Here Are The 5 Phoenixville Priests On 'Credibly Accused' List

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —Five priests with connections to the Phoenixville area are part of a comprehensive list of Catholic clergy who have been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse.

The searchable database — which includes hundreds of priests accused from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as well as dioceses in Scranton, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and more — comes on the heels of a grand jury report that revealed hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

The list, put together by Patch partner ProPublica, includes dozens of other priests who served in neighboring municipalities.

Here's the list of Phoenixville area clergy accused:

Charles J. Schaeflein

Schaeflein served from 1949 through 2013, including a stint from 1950 to 1952 as the assistant pastor at St. Ann's in Phoenixville.

He passed away in Aug. 2013.

Stanley M. Gana

Gana was active from 1970 through 2006. He was the assistant pastor at Sacred Heart in Phoenixville for a month in September and October of 1974.

Later, he served as pastor at Our Mother of Sorrows in Bridgeport from June 1986 to December 1995.

Gana was removed from service as a priest (laicized) after numerous credible accusations of sexually abusing minors over a period of decades.

Mark J. Haynes

Haynes was in the church from 1985 until 2016. He was placed on two "leaves of absence," and ultimately removed from the priesthood.

He also served as St. Ann's assistant pastor, from June 1985 to Sept. 1989.

Joseph M. McKenzie

McKenzie, who has since passed away, was in the priesthood from 1951 until 1989, at which point he left following a 9-month long leave of absence.

He served as assistant pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption in Phoenivxille from June to Sept. of 1955.

Craig F. Brugger

Brugger served as a pastor from 1973 to 1986, and returned to the church from 1996 to 2002 to work in the Office of the Metropolitan Tribunal.

He was removed from the priesthood in 2002 following credible allegations of sexually abusing a minor. He died in 2010.

>>Full List Released Of PA Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

The Pennsylvania grand jury investigation, which prompted ProPublica's project, was described by the Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.

>>300 PA Priests Sexually Abused 1,000 Children: Grand Jury

In one case, after a priest confessed to anal and oral rape of at least 15 boys, a bishop who later met with him commended him as "a person of candor and sincerity."

Another priest who was "grooming his middle school students for oral sex," was accused by several victims before he was removed 15 years later, the grand jury found.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report was pivotal in spurring dioceses around the country to release lists of abusers associated with their churches, ProPublica said.