For punk-rock millennials nostalgic for a '90s niche, forget shoegaze, anarcho, Celtic, emo, or hardcore. There’s a new punk subgenre so transgressive, so radical, that it presents "new mitigation opportunities" for the FBI.
Trad Cath is so in right now. All the young radicals are flocking to it. You'll love it if you understand Latin. But if you go for that kind of thing, you may want to keep a low profile.
The FBI has long surveilled punk rock musicians who, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, were seen as a threat to the establishment due to their perceived anti-establishment views and association with anarchism. Bands such as Black Flag, The Clash, Anti-Flag, and Minor Threat reported movement tracking, monitoring of lyrics and performances, and even infiltration of concerts by undercover agents.
In recent years, however, punk rockers and their anti-establishment ideology have become too mainstream for FBI bureaucrats. They’ve shifted their attention to a new band of “radicals:" traditional Catholics.
On Jan. 23, an intelligence analyst released a newly finished intelligence product on “Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists (RMVE) and their interests in 'Radical Traditionalist Catholics' or RTC’s.” As reported by UncoverDC, “The FBI’s Richmond Division would like to protect Virginians from the threat of 'white supremacy,' which it believes has found a home within Catholics who prefer the Latin Mass.”
The document hones in on traditional Catholic rejection of mainstream mores, raising concern about religious freedom.
“RTCs are typically categorized by the rejection of the Second Vatican Council (Vatican II) as a valid church council; disdain for most of the popes elected since Vatican II, particularly Pope Francis and Pope John Paul II; and frequent adherence to anti-Semitic, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBTQ, and white supremacist ideology. Radical-traditionalist Catholics compose a small minority of overall Roman Catholic adherents and are separate and distinct from ‘traditionalist Catholics’ who prefer the Traditional Latin Mass and pre-Vatican II teachings and traditions, without the more extremist ideological beliefs and violent rhetoric,” the recently rescinded report adds, relying upon left-leaning sources such as Southern Poverty Law Center and Salon.
“The document assesses with 'high confidence' the FBI can mitigate the threat of Radical-Traditionalist Catholics,” the article continues, “by recruiting sources within the Catholic Church.” Whereas immoral excesses were the cause of yesteryear’s national investigations, today it seems proponents of traditional marriage and monogamy could reach the FBI’s “most wanted” list.
This shift in surveillance priority raises a series of cultural questions: When did traditional religion become transgressive? Are the clergy the new Dead Kennedys?
In 1985, controversy erupted around the band at a Senate hearing prompted by the Parents Music Resource Center, a group founded by influential women, including Tipper Gore, who were concerned about the explicit lyrics and imagery in popular music. The Dead Kennedys were among those artists singled out by the PMRC for controversial lyrics. In particular, the band's songs "Pull My Strings" and "Moral Majority" were criticized for their political content, use of profanity, and "anti-Christian" sentiment.
Weeks later, on April 15, 1986, lead singer Jello Biafra's Los Angeles home was raided as part of the investigation into the band. Albums with notorious poster inserts by Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger titled "Penis Landscape" were taken from the premises. The band was charged with "distribution of material harmful to minors" and brought to trial, which ended in a hung jury. The bandmates were the first people in American history to face criminal charges over a record. They would not be the last.
Biafra would later appear in Tapeheads, a 1988 film directed by Bill Fishman, as a tongue-in-cheek bit part FBI agent who threatens, “Remember what we did to Jello Biafra?” Might be a good watch for the Catholic Church right about now.
As the cultural pendulum swings, forget about dodging the feds during a Monkees show at CBGB. Instead, keep your eyes peeled during the six o’clock service at the Parish Church of the Holy Innocents. Steer clear of the men in black sunglasses, cargo shorts, and short-sleeved T-shirts. Traditional is the new radical. Trad Cath is the new punk rock.
Grace Bydalek is a writer, performer, and administrator based in New York City. She works as a theater critic for the New York Sun and leads Young Voices’ Dissident Project.
Published in the Washington Examiner on February 15th, 2023.