MIDLIFE CRISIS-19, Saturday, May 10, 2025 – A Papal Memoriam, for the Un-Settled.
If you are Catholic, and offend easily, read no further; this post is about the Catholic Church as an institution of systemic abuse against children, it is merely the numbers of the un-settled (1.).
So, why a papal memoriam for the un-settled? Because the Pope did not make them whole in his twelve (12) years of service … cough, cough …, so, considering the Pope's passing, I offer the following in memoriam.
$64,729,944.440.00.
Also known as sixty-four billion, seven-hundred and twenty-nine million, nine-hundred and forty-four thousand, four-hundred and forty, dollars.
That is the hypothetical class-action lawsuit settlement, if all estimated victims of the U.S. Catholic Clergy, estimated in a 1993 study, were settled through civil suit.
Note, that is only in the U.S., and does not include any probable victims victimized in the last thirty-two (32) years. That hypothetical number is a calculation based on known settlements through 2002.
Play those astronomical settlement numbers out within the following context:
"In the tables below (Reference 1.), we document settlements involving 5,679 persons who allege sexual abuse by [U.S.] Catholic clergy. These survivors are only one-third of the 15,235 allegations that the bishops say they have received through 2009, and they are only 5% of the 100,000 U.S. victims that Fr. Andrew Greeley estimated in a 1993 study. Important as these settlements are, they represent a minority of known cases, and a tiny fraction of all the abuse perpetrated by Catholic clergy" (1.).
The extrapolation:
So, if the $3,236,497,222.00 in settlements through 2002 from Reference (1.) represents the combined settlement numbers for approximately 5.00% (5,679) of the estimated 100,000 victims noted in the 1993 study, 1.) what is the approximate hypothetical class-action lawsuit settlement for all 100,000 victims. Separately, 2.) where would that settlement number rank in the world history of class-action lawsuits?
1.) $3,236,497,222.00/.0500 = $64,729,944.440.00 ($64.7BB), or 2.), the second largest class-action lawsuit settlement, only exceeded by the Big Tobacco’s Master Settlement Agreement in 1998, but more than three times the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill (1., 2.).
Who is left? Who is the approximate net 95.00%, the 94,321 unaccounted for victims estimated in 1993, who have not yet come forward? Who else since 1993? They are the un-settled.
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In context, here are the top three (3) largest class-action settlements in world history (2.):
“1. Big Tobacco’s Master Settlement Agreement | $206B
“[*2. Sexual Abuse by U.S. Catholic Clergy | $64.7B]
“2. BP's Deepwater Horizon oil spill | $18.7B
“3. The VW emission scandal (aka Dieselgate) | $14.7B.”
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Full excerpt from Reference (1.):
"Sexual Abuse by U.S. Catholic Clergy
"Settlements and Monetary Awards in Civil Suits
"This page provides a master list of the major settlements and monetary awards in the U.S. Catholic abuse crisis, which now total over $3 billion. We also present information on the settlement process, including the important nonmonetary provisions of many agreements, and provide sample documents" (1.).
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"Master List of [U.S. Catholic Church] Settlements and Awards in Chronological Order
"BishopAccountability.org has identified specific, mostly large settlements and awards totaling $2.49 billion, paid out by dioceses and religious orders and by their insurers to survivors of sexual abuse by clergy in the United States. These settlements are listed in the table below with links to sources. Note:
"• The table includes few of the many smaller settlements under $1 million (less than 1% of the table)
"• The table includes few pre-2002 settlements (less than 5% of the table)"Is it possible to estimate the total value of those other settlements?
"As part of the John Jay College project, many bishops issued their own reports on abuse 1950-2002, including the settlement costs in those years. We have totaled the settlements in those local John Jay reports. The bishops count almost $750 million in settlements before 2002.
"If we add the total of our big table and the bishops' pre-2002 number:
$2,486,897,033
+ 749,600,189
$3,236,497,222
we get over $3 billion. This very large number still leaves out the many small settlements done since 2002 but not yet included in our table, as well as any pre-2002 settlements that the bishops didn't include in their John Jay numbers.
"Hence the total value of sexual abuse settlements in the United States is well over $3 billion. This $3 billion number far exceeds the dire prediction of Doyle, Peterson, and Mouton in 1985. And $3 billion is certainly an underestimate. Our table shows payouts to [5,679] survivors, only 33% of the 15,235 survivors who the bishops say have come forward" (1.).
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Upon the Pope Francis’ passing, Monday, April 21, 2025, how can one celebrate the life of a mere mortal as Godly, whose hands are desecrated with the blood of thousands of unsettled victims of whom suffered sexual violence, and were violated on the very altar of the Catholic Church?
I decline.
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Furthermore, is it silly to speculate the Pope’s net worth at his time of death? Certainly, but we must digress.
Reference (3.) does just that, speculate.
“What was Pope Francis' net worth at the time of his death?
“According to Celebrity Net Worth, Pope Francis' net worth at the time of his death is estimated to be around $100” (3.).
More laughable? The alleged “staggering” net worth of the Vatican.
“What is the Vatican's net worth?
“The Vatican's net worth is staggering, with bankers estimating that it is worth anywhere from $10 to $15 billion, according to TIME” (3.).
Does anyone believe that pittance? I would hope not.
“Vatican City, [the] landlocked ecclesiastical state, seat of the Roman Catholic Church, and an enclave surrounded by Rome, situated on the west bank of the Tiber River [, the] world’s smallest fully independent nation-state,” was established in 1929, ninety-six (96) years ago (4.).
Play with this one for a moment:
“As the Holy See, it derives its income from the voluntary contributions of more than one billion Roman Catholics worldwide, as well as interest on investments and the sale of stamps, coins, and publications” (4.).
I would posit that the Vatican’s annual income alone falls in the “$10 to $15 billion” dollar range, and that its net worth could reasonably near or exceed a trillion dollars after a 96-year existence.
Settling the unsettled? A relative pittance.
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Enter, the new Pope, Pope Leo XIV.
“As many celebrate Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost's historic selection as pope, the world's largest organization for clergy sexual abuse victims is worried about the pontiff's past handling of sexual abuse cases and called on him to take a tougher stance on the issue that has long plagued the Roman Catholic Church.
“The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), a network that says it represents more than 25,000 victims and supporters worldwide, released a statement on the day of Pope Leo XIV's selection expressing ‘grave concern’ and urging him to ‘enact a truly universal zero tolerance law for sexual abuse and cover-up’” (5.).
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My unfiltered opinion?
At two-hundred and six billion dollars ($206,000,000,000.00), the Big Tobacco’s Master Settlement Agreement would pale in comparison to a real Catholic Church settlement number, a number only God knows.
As for the Catholic Church, and a new Pope? Pope Leo XIV will maintain the status quo, nor will any Pope ever make it their priority to clear the Church’s books of the unsettled.
It is a systemic tragedy at the hands of protecting the Catholic Church, which ultimately condones the horrific behavior at the expense of past, present, and unfortunately, future victims.
The unsettled will remain unsettled into perpetuity, into eternity. You know, the Church’s little [no-]secret.
***
A papal memoriam, for the un-settled.
- Matfucius
1.) https://www.bishop-accountability.org/settlements/
2.) https://www.collaw.edu.au/community/news/top-10-most-expensive-legal-settlements-in-history/
3.) https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-francis-net-worth-time-115945662.html
4.) https://www.britannica.com/place/Vatican-City
5.) https://www.yahoo.com/news/pope-leo-xiv-draws-criticism-195430854.html