families, and online activities, should simply be chalked up to a long litany of actions taken against Catholics by powerful people in the US Federal Government, as well as state governments, the press and American society in general. If you think that’s an unfair statement, simply look up the Blaine Amendments. That’s just a small sampling of what our Catholic forefathers endured in the United States. We should feel honored to be held in the same contempt as they were.
Outrage and Blowback
We should recognize that a growing number of Americans find anti-Catholicism reprehensible, whether they’re Catholic or not, and some of them will not tolerate the lip-service of anti-Catholics in government, no matter how much they say they are not against Catholics at all. A word to the wise: actions always speak louder than words. Saying you don’t hold Catholics in contempt is nice, but it’s just words. They really don’t mean anything while your department is systematically engaging in acts of espionage against Catholics. It’s just a public show, and most people can see right through it. You don’t have to be Catholic to find this behavior offensive. Senator Josh Hawley, for example, a local neighbor of mine actually, is clearly outraged by the FBI’s behavior, and he’s not even Catholic. He’s just an everyday Evangelical Protestant, typical to what one usually sees here in the Ozarks. He can barely contain his anger at this (see above video). I can speak from experience that Hawley’s outrage against the federal government’s modern-day persecution of Catholics is representative of how most Evangelicals think here in the Ozarks. Most of them don’t know the first thing about Catholicism, but they’re not happy that the federal government is investigating the largest Christian Church in America. Many of them realize that if the FBI can do this to Catholics, they can do it to any religious organization. I’ve personally received many words of support from local Evangelicals in the area.
It’s federal activity like this that completely undermines the credibility of the federal government at the local level. Folks here in the Ozarks weren’t too favorable of Uncle Sam to begin with. These latest antics have just soured the federal kool-aid even further. I honestly don’t know many people who think the FBI should continue. Most of my family, friends and neighbors think it should be completely defunded and probably dissolved entirely. I join them in that sentiment. I truly don’t believe redemption of a federal department is even possible after something like this. It’s best just to let it disappear into the pages of history. Perhaps some Blaine Amendments should be repealed as well?
Shane Schaetzel is an author of Catholic books and an Evangelical convert to the Catholic Church through Anglicanism. His articles have been featured on LifeSiteNews, The Remnant Newspaper, Forward in Christ, and Catholic Online. You can read Shane’s books at ShaneSchaetzel.Com
Thank you sir.
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