- Bruce Ritter
Rev. Bruce Ritter (
25 February 1927 –7 October 1999 ) was aRoman Catholic priest who founded the charityCovenant House for homeless teenagers and resigned after accusations that he had sexual relations with four of the charity's residents.Born John Ritter in
Trenton, New Jersey , he was ordained in 1956 and took the name Bruce when he joined theFranciscan order. After teachingtheology atManhattan College from 1963–8, he founded Covenant House in 1968. At its height, Covenant House operated in 15 cities with a US$90,000,000 budget, spending three times what the federal government did on runaways. He called the teenagers in the Covenant House “my kids”, “nice kids”, and “gorgeous kids”.In 1985 he served on
US Attorney General Edwin Meese 's Commission on Pornography.In December 1989, he was accused by
Kevin Kite , a formermale prostitute andpornographic actor , of having sexual relations after meeting him in New Orleans and flying him to New York to live at Ritter's expense. Several other men came forward after Kite's allegations leading to Ritter's removal as president ofCovenant House . There were also allegations of financial improprieties involving a $1 million trust fund.No charges were filed by the district attorney
Robert M. Morgenthau or state attorney generalRobert Abrams , but an internal investigation byKroll and Associates and the law firm ofCravath, Swaine & Moore found evidence that Ritter did engage in sexual activities with Kite and shelter residents [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Ritter Inquiry Cites Reports From the 70's |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D61E3DF937A3575BC0A966958260&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=August 4 ,1990 |accessdate=2008-07-22 By Ralph Blumenthal] . Ritter denied the allegations, reportedly calling them "garbage," [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Image of Covenant House Is Eroded by Sex Charges |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5D7103EF935A35751C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&&scp=80&sq=%22February%206,%201990%22&st=cse
quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=February 6 ,1990 |accessdate=2008-07-22 By Ralph Blumenthal with reporting by Suzanne Daley and M. A. Farber] and resigned from both the charity and the Franciscan order in 1990 [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=In Quiet Fields, Father Ritter Found His Exile; After Scandal, Covenant House Founder Had a Simple, Solitary Life Upstate
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940CE0D81139F931A15753C1A96F958260&scp=1&sq=In%20Quiet%20Fields,%20Father%20Ritter%20Found%20His%20Exile;%20After%20Scandal,%20Covenant%20House%20Founder%20Had%20a%20Simple,%20Solitary%20Life%20Upstate&st=cse“
quote= |publisher=New York Times |date=22 October ,1999 |accessdate=2008-07-22 By Tina Kelley] .Ritter eventually retired to the small town of
Decatur, New York , where he died ofcancer at the age of 72.ee also
*
Roman Catholic Church sex abuse scandal
*Kevin Kite
*Covenant House
*Roman Catholic priests accused of sex offensesNotes
References
* In Quiet Fields, Father Ritter Found His Exile; After Scandal, Covenant House Founder Had a Simple, Solitary Life Upstate”, "
New York Times ",22 October 1999
* Charles M. Sennott. "Broken Covenant".cite web |url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE5D7163AF930A25751C1A964958260 |title= The Priest and the Runaways |author= Margaret O'Brien Steinfels |work=The New York Times book review |date=December 13 1992 ] New York:Simon & Schuster , 1992. ISBN 0-67176-715-1.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
