Covenant House

For thousands of runaway teenagers in New York City and other urban areas, Covenant House is the home that compassion built. Now the man who founded the nation's most successful program for runaways is himself in need of compassion. Father Bruce Ritter, 61, the energetic Franciscan who built Covenant House largely on the basis of his own charisma, has been accused by four young men of having sexual relationships with them while they were under his care.

Last week Ritter was forced to step down as president of Covenant House while the allegations are investigated by state and local prosecutors and his religious order. Whether or not the probes result in formal charges, says an observer close to the church, "the chances of Father Ritter returning to Covenant House are zero."

Fortunately, the organization that Ritter created seems strong enough to survive his departure. One of the last remaining bulwarks against the New York City notion that nothing need be done because nothing can be done, Ritter personifies Covenant House in the minds of the 800,000 donors on his mailing list. Last year Covenant House's budget was $85 million, three times what the Federal Government spends annually on programs for runaways.

It was on Holy Thursday in 1968 that Ritter abandoned the comfortable life of a chaplain and a professor of theology at Manhattan College for the mean streets of the city's Lower East Side. Challenged by a student to practice the good works he preached, Ritter responded with a colorful act of muscular Christianity: he paid $50 to a couple of toughs to scare drug dealers into vacating their apartments. He used the space to house homeless children. Later he opened a shelter for runaways in a three-room hovel on East Seventh Street and solicited money to help the hundreds of teenagers who flocked to the shelter: drug addicts, prostitutes or simply abandoned, lonely adolescents with no place to go.

Over the years, Ritter gradually expanded the operation to a paid staff of 1,700 and about 2,000 volunteer workers. In 1984 President Reagan called Ritter an "unsung hero" in his State of the Union address. George Bush, who considers Ritter one of the brightest of the nation's "thousand points of light," visited his Times Square center last June.

But six months later, Ritter was making headlines in the New York Post. The newspaper reported that the district attorney's office was investigating allegations by Kevin Kite, a 26-year-old former prostitute and drug runner with a history of lying. Kite claimed that he had an eight-month-long sexual relationship with Ritter after the priest brought him from New Orleans to New York City in 1989. He also alleged that Ritter diverted up to $25,000 in Covenant House money to finance the affair. Ritter denies Kite's story, although he says he helped get Kite a scholarship at Manhattan College. Covenant House officials say they paid Kite's board at the college, gave him pocket money and bought him a computer. They also say a Covenant House contact in upstate New York provided Kite with papers that allowed him to take the identity of Tim Warner, a young boy who died of leukemia in 1980.

Ritter explained all this by saying that like many former drug runners, Kite needed a fake identity to be protected from the Mob. Ritter brought Kite's father to New York, where he declared that his son was a chronic liar. Still, Ritter warned, copycats might surface in the wake of Kite's allegations.

Then, on Jan. 24, another accusation surfaced in the Village Voice. John Melican, 34, of Seattle, told the weekly that from the time he was 17, he had an intermittent 13-year sexual relationship with Ritter. Melican repeated his claims to the New York Times, which published them last week. The Times also reported that a third man, Darryl Bassile, 31, had approached the paper in mid-January to say he too had sexual relations with Ritter. He had complained earlier to the Franciscan friary in Union City, N.J., after he heard of Kite's charges, and it started an investigation. A fourth accusation came from Paul Johnson, 33, an admitted felon who claimed that he was involved with Ritter for six years. Ritter denies that he had a sexual relationship with any of these men.

Last Tuesday Franciscan Minister Provincial Father Conall McHugh, who heads the order on the East Coast, directed Ritter "to begin a period of rest and recuperation without responsibility for Covenant House until the inquiry is completed."

Even before the suspension, Covenant House's board of directors was searching for someone to replace Ritter when he retires. Board member Frank Macchiarola, 48, a former New York City school chancellor known for his ability to salvage troubled youths, was named interim president -- with Ritter's blessing, he says. In December, Covenant House took in $3 million less than the $15 million it expected, but contributions are recovering. Said chief operating officer Jim Harnett: "I don't know what the impact of the new allegations will be, but for the moment we have put all expansion plans on hold."

Although the institution will survive, Covenant House will miss Ritter's flair and spirit. Shane Sanders, 20, sold drugs and lived on a rooftop in Harlem until checking into a Covenant House shelter three weeks ago. Says he: "I finally came here because I couldn't stand living on the streets all the time. I find it hard to believe all these things against a man who built Covenant House for 22 years. It hurts a lot of us. Father Bruce is like our father."

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Comments

[Shirley Kitchen]

I agree Bruce Ritter do not need to be around children, but he did do a great work by starting an organization to assist runaways by providing food, clothing and a place to sleep. Also, it gives parents a sense of confort to know that places like the Covenent House is available to their children if their children need a place to go.

[Carla Crombie]

Father Bruce Ritter is one in a million. Now his character is being questioned and his life’s work has been taken away from him. The allegations made against him are serious but should not overshadow the great contributions he has made.

[Becky Fisher]

Leaders are often attacked and those attacks reverberate to injure the people they lead. Were I in Ritter's position, I would find it bitter to be under such scrutiny, but exceedingly sweet that the organization shows every sign of surviving regardless of the outcome of the investigation into his personal conduct. The truly selfless life says "crucify me if you must, but you can not negate the healing that I have imparted to others or the subsequent impact they will have on those to come."

[Ark1061]

Seroius and incredible good work by Father Ritter. Serious and incredible allegations against Father Ritter. For his sake and the sake of all those he has helped... lets keep them separate. Whether guilty or not his life is forever changed. Whether guilty or not, the life's of those men are too, changed forever...

[Cindy DeCrow]

Theses allegations were made in 1991. The board of Covenant House according to other articles, and a commissioned report by Kroll Associates both found evidence of sexual misconduct. The board found no evidence of financial misconduct, and no charges were ever filed. Father Ritter died at the age of 72 in 1999 of Hodgkin's Disease.
Covenant House continues to operate today under the direction of Jerome Kilbain, and has recently received grant money to resume an outreach program and establish a drop-in program that supports runaways who need help, but are not yet ready to come in off the streets.

[Hollmck]

I agree with the decision to remove Ritter and I think charges should have been brought against him. I think the church protects and hides child molestors. Why would these men lie about this years later? It is an embarrassing and shameful subject.

[Connie Ribau]

How sad that this had to occur. If in fact it is true , growing up normal for these boys was a big issue. However, Covenant House has become a vital and all but irreplaceable resource.

[Sarahmarie315]

As a lapsed Catholic I have to say I am not surprised at Ritter's actions or the lengths taken to cover them up. Truthfully, he did many great things with Covenant House but his work will forever be tainted with his misdeeds. It is very sad, but not uncommon. In this country we place clergy and religious leaders on a pedestal and when they fall, they usually do so in the most dramatic and disgraceful fashion. I am just happy that Covenant House was able to move forward and continue its mission of helping the community.