FBI reportedly spied on priest for not disclosing private conversation: ‘Worse than anyone thought’

July 28, 2025

A report from the House Judiciary Committee is raising religious liberty concerns about the FBI’s spying on a Roman Catholic priest who declined to disclose private conversations he had with a parishioner.

The Christian Post reports that, after the priest had express reluctance to speak with the FBI regarding a parishioner who had been arrested, the FBI’s Richmond, Virginia office conducted a “formal investigative assessment” on the priest.

That investigation examined the priest’s ordination history, his finances and also tracked his international travel with the help of the London FBI office.

According to the Christian Post, the priest became a target for investigation when he sought to consult with legal counsel and church leadership before disclosing private spiritual conversations.

An internal email cited in the congressional report, the unnamed priest “became very uncomfortable and started incoherently stuttering” when he was questioned about the parishioner’s “desires and plans to commit violence.”

The agent had claimed that the parishioner under investigation did not qualify for priest-penitent privilege because he hadn’t “been baptized” or “completed his catechism.”

However, the committee report concluded that this was not consistent with a Virginia state law protecting such confidential communications regardless of baptism or catechism.

The report states: “The priest-penitent privilege rightly protects communications between a clergy member and an individual seeking spiritual guidance. It is not dependent on the individual achieving certain milestones in his or her spiritual life.”

The committee accused the FBI, under the Biden administration, of potentially violating the U.S. Constitution, saying, “Under the Biden-Harris administration, the FBI disrespected and potentially violated the constitutionally protected religious liberties of faithful Americans. Throughout the committee’s oversight in the 118th Congress, the Biden-Harris administration refused to provide relevant information to the committee.”

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