The Home Council of the 2023 State Deputy
FR. Thomas F.B. Carroll Council 4566
of the
Knights of Columbus ​
(516) 284-9129
State Deputy S.K. Anthony Ippolito
203 Rockaway Ave.
Valley Stream, N.Y. 11580
(516) 900-5632
Anthony Ippolito
State Deputy
2023 - 2024
Notre Dame
Paris
APRIL 28, 2023|JUDICIAL WATCH
Judicial Watch and CatholicVote Sue FBI and Justice Department for Records of Targeting Catholics
(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit along with CatholicVote Civic Action against the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Department of Justice for records containing keywords and records about an FBI intelligence memo targeting ‘radical traditionalist’ Catholics (CatholicVote Civic Action and Judicial Watch, Inc. v. Federal Bureau of Investigations and Department of Justice (No. 1:23-cv-01166)).
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In February 2023, an FBI intelligence document was leaked that revealed FBI targeting of Catholics who adhere to traditional beliefs on abortion and other cultural issues. The Catholic News Agency reported: “The leaked document has been condemned by several federal and state officials, as well as clergy, including Bishop Barry Knestout of the Diocese of Richmond, who recently called the memo a ‘threat to religious liberty.’”
On March 8, 2023, Judicial Watch and CatholicVote sent four FOIA requests to the Federal Bureau of Investigations the FBI, a division of the Department of Justice:
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(a) All emails, Lync messages, and text messages sent to and from the following FBI Headquarters officials: Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate, Asst. Director George P. Beach, II, General Counsel Jason Jones, Chief of Staff Jonathan Lenzner, Executive Asst. Dir. Larissa Knapp, and Asst. Dir. Timothy Langan for the period March 1, 2022, to the present referencing:
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· “Catholics”
· “Latin Mass”
· “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics”
· “RTC”
· “Church Militant”
· “Catholic League”
· “Southern Poverty Law Center”
· “SPLC”
· “Pope Francis”
· “Vatican II”
· “Second Vatican Council”
· “Rosary”
· “FSSP”
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(b) All emails, Lync messages, and text messages sent to and from the following FBI Richmond Field Office (RFO) officials: SAIC Stanley Meador, ASAIC David Lewis, ASAIC Stephen Farina, and the FBI Richmond Chief Division Counsel for the period March 1, 2022, to the present referencing:
· “Catholics”
· “Latin Mass”
· “Radical-Traditionalist Catholics”
· “RTC”
· “Church Militant”
· “Catholic League”
· “Southern Poverty Law Center”
· “SPLC”
· “Pope Francis”
· “Vatican II”
· “Second Vatican Council”
· “Rosary”
· “FSSP”
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(c) All emails, Lync messages, and text messages sent to and from the following FBI Headquarters officials: Director Christopher Wray, Deputy Director Paul Abbate, Asst. Director George P. Beach, II, General Counsel Jason Jones, Chief of Staff Jonathan Lenzner, Executive Asst. Dir. Larissa Knapp, and Asst. Dir. Timothy Langan for the period March 1, 2022, to the present referencing:
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· Actions were taken to remove the Intelligence Note from FBI systems;
· The FBI review of (1) the basis for the Intelligence Note and (2) any official FBI actions taken pursuant to the Intelligence Note
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(d) All emails, Lync messages, and text messages sent to and from the following FBI Richmond Field Office (RFO) officials: SAIC Stanley Meador, ASAIC David Lewis, ASAIC Stephen Farina, and the FBI Richmond Chief Division Counsel for the period March 1, 2022, to the present referencing:
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· Actions are taken to remove the Intelligence Note from FBI systems;
· The FBI review of (1) the basis for the Intelligence Note; (2) any official FBI actions taken pursuant to the Intelligence Note
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Also, on March 8, 2023, Judicial Watch and CatholicVote sent similar FOIA requests to the U.S. Department of Justice; the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General.
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“Our weaponized and corrupt government agencies have demonstrated a pattern of contempt for justice and the rule of law by prioritizing partisan ideology and agendas over the protection of the American people – in particular those with whom they disagree politically,” said CatholicVote President Brian Burch. “We are demanding transparency from our government and are determined to uncover just how high up the anti-Catholic bigotry goes.”
“In a brazen attack on the First Amendment and Christians, the Biden FBI planned to treat Catholics as potential terrorists and spy on them in their churches,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton."
And now, as our new FOIA lawsuit shows, the FBI and Justice Departments are trying to cover their tracks by hiding documents about this growing scandal.
CatholicVote.org is a community of patriotic Americans who believe that the timeless truths of the Catholic faith are good for America. It makes its mission “to inspire every Catholic in America to live out the truths of our faith in public life.”
Cardinal Dolan: Why are Cuomo and Democrats alienating Catholics?
January 28, 2019 | 9:29 pm
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As if that’s not enough, instead of admitting that abortion is always a tragic choice, and that life-giving alternatives should be more vigorously promoted, the governor and his “progressive” supporters celebrated signing the bill. At the governor’s command, even the lights of the Freedom Tower sparkled with delight.Those who once told us that abortion had to remain safe, legal and rare now have made it dangerous, imposed and frequent.Then our governor insults and caricatures the church in what’s supposed to be an uplifting and unifying occasion, his “State of the State” address.
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The bishops of this state have long supported a reform of the inadequate laws around the sexual abuse of minors. Yes, we and many others expressed reservations about one element, the retroactive elimination of the civil statute of limitations, but urged dramatic reform that, in many ways, was tougher than what was being proposed by legislators. A month ago we renewed that stance, and even dropped our objections to the “look-back” section if all victims would benefit. The governor was aware of all this.
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Why, then, would he use his address to blame the church, and only the church, for blocking this bill? Why would he publicly brag in a political address about his dissent from timeless and substantive church belief? Why would he quote Pope Francis out of context as an applause line to misrepresent us bishops here as being opposed to our Holy Father? Why did he reduce the sexual abuse of minors, a broad societal and cultural curse that afflicts every family, public school, religion and government program, to a “Catholic problem?”
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I’m a pastor, not a politician, but I feel obliged to ask these questions, as daily do I hear them from my people, as well as colleagues from other creeds. I’ve been attacked in the past when I asked — sadly and reluctantly — if the party that my folks proudly claimed as their own, the Democrats, had chosen to alienate faithful Catholic voters. Now you know why I asked.
As an American historian, I am very aware of our state’s past record of scorn and sneers at Catholics. It used to be called “know-nothings.” Now it’s touted as “progressivism.”
Genuine progressives work to pass a “DREAM act,” a “voters rights act,” a “prison reform act,” and we pastors of the church pitch in to support them. That’s government at its best. I pray that spirit returns.
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It’s been a rough time for faithful Catholics recently in our state government’s frantic rush for “progressive” ideas.
I’m thinking first of the ghoulish radical abortion-expansion law, which allows for an abortion right up to the moment of birth; drops all charges against an abortionist who allows an aborted baby, who somehow survives the scissors, scalpel, saline and dismemberment, to die before his eyes; mandates that, to make an abortion more convenient and easy, a physician need not perform it; and might even be used to suppress the conscience rights of health care professionals not to assist in the grisly procedures.All this in a state that already had the most permissive abortion laws in the country.
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