The US Attorney General has revealed that some 700 Christian clerics have been involved in sexual abuse of minors for decades.
This came after Illinois Prosecutor Lisa Madden launched an investigation into the case in August following the publication of a report on harassment in a church in Pennsylvania.
Elements of the Office of the Prosecutor reviewed the archives of six parishes in the State.
The Illinois dioceses circulated the names of 185 priests charged with serious charges, but were informed of "charges involving at least another 500 priests," the prosecutor revealed in a progress report.
Most of these cases have not been properly investigated or have never been investigated, according to Madigan, who has denied that these cases are brought to justice.
Last summer, the Pennsylvania public prosecution dealt a severe blow to the Church by detailing the abuses committed by 300 priests over 1,000 children over several decades.
The Archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Donald Whirl, resigned after being accused of trying to cover up the scandals.
The Catholic Church has been rocked by violence since 2002, when the Boston Globe published a series of revelations of priestly abuse in Boston.
The articles were the focus of the Oscar-winning "Spotlight" for the best film in 2016, and contributed to prompting victims to disclose their instruments throughout the country.
Since then, many priests have been removed from the church and prosecuted, and the church has made large sums of money to compensate the victims.