Covenant House Founder Steps Down in Sex Scandal

Father Bruce Ritter, the founder of the famous Covenant House shelter for teen-age runaways, said today he was stepping down temporarily amid a flurry of accusations that he had sex with some of the young men he tried to rescue.

“I am profoundly saddened by the allegations against me and the need to deny them constantly. I have no way of proving my innocence. My accusers cannot establish my guilt,” he said in a statement.

He added that he has decided to “take several weeks off to rest and recuperate to deal with the personal stress caused by this controversy as well as its impact on Covenant House.”

His decision came after the New York Times, one of his most powerful supporters, printed a front-page story in which a third youth claimed to have had sex with the Franciscan priest while being cared for at the shelter.

The newspaper said that the Franciscan order had begun an investigation of the charges by the third youth, Darryl Bassile of Ithaca, N.Y.

In his statement, Ritter, who has been hailed as a modern-day saint, said: “I devoutly hope the inquiries under way will bring an end to this incredibly painful chapter in my life.

“The work of Covenant House is a 24-hour-a-day job requiring my full-time attention. This is not possible under the present circumstances.”

Beside the probe by the Franciscans, Ritter is being investigated by the Manhattan district attorney’s office for misuse of funds in connection with a young man who claims that Ritter seduced him.

Ritter has won praise from presidents and the Vatican for creating Covenant House and saving thousands of teen-agers from desperate lives on the street.

Ritter, 62, oversees an $87-million-a-year organization that provides shelter and a second chance to 25,000 runaways a year.