Bruce Knight

Reverend Bruce Ritter OFM (born February 25, 1927 in Trenton, New Jersey ; † October 7, 1999 in Decatur , New York State ) was an American Roman Catholic priest and founder of the largest privately funded children's aid organization in the United States, Covenant House .

Covenant House

After teaching theology at Manhattan College from 1963 to 1968, the Franciscan Father Ritter founded the children's aid organization Covenant House in 1968 with the aim of providing homes for orphaned teenagers and abused children. With a budget of up to $ 90 million, Covenant House was the largest privately funded organization in the field.

Child abuse allegation

After four residents of the children's aid organization and a porn actor raised allegations of abuse against Ritter, Knight resigned from his position as head of the organization in 1990. Although Ritter was acquitted in a court hearing, evidence emerged that Ritter had sexual contact with young residents of the home. Ritter left the Franciscan order, but remained active as a priest until his death. He denied all allegations to the end.

Web links

• Report in the New York Times on the investigation into the Ritter case.
• New York Times report