• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted the Catholic Church's leaders in a statement on Wednesday.
  • Greene had been criticized by the Catholic League for saying "Satan's controlling the Church."
  • Her strongly worded statement called the bishops "monsters" and "criminals and abusers."

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene slammed the US Roman Catholic Church's leaders on Wednesday, calling its bishops "criminals and abusers."

In a 700-word statement, Greene demanded an apology from Catholic League president Bill Donohue, who had earlier criticized her for saying that "Satan's controlling the Church." Greene had made the comment during an interview with the right-wing site Church Militant.

Donohue had also called Greene a "loose cannon" and a "disgrace," adding that she had slandered the entire Church and "needs to apologize to Catholics immediately."

However, Greene's official statement did just the opposite, with the congresswoman doubling down on her earlier comments instead.

"Donohue should have called my office, or had a staffer check Google, before firing off a hysterical-sounding statement. He doesn't know this, but I am a cradle Catholic," she wrote.

Greene said that she stopped attending Catholic Mass after becoming a mother because she couldn't trust the Church leadership to "protect my children from pedophiles." She also claimed that the Church "harbored monsters even in their own ranks."

The Catholic Church still faces a widespread scandal involving thousands of reports from all over the world — including US cities — of children being abused by members of the clergy.

Greene continually referenced the scandal in her statement, accusing US church leaders of covering up the crimes.

"Just so we're clear, bishops, when I said 'controlled by Satan,' I wasn't talking about the Catholic Church. I was talking about you," she added.

"I can tell you that it's the bishops' wickedness that has driven me away from the Church, and I make no apologies for saying so," said the congresswoman. "America's Catholic bishops are some of the worst in the world."

She also accused them of supporting an "illegal invasion" by using federal funds to resettle undocumented immigrants — one of the main talking points of her interview with Church Militant.

"What more can we expect from criminals and abusers living unaccountable lives of luxury funded by the rest of us, draped in fine linens while choirboys are raped?" Greene wrote in her statement.

"Until the people running the Catholic Church stop abusing children and stop covering up the abuse of children, I will continue to hold them to account," she added.

The Catholic League did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

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