The Greatest Cover-Up in American History: 100,000 U.S. Victims, Zero Congressional Hearings

 

                                           Artwork by Thomas Richards using Photoshop 7.0

How Congress Mobilized for 1,000 Epstein Victims While Ignoring 100,000+ American Catholic Priest Abuse Survivors

Introduction: The Silence -- σιωπή (siōpē)

In December 2025, the Archdiocese of New York announced a $300 million settlement fund for 1,300 abuse victims. The same week, the Archdiocese of New Orleans finalized $230 million for 500+ victims. In October 2024, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles paid $880 million to 1,353 survivors -- the largest single child sex abuse settlement in American history.

These settlements barely made headlines. No Congressional hearings were called. No bipartisan resolutions were passed. No survivors testified before Congress.

Compare this to the response to Jeffrey Epstein's victims -- approximately 1,000 survivors. Congress held multiple hearings. The Speaker of the House met with survivors. Bipartisan legislation was passed. Media coverage was wall-to-wall for months.

The Catholic Church abuse crisis involves an estimated 100,000+ victims in the United States alone -- and that is likely the tip of the iceberg, representing only those who came forward. Globally, the documented and estimated total exceeds well over 1.5 million children when you add France (330,000), Italy (1 million estimated), Germany, Australia, Ireland, Portugal, and dozens of other countries. Total U.S. settlements now exceed $5 billion -- with over 40 dioceses driven to bankruptcy.

In over 30 years of documented systemic abuse, Congress has held zero federal hearings on Catholic Church child sexual abuse.

This is not a conspiracy theory. This is documented silence -- σιωπή (siōpē). This post assembles the numbers.

I. The Scale of the κακία (kakia -- Evil): By the Numbers

United States: The $5 Billion Scandal

According to Georgetown University's Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA), U.S. Catholic dioceses and religious orders have spent over $5 billion on clergy sexual abuse claims involving minors between 2004 and 2023 -- and that figure does not include settlements paid before 2004 or ongoing cases.

Source: OSV News: 20 years of abuse settlements for US Catholic dioceses exceeds $5 billion total

The John Jay College study documented 10,667 victims between 1950 and 2002, later revised to 15,235 through 2009. But experts at the Vatican's own 2019 abuse summit estimated the true number at 100,000 American victims when accounting for unreported cases.

Source: National Catholic Reporter: Vatican abuse summit: $2.2 billion and 100,000 victims in US alone

The documented 16,276 "credible allegations" reported between 2004-2023 represent only those who came forward, whose cases met evidentiary thresholds, and whose abusers were still alive or identifiable. The actual number is vastly higher.

Source: BishopAccountability.org: U.S. Catholic Church Spends $5 billion on 16,276 Clergy Sex Abuse Allegations

Major U.S. Settlements -- December 2025 Update

Archdiocese of Los Angeles (October 2024): $880 million to 1,353 victims -- the largest single child sex abuse settlement with a Catholic archdiocese in history. Combined with previous settlements of $740 million, Los Angeles has paid over $1.5 billion total. Over 300 priests accused. Abuse dating back to the 1940s.

Source: NPR: Archdiocese of Los Angeles will pay $880 million to settle sexual abuse claims

Archdiocese of New York (December 2025): $300 million for 1,300 outstanding claims. Cardinal Timothy Dolan announced the archdiocese is selling its Manhattan headquarters and cutting its operating budget by 10% to fund settlements. The archdiocese is simultaneously suing its insurer Chubb for refusing to pay claims.

Source: Catholic News Agency: New York archdiocese announces $300 million settlement for victims of clergy abuse

Archdiocese of New Orleans (December 2025): $230 million to 500+ victims. Settlement approved December 8, 2025 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Meredith Grabill. The archdiocese filed for bankruptcy in May 2020 to avoid facing survivors in open court. Survivor Kathleen Austin testified she was "abused hundreds of times as a child" while watching her perpetrator continue serving in the Church.

Source: CNN: Court settlement approved for New Orleans Archdiocese to pay hundreds of clergy abuse victims

Diocese of Rockville Centre, New York (December 2024): $323 million to 600 victims -- the largest diocesan bankruptcy settlement in U.S. history. Every single one of the diocese's 136 parishes was forced to file for bankruptcy and contribute to the settlement. Some parishes paid over $1 million each.

Source: National Catholic Reporter: Long Island, New York, parishes forced to pay millions to settle sex abuse claims

Other major settlements include: Diocese of Rochester, NY ($250 million); Diocese of Syracuse ($176 million); Diocese of San Diego ($198 million); Archdiocese of Boston ($85 million to 500+ victims); Diocese of Covington ($81 million to 200+ victims); Archdiocese of Philadelphia ($78+ million to 438 victims); Diocese of Oakland ($56 million); Oregon Jesuits ($166 million to 450+ Native American victims).

Source: BishopAccountability.org: A list of the largest clergy abuse settlements reached by Catholic organizations in the US

Diocesan Bankruptcies: 40+ and Counting

As of December 2024, at least 40 U.S. Catholic organizations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection due to abuse claims, according to Pennsylvania State University Law School professor Marie T. Reilly's database.

Six of California's twelve dioceses are now in Chapter 11. Recent filers include the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont and the Diocese of Alexandria, Louisiana (both 2024). The first diocesan bankruptcy was Portland, Oregon in 2004.

Bankruptcy serves two purposes for the Church: it caps liability and prevents survivors from testifying in open court. As New Orleans survivor Kathleen Austin asked: "Why has it taken so long to get to this point and at such a high cost?"

II. The Global Scale: 1.5 Million Children

France: 330,000 Victims -- "Systemic" Abuse

The 2021 CIASE Report (Independent Commission on Sexual Abuse in the Church) documented 216,000 children abused by Catholic clergy in France between 1950 and 2020. When lay Church workers are included, the total rises to 330,000 victims.

The 2,500-page independent commission report found 2,900-3,200 abusers among 115,000 priests and clerics. Eighty percent of victims were boys. The commission concluded: "The Catholic Church is the place where the prevalence of sexual violence is at its highest, other than in family and friend circles."

The abuse was described as "systemic" with "institutional cover-up."

Source: CNN: French Catholic Church abuse report finds estimated 330,000 victims

Italy: One Million Estimated -- "Barely Made the News"

Francesco Zanardi of the Italian survivors' group Rete L'Abuso (Abuse Network) estimated one million Italian children have been abused by Catholic clergy -- based on extrapolation from the French data, given that Italy has 2.5 times as many priests as France.

The official Italian Church report in 2022 documented only 89 victims over two years -- a figure victims' groups called "absolutely unsatisfactory and shameful." Over 600 cases are on file at the Vatican dating to 2000, but comprehensive investigation has been blocked.

A Vatican commission member acknowledged "substantial cultural resistance in Italy to addressing abuse." The issue remains "largely buried" despite potentially being the largest abuse crisis in Church history.

Source: BishopAccountability.org: A million children abused by Italian priests and it barely makes the news

Germany: 3,677 Documented Victims

The 2018 German Bishops Conference study reviewed 38,000 personnel files from 1946-2014 and found 3,677 minors abused by 1,670 clerics -- representing 4.4% of all clergy whose records were reviewed. Among diocesan priests, the figure was 5.1%.

More than half the victims were 13 or younger. Every sixth case involved rape. The report found evidence that "some files were manipulated or destroyed" and that accused priests "were simply moved to other dioceses without the congregations being informed about their past."

Cardinal Reinhard Marx stated: "For too long abuse has been denied and hushed up in the church. One simply looked away."

Source: NPR: German Bishops Report: At Least 3,677 Minors Were Abused By Clerics

Australia: 7% of All Priests Accused

The Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-2017) found that 7% of all Catholic priests who served in Australia between 1950 and 2010 were alleged perpetrators of child sexual abuse.

The commission documented 4,444 victims and 1,880 alleged perpetrators across more than 1,000 Catholic institutions. In certain religious orders, the percentage was staggering: 40.4% of St. John of God Brothers were alleged perpetrators. 22% of Christian Brothers. 21.9% of Salesians of Don Bosco.

Senior Counsel Gail Furness told the commission: "Children were ignored or worse, punished. Allegations were not investigated. Priests and religious were moved. The parishes or communities to which they were moved knew nothing of their past. Documents were not kept or they were destroyed."

Source: CNN: Australia: 7% of Catholic priests abused children, commission finds

Ireland: "Endemic" Abuse Across Institutions

The 2009 Ryan Report documented abuse across more than 250 church-run institutions, concluding that rape and molestation were "endemic" in Irish Catholic industrial schools and orphanages. The Murphy Report on the Dublin Archdiocese found that four archbishops systematically covered up abuse from the 1960s through the 1990s.

At least 170,000 children passed through Irish Catholic institutions where abuse occurred. The Ryan Report identified 800 known abusers. One Dublin priest admitted sexually abusing more than 100 children; another "accepted he sexually abused hundreds of children on a fortnightly basis during his 25-year ministry."

The Murphy Report found that archbishops took out insurance against abuse claims in 1987 -- proving institutional knowledge -- while continuing to transfer predator priests and attack victims' credibility.

Source: Wikipedia: Catholic Church sexual abuse cases in Ireland; BishopAccountability.org: Murphy Report

Other Countries

Portugal (2023): Independent commission documented 4,815 children abused since 1950.

Pennsylvania, USA (2018): Grand jury report documented over 1,000 child victims and 300 "predator priests" across six dioceses over 70 years.

Netherlands, Chile, Belgium, Poland, Spain: All have documented thousands of additional cases.

The Global Total: Well Over 1.5 Million -- And That Is Only the Tip of the Iceberg

Adding documented and estimated figures: France (330,000) + Italy (1,000,000 estimated) + United States (100,000 estimated) + Germany (3,677 documented, actual likely much higher) + Australia (4,444 documented) + Ireland (tens of thousands) + Portugal (4,815) + all other countries = well over 1.5 million children worldwide.

This is almost certainly a dramatic undercount. It does not include countries that have conducted no independent investigation. It does not include countries where the Church has successfully blocked inquiries. It does not include the vast majority of cases that were never reported. Every single investigation -- in every country -- has concluded that the documented numbers represent only a fraction of actual abuse. The German bishops' report explicitly stated the actual numbers were "likely much higher." The Australian Royal Commission noted that most victims never come forward. Studies consistently show that only about one-third of child sexual abuse incidents are ever identified, and even fewer are reported.

The true global number may be several times the 1.5 million documented and estimated. We simply do not know -- and may never know -- the full scale of this κακία (kakia -- evil).

III. The Comparison: Epstein vs. The Vatican

Jeffrey Epstein's crimes were horrific. Approximately 1,000 women and girls were victimized by his trafficking operation. He deserved prosecution, and his victims deserved justice.

Epstein's connections to powerful figures -- including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton -- made it a politically useful issue for both parties to pursue. Each side could point fingers at the other's associations while positioning themselves as champions of trafficking victims.

But consider the Congressional response:

For Epstein (~1,000 victims):

Multiple Congressional hearings held. Survivors testified before Congress. The Speaker of the House met with victims. Bipartisan legislation passed (the EARN IT Act, FOSTA-SESTA). DOJ investigated and prosecuted. Wall-to-wall media coverage for months. Public demand for accountability from every connected individual.

For the Catholic Church (100,000+ U.S. victims):

Zero federal Congressional hearings in over 30 years.

No survivors have testified before Congress. No Speaker meetings with victims. No comprehensive federal legislation. The DOJ has actively protected the Church -- in 2025, the Trump DOJ sued the state of Washington over its mandatory clergy abuse reporting law. Sporadic media coverage that disappears within days. No public demand for accountability from Church leadership.

The DOJ Won. In October 2025, Washington state capitulated. The state attorney general's office announced a settlement agreement: clergy would remain "mandatory reporters" on paper, but state and county prosecutors agreed not to enforce reporting requirements for information clergy learn "solely through confession or its equivalent in other faiths." The Catholic Church got exactly what it wanted -- the legal right to keep child abuse disclosures secret if they occur during confession. The Trump administration's DOJ, led by Harmeet Dhillon, had successfully intervened on behalf of the Church to block a child protection law. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson -- himself a Catholic -- had signed the law specifically because three Washington archdioceses were under investigation for covering up abuse. The Church sued. The DOJ joined them. The Church won.

Source: Washington State Standard: "Washington state agrees not to require clergy to report child abuse disclosed in confession" (October 10, 2025) and Catholic News Agency (October 10, 2025)

One thousand Epstein victims produced Congressional action. One hundred thousand American Catholic abuse victims produced Congressional silence -- σιωπή (siōpē).

That is a ratio of 100:1. One hundred times more American victims. Zero times the Congressional response.

And when you consider the global scale -- well over 1.5 million victims worldwide, and likely far more -- it becomes clear this is not merely an American scandal but a worldwide institutional crisis of child sexual abuse. Yet even focusing solely on American victims, Congress has done nothing.

What About Weinstein?

Harvey Weinstein's crimes victimized approximately 100 women. When #MeToo erupted in 2017, Congress held hearings -- but those hearings were about Congress's own internal harassment problem, not Weinstein's victims. Weinstein victims testified in court, not before Congress.

So we have:

Epstein: ~1,000 victims → Congressional hearings, Speaker meetings, bipartisan legislation

Weinstein: ~100 victims → Court testimony only, no Congressional hearings for victims

Catholic Church: 100,000+ U.S. victims → ZERO Congressional hearings, ZERO survivor testimony

One hundred thousand victims -- and counting. Silence.

IV. Who Speaks and Who Remains Silent

Members of Congress from both parties have been vocal about Epstein's victims. They have demanded accountability, called for the release of client lists, and positioned themselves as champions of trafficking survivors.

How many of those same members have called for Congressional hearings on Catholic priest abuse? How many have demanded testimony from cardinals and archbishops? How many have introduced legislation for mandatory federal reporting of clergy abuse?

The answer, for both parties, is effectively zero.

The same week the New York Archdiocese announced its $300 million settlement and the New Orleans Archdiocese finalized its $230 million payout, Congress was focused on other matters. No hearings were scheduled. No resolutions were introduced. No survivors were invited to testify.

This is not partisan. Democrats and Republicans alike have maintained silence on federal action against Catholic institutional abuse for decades.

The question is why.

The Conflict of Interest: 150 Catholics in Congress

Perhaps one answer lies in the composition of Congress itself.

According to the Pew Research Center, 150 members of Congress are Catholic -- 28.2% of the House and Senate. This makes Catholics the single largest religious denomination in Congress. Catholics are significantly overrepresented: 28% of Congress versus only 20% of the American population.

Three of the top five Republican leaders in the House are Catholic: Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, and Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain. Recent Speakers of the House include Catholics Nancy Pelosi, Paul Ryan, and John Boehner. Vice President JD Vance is Catholic. President Trump is very Catholic-friendly, elevating Catholic officials in his commission on religious freedom and even giving a special announcement on the White House web page for a Catholic holiday that claims Mary is without sin, a doctrine which completely violates scripture -- γραφή (graphē). Presidential Message on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – The White House

Source: Pew Research Center: Faith on the Hill 2025

One hundred fifty members of Congress share institutional affiliation with the organization responsible for the largest child sex abuse cover-up in human history. That same organization has paid $5+ billion in settlements to U.S. victims alone.

Zero Congressional hearings.

This is not about individual Catholic members of Congress or their personal faith. Many Catholics are themselves horrified by the abuse scandal. This is about institutional loyalty -- whether conscious or unconscious -- and its effect on Congressional oversight.

When nearly 30% of Congress belongs to an institution, that institution does not get Congressional hearings -- no matter how many children it has harmed.

V. The Pattern of ἀδικία (adikia -- Injustice)

The Church's response to abuse follows a documented pattern:

1. Deny. When allegations first surface, dismiss them. Attack the credibility of accusers.

2. Transfer. Move accused priests to new parishes without informing congregations. The German report documented this. The Australian Royal Commission documented this. The Murphy Report documented this. It happened systematically across every country where investigations occurred.

3. Destroy Evidence. The German bishops' report found evidence of files "manipulated or destroyed." The Irish investigations found documents burned. The pattern is global.

4. File Bankruptcy. When lawsuits mount, declare Chapter 11. This consolidates cases, caps liability, and -- critically -- prevents survivors from testifying in open court and cross-examining Church officials under oath. Forty-plus U.S. dioceses have used this strategy.

5. Settle and Silence. Pay settlements with non-disclosure agreements. The survivors get money; the Church avoids public testimony. The names of abusers often remain hidden.

6. Claim Reform. Announce new "safeguarding" policies. Create review boards staffed by Church-appointed members. Spend $728 million on "abuse prevention" programs over 20 years -- programs the Church itself administers.

7. Wait. Statutes of limitations expire. Witnesses die. Evidence deteriorates. Memories fade. The institution endures.

VI. The Money -- χρῆμα (chrēma)

The financial scale is staggering:

Total U.S. settlements 2004-2023: $5+ billion (CARA/Georgetown)

Insurance coverage: Only 16% of costs. The Church has borne 84% directly -- meaning parishes, parishioners, and diocesan assets.

Legal fees: 17% of total costs -- approximately $850 million spent on lawyers rather than victims.

Average settlement per victim: Approximately $268,000 (BishopAccountability.org). The Los Angeles 2007 settlement averaged $1.3 million per victim; bankruptcy settlements typically pay far less.

But consider what $5 billion represents. As one Catholic commentator noted: "With those five billion dollars, the American Church might have paid all the costs of training 20,000 men for the priesthood, or completely funded 10,000 parishes for a year, or established several new first-rate universities or hospitals, or provided pre-natal care for more than a million mothers."

Instead, the money went to settlements, lawyers, and bankruptcy proceedings -- the cost of institutional corruption.

Source: Complicit Clergy: The $5 Billion Cost of Ecclesiastical Corruption

VII. What γραφή (graphē -- Scripture) Says

Ἰησοῦς Χριστός (Iēsous Christos -- Jesus Christ) spoke directly about those who harm children:

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea." -- Matthew 18:6 (NASB)

The Greek word for "causes to stumble" is σκανδαλίσῃ (skandalisē) -- from which we get "scandalize." Autos spoke of those who lead children into sin, who abuse the trust placed in them, who use positions of spiritual authority -- ἐξουσία (exousia) -- to prey on the vulnerable.

The millstone Autos described was not metaphorical. It was a literal stone used to grind grain, weighing hundreds of pounds. Drowning in the sea with such a weight was preferable, Autos said, to the judgment awaiting those who harm children.

The institution that claims to represent Autos on earth has systematically protected those who committed these acts. For decades. Across continents. With full institutional knowledge.

And Congress -- which found time for hearings on Epstein, on social media algorithms, on every manner of scandal -- has not found time to hear the testimony of a single Catholic priest abuse survivor.

VIII. The Questions No One Is Asking

Why has Congress never held hearings on Catholic institutional abuse?

Why did the DOJ sue Washington state to block mandatory clergy abuse reporting?

Why do politicians who demand Epstein accountability go silent on Vatican accountability?

Why does media coverage of billion-dollar Church settlements disappear within days?

Why are there no federal reporting requirements for clergy abuse when such requirements exist for teachers, coaches, and medical professionals?

Why has no Cardinal or Archbishop ever been criminally prosecuted for cover-up in the United States?

These questions are not rhetorical. They have answers. The answers explain the silence.

IX. The Judgment -- κρίσις (krisis)

This is not about attacking Catholics. Millions of faithful Catholics are themselves horrified by what has been documented. They have watched their parishes pay settlements for crimes committed by leadership. They have seen their churches close, their schools shutter, their institutions bankrupted by the very shepherds entrusted to lead them.

This is about documenting the largest institutional cover-up of child sexual abuse in human history -- and the complete failure of American government to respond.

One hundred thousand American victims -- at minimum. $5 billion in U.S. settlements. 40+ bankruptcies. Zero Congressional hearings.

Globally, well over 1.5 million children -- and that is only what has been documented and estimated. The true number is almost certainly far higher.

The #MeToo movement held powerful men accountable. The Epstein scandal produced legislation and prosecutions. The Penn State abuse scandal resulted in criminal convictions of university officials.

But the Vatican -- the institution whose abuse dwarfs all of these combined by orders of magnitude -- remains untouchable. Its American leadership has never faced Congressional testimony. Its systematic cover-up has never been the subject of federal investigation. Its political influence has never been questioned.

Draw your own conclusions about why.

But the numbers are documented. The settlements are public record. The silence is deafening.

And somewhere, right now, another survivor is waiting to tell their story -- wondering why no one in Congress wants to hear it.