A newly released congressional report alleges that the FBI placed a Catholic priest under extensive surveillance after he declined to share details of a private conversation with a parishioner in early 2023.

According to the Christian Post, the House Judiciary Committee report, issued July 22, 2025, details a federal investigation into the priest and his religious community, raising questions about constitutional protections for religious freedom.

The priest serves a congregation in the Richmond, Virginia area aligned with the Society of Saint Pius X, a traditionalist Catholic group not fully recognized by the Catholic Church. In January 2023, federal agents approached him during an inquiry involving a parishioner believed to have made statements related to potential violence.

Priest Cited Church Protocol for Silence

According to the report, the priest hesitated to discuss the parishioner’s private comments, saying he needed to consult church authorities and legal advisors before disclosing any spiritual conversations. The House Judiciary Committee emphasized that Virginia law protects such confidential communications regardless of the penitents’ religious milestones, including baptism or catechesis.

Federal records cited in the report include an internal communication from an FBI agent, who described the priest as becoming visibly uncomfortable and stammering during questioning. The agent also asserted that the usual clerical confidentiality did not apply because the individual involved had not been fully inducted into the faith.

Soon after, agents at the FBI’s Richmond office launched what they termed a “formal investigative assessment.” This included a probe into the priest’s financial records and ecclesiastical background, and collaboration with the FBI’s international office in London to track overseas travel.

Agency Examined Religious Group's Structure

The bureau did not limit its inquiry to the cleric alone. The agency also expanded its investigation into the Society of Saint Pius X, examining its structure, recruitment strategies, and general operations. This extended focus led to criticism that law enforcement may have unfairly profiled members of a specific religious group.

Much of the backlash stems from a since-retracted February 2023 memo originating from the same Richmond field office. That document linked “radical-traditionalist Catholicism” with far-right extremism and sparked bipartisan concern when it became public earlier this year.

Training materials associated with the memo characterized such communities as embracing fundamentalist positions on social issues and harboring distrust toward mainstream Catholic doctrine. The report indicated that descriptors like “rigid,” “apocalyptic,” and “integralist” were used to describe their beliefs, raising alarms about potential stereotyping and bias.

House Committee Questions FBI Sources

The House Judiciary Committee specifically criticized the sources cited in the FBI’s internal materials, many of which included non-governmental organizations and media outlets. Lawmakers claimed such sources harbored ideological biases against religious individuals who uphold traditional values.

Committee members pointed out the FBI’s continued reliance on publications including the Southern Poverty Law Center, The Atlantic, and Sojourners Magazine. They argued these references painted an unfair image of individuals associated with conservative faith communities.

“This new information demonstrates that the FBI not only used its federal law enforcement resources to surveil certain Catholic Americans, but it also used these resources to investigate a clergy member,” the committee’s July 22 report stated.

Officials Criticize Biden Administration’s Role

The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee did not limit its scrutiny to the agency alone. Lawmakers raised broader concerns about the Biden administration’s commitment to protecting constitutionally enshrined religious freedoms under the First Amendment.

“Under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI disrespected and potentially violated the constitutionally protected religious liberties of faithful Americans,” the report charged. Lawmakers added that religious expression should not be second-guessed based on its perceived conservatism.

Additional frustration stemmed from what committee members said was a lack of transparency during oversight investigations. They accused the administration of withholding critical documents from Congress throughout the inquiry.

Claims of Broader Targeting Surface

Despite earlier assurances from FBI Director Christopher Wray that the Richmond memo represented isolated behavior, lawmakers now argue otherwise. The committee contended that other field offices—and even international FBI branches—may have participated in similar surveillance actions.

Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the Judiciary Committee, stated that “new documents obtained by the committee — thanks to the leadership of FBI Director Patel — show that it was worse than anyone thought.” He argued that the targeting spanned not only the United States but also extended globally.

“Contrary to Director Wray’s statements, the targeting of Catholics went beyond the Richmond Field Office and extended not just to offices across the country but around the world,” Jordan said.

Ongoing Debate Over Religious Protections

The incident has reignited debate over the scope of federal surveillance authority in religious contexts. Legal experts and civil liberties advocates are assessing the implications for faith-based communities and religious confidentiality.

The House Judiciary Committee underscored in its report that spiritual protections under priest-penitent privilege are not conditional. According to the report, these rights apply even if a communicant has not yet fully completed religious rites or instruction.

For now, the FBI has not issued an official comment following the July 22 report. However, scrutiny from both lawmakers and civil society groups is likely to continue to shape the conversation over how federal investigations intersect with religious freedom.