The report was released ahead of a national study of sexual abuse in all U.S. dioceses that was commissioned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and due out on Feb. 27.

Cardinal Adam Maida, archbishop of Detroit, said in the report that 63 Detroit-area priests and deacons had faced sex abuse allegations since 1950. He added that 116 abuse victims were known to the Detroit archdiocese and that nearly $1.4 million had been paid out in legal settlements and counseling so far.

Maida was credited in local media reports last month for insisting that one alleged pedophile priest become the first from Detroit to be defrocked by Pope John Paul II. But even as his archdiocese highlighted the sex abuse issue on Thursday, it sought to play down Detroit's role in the nationwide scandal.

Included in its media presentation was a pie chart showing that 63 clerics represented just 2 percent of the 3,267 priests and deacons who served the Detroit diocese since 1950.

"It is important to maintain a sense of perspective on all of this," Maida said in a statement.

"We need to be clear: the overwhelming majority of our Detroit priests have served and are serving faithfully and observing their commitment to celibacy. They are providing dedicated service to the people of the archdiocese."