Pressure from the pedophilia scandal in the Archdiocese of Boston has led to an unprecedented openness among American bishops about abuse allegations in their own dioceses.

While many key details remain secret  and critics say much more information should be released  rank-and-file Roman Catholics have been learning more than ever about sexual molestation by clergy.

Since January, when the Boston case first gained national attention, bishops have suspended or forced the resignation of at least 26 priests among the more than 47,000 nationwide. The bishops said their actions were prompted by abuse allegations.

The announcements have been accompanied in some communities by a rare public accounting of past cases and settlements with victims.

 In Pennsylvania, officials in five of the state’s eight dioceses revealed that 58 priests have faced credible accusations of abuse over the past half-century. Some of the alleged abusers are now dead or retired.

 In Missouri, the Diocese of St. Louis this month removed two priests who had been accused of abuse years ago, then released their names. The Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph acknowledged Monday that it had paid $25,000 in 1996 to settle an abuse claim against a priest, but did not release his name.

 In Maine, the Diocese of Portland last month ordered two priests to announce their histories of sexual abuse to their parishes.

 The Diocese of Albany, N.Y., this month revealed it had quietly paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle child molestation cases against nine priests since 1977.

 The Los Angeles Times reported that up to a dozen Southern California priests have been ousted over allegations of sexual abuse dating as far back as 10 years. A Los Angeles Archdiocese spokesman would not say whether priests have been removed.

Change in practice

“The bishops are being forced to slowly and painfully change institutional behavior to conform with the mechanisms of a court system and a free press,” said Jason Berry, author of “Lead Us Not Into Temptation, Catholic Priests and the Sexual Abuse of Children.”

“That has never happened before.”

Most of the hundreds of child molestation lawsuits dioceses have settled since the mid-1980s have been kept confidential. But The Boston Globe persuaded a judge to unseal 10,000 documents in January concerning former priest John Geoghan, revealing the Boston Archdiocese had evidence Geoghan molested children for years but allowed him to serve anyway. More than 130 people have come forward to say Geoghan abused them.

In the outcry that followed, Cardinal Bernard Law dramatically changed the archdiocese’s policy on handling such accusations. He suspended 10 clergy and, for the first time, notified prosecutors of allegations against 80 priests.

At least 21 of the other 191 American dioceses said the Boston case prompted them to re-examine their policies on abuse accusations or review personnel records to see if any priests accused of molestation were serving in parishes.

Parishioners respond

Parishioners have had mixed reactions to the details being released.

“I think we have to realize that they are men, they are human, we have a problem and we have to deal with it,” said Vincent Thomas, a 24-year-old Philadelphia Catholic, after the local archdiocese announced that 35 priests had molested children over the past 50 years.

In Maine, many were angry the two priests were forced to confess.

“What has been gained by this public crucifixion?” asked Roland Daigle of Madawaska, a town in the northern Maine region where the two clergy serve.

Advocates for victims say the church hasn’t been open enough. They want bishops to release the names of priests who molested children so perpetrators cannot endanger others. They also want documentation proving that priests guilty of molestation have been disciplined and removed from parishes.

“The bishops have assumed for the longest time that because the church is 2,000 years old and has weathered scandals in the past, they could weather this,” Berry said. “Now, the church is on a cultural collision with American society and the expectations of openness and the idea that institutions must be held accountable.”